The legendary characters from Karl May's travel and youth stories - from Winnetou and Old Shatterhand to Sam Hawkens and Nscho-tschi - gathered in one volume! The figure lexicon is richly illustrated with images from art, literature and pop culture and provides new, unique insights into the Karl May universe. In doing so, not only named protagonists and fringe characters are illuminated, but also nameless characters and their function in the plot. Karl May's stories are testimony to the changing world around 1900. The portrayals of people reflect both traditional Eurocentric ideas and a new conception of global human coexistence. The index of characters therefore not only contributes to the literary analysis of Karl May's stories, but also embeds them in the social, political and cultural context of the time they were written.