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Desmond Bagley

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Desmond Bagley
Born(1923-10-29)29 October 1923
Kendal,Westmorland,England
Died12 April 1983(1983-04-12)(aged 59)
Southampton,England
Occupationjournalist and novelist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityEnglish
GenreThriller
SpouseJoan Margaret Brown
Website
www.desmondbagley.co.uk

Desmond Bagley(29 October 1923 – 12 April 1983) was an English journalist and novelist known mainly for a series of bestsellingthrillers.He and fellow British writers such asHammond InnesandAlistair MacLeanset conventions for the genre: a tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary hero pitted against villains determined to sow destruction and chaos for their own ends.

Biography

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Bagley was born inKendal,Westmorland– now inCumbria– as the son of John and Hannah Bagley. His family moved to the resort town ofBlackpoolin the summer of 1935, when Bagley was 12. Leaving school not long after the move, Bagley worked as a printer's assistant and factory worker, and during theSecond World Warin the aircraft industry. Bagley had astutterall of his life, which initially exempted him frommilitary conscription.[1]

Bagley left England in 1947 for Africa and worked his way overland, crossing theSahara Desertand briefly settling inKampala,Uganda, where he contractedmalaria.By 1951, he had settled in South Africa, working in thegold miningandasbestosindustries inDurban,Natal,before becoming a freelance writer for local newspapers and magazines. While there he met a local bookstore director, Joan Margaret Brown, whom he married in 1960.

In an afterword to his novelWindfall,Bagley describes how as a freelancer for the JohannesburgSunday Times,he witnessed the 1960 assassination attempt against South African PMHendrik Verwoerd.

When not travelling to research the exotic backgrounds for his novels, Bagley enjoyed sailing, loved classical music, films and military history, and played war games.

Bagley and his wife left South Africa for England in 1964, where they lived inBishopsteignton,Devon. They settled inTotnes,Devon,from 1966 to 1976, and then moved toGuernseyuntil his death in 1983.[1]Thereafter his wife continued to live there until her death in 1999.

Bagley died on 12 April 1983 at a hospital inSouthamptonof complications resulting from astroke.[2]He was 59.[2]

Writings

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Bagley's first published short story appeared in the English magazineArgosyin 1957, and his first novel,The Golden Keel,in 1963.[1]Between whiles he was a film critic forThe Rand Daily Mailin Johannesburg from 1958 to 1962.

The success ofThe Golden Keelhad led Bagley to turn to full-time novel writing by the mid-1960s. He produced a total of 16 thrillers, all craftsman-like and almost all bestsellers. Typically of British thriller writers of that period, he rarely used recurring characters in different books. Exceptions include Max Stafford (a security consultant featured inFlyawayandWindfall),Slade (a spy who appeared inRunning BlindandThe Freedom Trap), and Metcalfe (a smuggler/mercenary inThe Golden KeelandThe Spoilers). His work yielded five mostly unremarkable film adaptations:The Freedom Trap(1971), released in 1973 asThe Mackintosh ManbyWarner Brothers,directed by John Huston and starringPaul NewmanandDominique Sanda;Landslide,made for television in 1992;The Vivero Letter,filmed in 1998; andThe Enemy,starringRoger Moorein 2001. Probably the most successful adaptation wasRunning Blind,serialised for television by theBBCin 1979.

In several novels Bagley used thefirst-person narrative.One critic wrote, "As long as meticulous craftsmanship and honest entertainment are valued, and as long as action, authenticity, and expertise still make up the strong framework of the good adventure/thriller, Desmond Bagley's books will surely be read."[3]

Bagley also published short stories. His last two novels,Night of ErrorandJuggernaut,were published posthumously after completion by his wife. His works have been translated into over 20 languages.

In 2017, an unpublished first-draft manuscript entitledBecause Salton Diedwas discovered among his papers at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center[4]in Boston, Massachusetts. A complete final draft was subsequently prepared by writer Michael Davies,[5]which was retitledDomino Islandand published by HarperCollins on 9 May 2019.[6]

Also discovered among the author's papers was an incomplete and unpublished draft manuscript entitledWriter – An Enquiry into a Novelist.In 2021 this autobiographical account of Bagley's early life and formative influences was edited and published, as a free eBook, by Philip Eastwood.[7]

At the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2022, HarperCollins announced they had acquired Bagley's catalogue from Brockhurst Publications, which had previously been responsible for managing the author's estate. Alongside the deal, publisher David Brawn revealed that a new original novel – written by Michael Davies as a 'sequel' toDomino Islandand using the same protagonist, Bill Kemp – would be published as a centenary tribute to Bagley. The novel, entitledOutback,was published on 11 May 2023.[8][9]A further sequel,Thin Ice,has been announced for publication in 2024.[10]

A blue plaque was unveiled in October 2023 at Bagley's childhood home in Lord Street, Blackpool, to mark the centenary of his birth.[11]The plaque is the second in his honour, the first having been unveiled at his Guernsey home in 2018, which jointly honoured the author together with his wife Joan Bagley, for their significant contribution to Guernsey society.[12]

Bibliography

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The dates are for the first UK hardcover publication; all Bagley's novels subsequently appeared in paperback.[13]

Posthumous Fiction

Non-Fiction

References

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  1. ^abc"CIS: Rediscovering the crime novels of Desmond Bagley » CRIME FICTION LOVER".crimefictionlover.com.16 September 2017.Retrieved10 November2018.
  2. ^ab"Desmond Bagley, 59, Is Dead; Adventure and Thriller Writer".The New York Times.15 April 1983.Retrieved2 November2017.
  3. ^Reginald Hill,Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers(1985).
  4. ^"Collection – Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center".archives.bu.edu.Retrieved3 March2019.
  5. ^"On writing someone else's book – Michael Davies on finishing a 'lost' Desmond Bagley novel".Indie Thinking.7 February 2019. Archived fromthe originalon 22 April 2021.Retrieved3 March2019.[dead link]
  6. ^"Domino Island - The Bagley Brief".The Bagley Brief.Archived fromthe originalon 17 April 2021.Retrieved29 December2023.
  7. ^"Writer – An Enquiry into a Novelist by Desmond Bagley – eBook | Philip Eastwood".The Bagley Brief.2 January 2021.Retrieved28 April2021.
  8. ^"HarperCollins snaps up estate to thriller writer Bagley and announces new novel for centenary".The Bookseller.Retrieved5 December2022.
  9. ^Graeme (24 July 2023)."Michael Davies".Book Series in Order.Retrieved29 December2023.
  10. ^Nathan, Lucy (17 April 2023)."HarperFiction signs Davies' third Bill Kemp novel".Retrieved9 December2023.
  11. ^Club, Blackpool Social (6 November 2023)."Blue plaque unveiled to honour thriller master".Blackpool Social Club.Retrieved9 December2023.
  12. ^Express, Bailiwick."Bagley Blue Plaque unveiled".Bailiwick Express.Retrieved9 December2023.
  13. ^ThriftBooks."Desmond Bagley Books – List of books by author Desmond Bagley".ThriftBooks.Retrieved10 November2018.

Further reading

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