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Desmond Bagley, the British thriller author

Ranked #2,686 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #98,770 overall

About Desmond Bagley

Desmond Bagley was a British thriller author, who wrote from 1963 to 1985. One of a group of authors who defined and established the genre, his books have recently been reprinted and remain both gripping reads, and with a few exceptions, surprisingly undated.

This lens focuses on his work and books.

Contents

  2. Desmond Bagley's Books 1963-1968
  3. Desmond Bagley's Books 1969-1974
  4. The Snow Tiger Lens
  5. Desmond Bagley's Books 1977-1984
  6. Desmond Bagley's Books 1985
  7. Reader Reviews from Reviewscout
  8. The Mackintosh Man - a film
  9. Running Blind - the BBC miniseries
  10. The cheaper option
  11. More Thriller writers
  12. Like this Lens?
  13. Share your views!
  14. About the lensmaster

“...a writer of old style literate thrillers...”

Desmond Bagley's Books 1963-1968

These were the first of his books, often featuring everyman heroes fighting against the odds e.g. Jemmy, hero of The Vivero Letter, describes himself as "a little grey man in a little grey suit."
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Desmond Bagley's Books 1969-1974

In this period Bagley began writing more about espionage. With the notable exception of The Snow Tiger, his books in this period feature intelligence operations and covert activities.
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Important!

The Snow Tiger Lens

As my favourite of his books, this story of a man set against both nature and the system, has its own lens:

The Snow Tiger

Desmond Bagley's Books 1977-1984

Leaving espionage large behind with his excellent novel "The Enemy", Bagley moves onto to crime and corruption as the opponents in his later work.
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Desmond Bagley's Books 1985

His last novel, left unfinished by Desmond Bagley's death, therefore does not have the polish of his earlier work, but is still a gripping read.
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Reader Reviews from Reviewscout

What did the readers think?

Desmond Bagley's books have all been reviewed on Reviewscout.
As I can only pull the feed for one here, I have chosen High Citadel as it already has three reviews.

If the RSS feed is down, or you want to write your own review, please click here:
High Citadel
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The Mackintosh Man - a film

The Freedom Trap on film

Desmond Bagley's work attracted surprisingly little interest from film makers, this being the notable exception.

Adapted from his 1971 novel the Freedom Trap, the Mackintosh Man stars Paul Newman as Joseph Reardon. Directed by John Huston it is a reasonable film, though largely forgettable, and now only available as part of a DVD collection. Even the director has admitted he did not set the end up well, though to modern sensibilities it probably seems less shocking.
The Paul Newman Collection (Harper / The Drowning Pool / The Left-Handed Gun / The Mackintosh Man / Pocket Money / Somebody Up There Likes Me / The Young Philadelphians)

The Paul Newman Collection (Harper / The Drowning Pool / The Left-Handed Gun / The Mackintosh Man / Pocket Money / Somebody Up There Likes Me / The Young Philadelphians)

Amazon Price: $24.99 (as of 02/17/2012)Buy Now

Running Blind - the BBC miniseries

The trailer for Running blind

Created in 1979, Running Blind was a miniseries lasting for three episodes and 120 minutes. It appears to have disappeared into archive hell and no copies are believed to remain.
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The cheaper option

Try Ebay for a bargain.

Many copies of his work are still available second hand from earlier printings. If you are looking for a cheaper option, you might even find someone selling them as a bundle!
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More Thriller writers

Other lenses from this author

More lenses about thrillers.
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About the lensmaster

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Aviation, IT, History, Gaming, I'm interested in just about anything! I made the Squidoo Top 100 Club in June 2009. My first novel, "Fire Season", is now out, and I have a new title, "The Docks", out in Nov 2011.

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