John Boland (Author)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Boland (born February 12, 1913 in Sparkbrook , Birmingham ; died November 9, 1976 ) was a British writer and journalist. His best-known book is the detective novel The League of Gentlemen (1958, German title The men burglars do the honors ), which was also made into a film in 1960 .

Life

Boland was the son of Albert Edward Boland and Elizabeth, nee Mills. In the 1930s he worked in agriculture, seaman, railroad worker and other jobs, and made major trips to North America and Europe. After the Second World War he was a seller of advertising signs and car parts. In 1952 he married Philippa JH Carver, to whom some of his books are dedicated. After getting married, the couple moved to Wandsworth , London, and eventually to East Sussex near Ashdown Forest .

From 1956 Boland worked as a freelance writer. His first two novels White August (1955) and No Refuge (1956) can be assigned to science fiction , with the second novel being a mixture of science fiction and crime novel in which two criminals take refuge in a utopian community in Antarctica search. He also contributed to the science fiction magazines of John Carnell . Even if the novels Operation Red Carpet (1959) and Holocaust (1974) contain SF elements, from the late 1950s a turn to detective novels was clear.

In the decades that followed, Boland wrote more than two dozen detective novels, most of which were translated into German, as well as hundreds of newspaper short stories. In addition, he worked for television, wrote an episode for the series No Hiding Place , founded a film company in 1964 and wrote two screenplays ( The Stone Desert and The Golden Fleece ), which were not realized.

His greatest success was the crime novel The League of Gentlemen (1958). In 1960 this was filmed under the direction of Basil Dearden . The film The Gentlemen Burglars have the honor of being a box office success and is considered a classic of British crime comedy . Boland wrote two more sequels, The Gentlemen Reform , 1961, and The Gentlemen at Large , 1962.

Boland was a member of the Birmingham Writers 'Group and the Swanwick Writers' Summer School , which he chaired from 1958 to 1960.

bibliography

Novels
  • White August (science fiction, 1955)
    • German: Weißer August. Translated by W. Kohler-Eder. Moewig (Terra # 108), 1960.
  • No Refuge (science fiction and crime novel, 1956)
    • German: Escape into the unknown. Translated by Luise Däbritz. The Midnight Books # 209. Desch, 1964.
  • Queer Fish (1958)
  • The League of Gentlemen (detective novel, 1958)
    • German: bank robbery. Astoria, 1958. Reissued as: 7,000 pounds and a penny. Translated by C. Würzler. Maluche, 1959. Another edition: The burglars do the honors. Translated by Werner Gronwald. Heyne # 1101. Heyne, 1963.
  • Mysterious Way (1959)
    • German: Be good and kill. Maluche, 1968. Another edition: A package with black ribbon . Translated by Hannelore Guski. Heyne TB # 1419. Heyne, 1970.
  • Operation Red Carpet (1959)
  • Bitter Fortune (detective novel, 1959)
    • English: The dead man with the suitcase. Translated by C. Würzler. Astoria, circa 1955. Also known as: £ 7,000 and a penny. Translated by C. Würzler. Maluche, Munich 1959, DNB 740304046 .
  • The Midas Touch (detective novel, 1960)
    • German: The golden freight. Translated by Rosmarie Kahn-Ackermann. The Midnight Books # 222. Desch, 1965.
  • Negative Value (detective novel, 1960)
    • German: Der Teufelsspiegel. Translated by Rosmarie Kahn-Ackermann. The Midnight Books # 301. Desch, 1966.
  • The Gentlemen Reform (detective novel, 1961)
    • English: The burglars break out. Translated by Werner Gronwald. Heyne # 1107. Heyne, 1963.
  • Inside Job (detective novel, 1961)
    • German: The jewel box. Translated by Hanna Groll. The Midnight Books # 627. Desch, 1973, ISBN 3-420-00627-6 .
  • The Golden Fleece (1961)
  • Vendetta (1961)
    • German: Vendetta. Translated by Nora Norden. The Midnight Books # 341. Desch, 1967.
  • The Gentlemen at Large (1962)
  • Fatal Error (detective novel, 1962)
    • German: The fatal error. Translated by Rosmarie Kahn-Ackermann. The Midnight Books # 238. Desch, 1965.
  • Counterpol (detective novel, 1963)
    • German: Company Counterpol. Translated by Luise Däbritz. The Midnight Books # 266. Desch, 1965.
  • The Catch (detective novel, 1964)
    • German: Trouts in the net. Translated by Leni Sobez. Heyne TB # 1329. Heyne, 1968.
  • Counterpol in Paris (1964)
  • The Good Citizens (1965)
  • The Disposal Unit (1966)
  • The Gusher (1967)
  • Painted Lady (1967)
  • Breakdown (detective novel, 1968)
    • German: The almost perfect crime. Translated by Melitta Dittmann. The Midnight Books # 414. Desch, 1969.
  • The Fourth Grave (detective novel, 1969)
    • German: In the clinch. Translated by Gretl Friedmann. Joke Action Crime # 99. Joke, 1971.
  • The Shakespeare Curse (1969)
  • Kidnap (1970)
  • The Big Job (detective novel, 1970)
    • English: The mysterious Mr Big. Translated by Rosmarie Kahn-Ackermann. The Midnight Books # 527. Desch, 1971, ISBN 3-420-00527-X .
  • The Trade of Kings (1972)
  • Holocaust (Thriller, 1974)
Short stories

1956:

  • Herma (in: Science Fantasy, v 7 # 20, 1956 )

1957:

  • The Man from Toombla (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 59 May 1957 )
  • Fabulous Photographer (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 60 June 1957 )
  • Manhunter (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 62 August 1957 )
  • Doat Age (in: Galaxy Science Fiction, September 1957 )
  • Straight from the Horse's Mouth (in: Science Fantasy, October 1957 )
  • The Wire Tappers (in: Science Fantasy, December 1957 )

1958:

  • Secret Weapon (in: New Worlds Science Fiction, # 69 March 1958 )
  • The Picture (in: Fantastic, November 1958 )
Non-fiction
  • Free-Lance Journalism (1960)
  • Short Story Writing (1960)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Smoke Boys (1963) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
personal data
SURNAME Boland, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Boland, John Bertram (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British writer and journalist
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1913
PLACE OF BIRTH Sparkbrook , Birmingham
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1976