Peter O'Donnell

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Peter O'Donnell (born April 11, 1920 in Lewisham , London , † May 3, 2010 in Brighton ) was an English writer and creator of the cult figure Modesty Blaise . He also wrote very successful historical novels for a predominantly female audience under the pseudonym Madeleine Brent .

Life

Even as a schoolboy, Peter O'Donnell was enthusiastic about writing. At the age of sixteen he sold his first story for 4 shillings and 10 pence, a multiple of his pocket money.

During the Second World War he was stationed as a radio operator in what was then Persia . It was here in 1942 that he met a little refugee girl who years later served him as a template for Modesty Blaise . Back in England, he established himself as a writer after the war . He published a play, wrote for newspapers and magazines, and created scenarios for several comic strips .

In 1963 the Evening Standard published the first comic strip starring Modesty Blaise , a beautiful and dangerous secret agent. The strip was printed without interruption until 2001, at times in up to 42 countries around the world.

While working on a Modesty Blaise film with Monica Vitti and directed by Joseph Losey , the idea for a book came up and in 1965 the first Modesty Blaise novel came out. It was followed by ten other novels and two volumes of short crime novels about Modesty Blaise . The books quickly reached millions in circulation and have been translated into sixteen languages.

Most recently he lived in Brighton with his wife .

plant

Modesty Blaise range

  • 1965 The Deadly Lady (Modesty Blaise)
  • 1966 The Lady Begs in the Hereafter (Saber-Tooth)
  • 1967 The Lady Rides the Devil (I, Lucifer)
  • 1969 A Taste for Death
  • 1971 The Impossible Virgin
  • 1972 The Lady Makes Stories (Pieces of Modesty)
  • 1973 The Silver Mistress
  • 1976 Hot Nights for the Lady (Last Day in Limbo)
  • 1978 The Lady flies on kites (Dragon's Claw)
  • 1981 The Lady Wants It Different (The Xanadu Talisman)
  • 1982 The Lady draws the bow (The Night of Morning Star)
  • 1985 The Lady lets it flash (Dead Man's Handle)
  • 1996 Cobra Trap (Stories)

Some volumes were reissued in 2005 after a revised translation.

The Madeleine Brent novels

O'Donnell was persuaded by a publisher to try writing mystery thrillers for female audiences in 1969, and was then surprised by the success. He deliberately gave his pseudonym the initials of Modesty Blaise.

The novels, most of which are set in the late 19th century, always follow a similar pattern. The heroine grows up under harsh conditions in exotic surroundings (Tibet, Afghanistan, the Australian outback, but also a circus or brothel) and discovers a family secret whose roots lead to England. The solution to this dark mystery is accompanied by many dangers, but also great love, and in the end brings the heroine once again into a situation in which everything depends on the unusual skills acquired in her youth.

  • 1971 Cadi, Tregaron's daughter; also: The Fisherman's Daughter (Tregaron's Daughter)
  • 1973 Where the wind takes the flowers (Moonraker's Bride)
  • 1975 Wilde Blume Glück (Kirkby's Changeling, Stranger at Wildings)
  • 1977 When the moon tree blooms in the valley (Merlin's Keep)
  • 1979 The Magician's Daughter (The Capricorn Stone)
  • 1981 Jacaranda's Girl (The Long Masquerade)
  • 1983 Hope in the Valley of Tears (A Heritage of Shadows)
  • 1984 The Lady from the Hindu Kush (Stormswift)
  • 1986 Wild Heart Mitji (Golden Urchin)

Filmography

script

  • 1967: Young, Blonde and Deadly (The Vengeance of She)

Literary template

  • 1965: Modesty Blaise - The Deadly Lady (Modesty Blaise)

Reviews

Claus Kerkhoff / Magazin X-Zine / Frankfurt / July 7, 2005:

“Peter O'Donnell is a master of writing. He has a concise, apparently simple letter. O'Donnell draws plastic, remarkable characters, and secondary characters appear as independent personalities. He has a keen eye for imposing locations and absurdly funny situations. Action, speed and excitement alternate with moments of calm and contemplation. O'Donnell creates a crackling, breathless tension, and he masterfully manages to pull the reader under his spell - right up to a furious finale. "

Andrea Fischer / Deutschlandradio Kultur / August 15, 2005

“O'Donnell's novels are timelessly good - they just deserved rebirth. The new edition provoked enthusiastic reactions, it immediately made it to the top of the crime thriller list and old fans cheered in many newspapers that they can now meet their Modesty again. "

Web links

personal data
SURNAME O'Donnell, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 11, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH London Borough of Lewisham
DATE OF DEATH May 3, 2010
Place of death Brighton