Modesty Blaise (novel)
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 First American edition by Doubleday, 1965 |
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| Author | Peter O'Donnell |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Modesty Blaise |
| Genre(s) | Spy novel |
| Publisher | Souvenir Press |
| Released | 1965 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
| Preceded by | First book of series |
| Followed by | Sabre-Tooth |
Modesty Blaise is the title of an action-adventure/spy fiction novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1965, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for a comic strip in 1963.
This was the first novel to feature the character of Modesty Blaise and her right-hand-man, Willie Garvin, and the series of books (all written by O'Donnell) would run concurrently with the comic strip until 1996 (the comic strip would run until 2001).
Technically, this is a novelisation of a screenplay O'Donnell wrote based upon the character, although it predated the film version by a year. The filmed version of the screenplay bore little resemblance to O'Donnell's original (the author was often quoted as saying only a single, inconsequential line of dialogue remained from his original script). Although the 1966 film version of Modesty Blaise was not a critical success, the book proved popular with fans of both the comic strip and readers of spy fiction (Blaise was promoted on the cover of the first American edition by Doubleday as the feminine answer to James Bond), and O'Donnell followed up with 10 more novels and two short story collections over the next 30 years. Most of the books would have their first United Kingdom editions published by Souvenir Press, with Pan Books publishing all but the final volume, Cobra Trap, in paperback. A variety of American publishers, meanwhile, took turns issuing the series.
The American first edition by Doubleday (illustrated at right) was featured prominently in the Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction (the hit man played by John Travolta is shown reading the book). Reportedly the director used a mock-up of the book for filming, rather than an actual copy.
In the mid-1990s, DC Comics published a one-shot Modesty Blaise graphic novel based upon the novel.
[edit] Plot summary
Willie Garvin has lost the will to live. He had worked for Modesty Blaise for six years in The Network, Modesty's criminal organization, and rose to the position of her right-hand man and became her good friend. But then Modesty disbanded The Network and retired, and now Willie doesn't know what to do with himself. So he got involved as a mercenary in a S. American revolution, but his heart wasn't in it. He was captured and is now sitting in a primitive prison, waiting listlessly to be executed.
Fortunately, Sir Gerald Tarrant, head of a British secret service organization, knows about Willie's situation, and he needs the services of Modesty and Willie for a very special job. Sir Gerald visits Modesty and lays his cards on the table. Modesty is grateful, and agrees to help Sir Gerald as soon as she has rescued Willie.
This is the start of the adventure. Sir Gerald's job turns out to be a perilous intervention against the criminal mastermind Gabriel, who is planning to steal a huge consignment of diamonds. The action takes place in S. France and Egypt, and ends with a fight to the death on a small island in the Mediterranean.
| The Modesty Blaise series by Peter O'Donnell |
|---|
| Characters Modesty Blaise | Willie Garvin |
| Comic strip Modesty Blaise (1963-2002) |
| Books Modesty Blaise (1965) | Sabre-Tooth (1966) | I, Lucifer (1967) | A Taste for Death (1969) | The Impossible Virgin (1971) | Pieces of Modesty (1972 - short stories) | The Silver Mistress (1973) | Last Day in Limbo (1976) | Dragon's Claw (1978) | The Xanadu Talisman (1981) | The Night of Morningstar (1982) | Dead Man's Handle (1985) | Cobra Trap (1996 - short stories) |
| Films Modesty Blaise (1966) | Modesty Blaise (1982) | My Name is Modesty (2003) |
