Burke Devlin (Paperback Library)

Burke Devlin was a wealthy entrepreneur, who made his fortune in the town of Collinsport, Maine. In the world of financial enterprise, his only true equals were the esteemed members of the Collins family, whom he had known for over twenty-five years (Novel: Victoria Winters). Burke maintained a long-standing rivalry with Roger Collins, whom he considered to be his nemesis.
In 1966, Burke met Victoria Winters, the governess to Roger's young son, David. Sparks of romance fluttered between the two, but Vicki's heart belonged to a man named Ernest Collins.
Burke was always available to assist Vicki whenever trouble arose. In June of 1967 when Vicki became the target of affection by a mysterious artist named Paul Caine, Burke checked into his background to discover that he was actually an undercover police officer investigating a kidnapping (Novel: Victoria Winters).
In July, Burke helped to save the life of Benjamin Willard, who had fallen from the captain’s walk atop of Collins House. He rushed Willard to a hospital in Ellsworth, where he died days later (Novel: Strangers at Collins House).
== Notes ==
* In the continuity of the Dark Shadows television series, the enmity between Burke and Roger Collins stemmed from a scandal, which earned Burke a five-year prison sentence (13). Burke went to prison for a crime that was actually perpetuated by Roger himself (201). Whether this back-story exists within the continuity of the Paperback Library novels has never been revealed.
* Burke suffered antagonistic envy in regards to anything to do with the Collins family. He would routinely hire private investigators to dig up dirt on them at every available opportunity.
* Burke also hired private investigators to look into the family background of Victoria Winters. The investigators' results however, were inconclusive.
* Burke smoked cigarettes and could be regularly found having drinks at the Blue Whale.
== Appearances ==
Victoria Winters
Strangers at Collins House
Category:Novels Characters