Codename Villanelle

Last updated

Codename Villanelle
Codename Villanelle book cover.jpg
First edition cover
Author Luke Jennings
LanguageEnglish
Genre
Publisher John Murray
Publication date
29 June 2017
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media type
Pages224
ISBN 978-1-473-66638-2
Followed by Killing Eve: No Tomorrow  

Codename Villanelle is a 2017 thriller novel by British author Luke Jennings. A compilation of four serial e-book novellas published from 2014 to 2016, the novel was published in the United Kingdom by John Murray as an e-book on 29 June 2017, [1] followed by hardcover and paperback versions on 24 August 2017. [2] [3] Codename Villanelle is the basis of the BBC America/BBC Three television series Killing Eve (2018–2022).

Contents

Premise

Villanelle is a Russian orphan who, after murdering the killers of her gangster father, is rescued from prison and trained as a hitwoman by a shadowy group called The Twelve. [4] Codename Villanelle has been summarized as pitting "heartless female assassin" Villanelle against "dowdy but dogged MI5 agent" Eve Polastri, the two women "battling it out at a distance" as Polastri seeks clues at a series of killing sites. [5]

Character background

Jennings stated that he based Villanelle's character on Idoia López Riaño, a hitwoman for Basque nationalist paramilitary group ETA who was convicted of murdering 23 people in the 1990s. [6] Jennings described Riaño—nicknamed La Tigresa (The Tigress) for her "legendary sexual prowess"—as a "psychopath" and "completely without empathy." [6]

Novella series

Codename Villanelle is a compilation of four serial Kindle edition novellas:

Villanelle

"Men or women who are born, as you were, without a conscience or the ability to feel guilt ... without you, without predators—people who can think the unthinkable and act without fear or hesitation—the world stands still. You are an evolutionary necessity."

Villanelle's handler Konstantin
Codename Villanelle chapter 1

  1. Codename Villanelle (published 4 February 2014; 36 pages). Star linguistics student Oxana Vorontsova's multiple brutal murders attract the notice of a secret global power elite, which recruits her as an assassin with codename Villanelle and rewards her with a luxurious lifestyle. [7]
  2. Villanelle: Hollowpoint (published 3 August 2014; 56 pages). Villanelle's pattern of assassinations draws the attention of a highly intelligent MI5 agent, Eve Polastri, who pursues Villanelle relentlessly. [8]
  3. Villanelle: Shanghai (published 3 February 2015; 49 pages). The "beautiful and sexually predatory... psychopath" Villanelle's next assignment takes her to Shanghai, where, regardless of personal cost to herself, Polastri fiercely pursues the assassin. [9]
  4. Odessa (published 14 June 2016; 48 pages). As Villanelle prepares to break into a fortified mansion in Odesa, Ukraine, where her mentor is held hostage, a breakthrough leads agent Polastri in determined pursuit. [10]

Critical response

In The Times , John Dugdale likened Villanelle's character to the title character from Luc Besson's 1990 film La Femme Nikita —a former teenage killer transformed into a trained assassin. [11] Dugdale further likened author Luke Jennings to James Bond author Ian Fleming: "at once tongue-in-cheek and serious, paying obsessive attention to the details of both Villanelle's chichi lifestyle and her lethal assignments." [11] Though calling "Jennings' version of 007"—Villanelle—"great fun", Dugdale wrote that the "imperfectly integrated" novella series was repetitious and lacked a "proper denouement". [11]

Jeff Noon wrote in The Spectator that the book "reads a little like Terry Hayes’s I Am Pilgrim in miniature". [5] Noon added that Jennings focused more on "hunting and killing" than on character building and that the book, though having final pages that are thrilling, ends without final resolution. [5] Similarly, trade magazine Publishers Weekly praised the book as an "exceptional spy thriller" with "superior prose" and "cracker jack plot", noting its "wide-open ending points to more to come in the struggle between these two resourceful antagonists". [4]

Television adaptation

Killing Eve was created by British actor and writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge and produced by Sid Gentle Films Ltd for BBC America. [12] In addition to writing for the television series, Waller-Bridge was chosen as executive producer with Sally Woodward Gentle and Lee Morris. [12] The television series stars Sandra Oh as Polastri and Jodie Comer as Villanelle. [13] The show was renewed for a second series before its series 1 debut on 8 April 2018, [13] then renewed for a third series the day after the premiere of series 2. [14] The fourth and final season of the show premiered in 2022.

Sequels

Due to the success of the television adaptation, a sequel, [15] Killing Eve: No Tomorrow , was published on 25 October 2018. [16] The third and final volume, Killing Eve: Die for Me , was released on 9 April 2020. [17] [18] As both were published after the premiere of the TV series, the new books carry the Killing Eve branding.

Literary rights

Publishing industry magazine The Bookseller reported in April 2017 that John Murray bought the novel just before the London Book Fair, subsequently selling North American rights to Josh Kendall at Mulholland Books, an imprint of Little, Brown and Company, during the fair. [12] World English rights were acquired from Patrick Walsh at PEW Literary Agency. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Oh</span> Canadian and American actress (born 1971)

Sandra Miju Oh is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in the HBO comedy series Arliss (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang in the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy (2005–2014), and Eve Polastri in the BBC America spy thriller series Killing Eve (2018–2022). She has received two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. In 2019, Time magazine named Oh one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Eisler</span> American novelist (born 1964)

Barry Mark Eisler is an American novelist. He is the author of two thriller series, the first featuring anti-hero John Rain, a half-Japanese, half-American former soldier turned freelance assassin, and a second featuring black ops soldier Ben Treven. Eisler also writes about politics and language on his blog Heart of the Matter, and at the blogs CHUD, Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, MichaelMoore.com, The Smirking Chimp, and Truthout.

Fictional portrayals of psychopaths, or sociopaths, are some of the most notorious in film and literature but may only vaguely or partly relate to the concept of psychopathy, which is itself used with varying definitions by mental health professionals, criminologists and others. The character may be identified as a diagnosed/assessed psychopath or sociopath within the fictional work itself, or by its creator when discussing their intentions with the work, which might be distinguished from opinions of audiences or critics based only on a character appearing to show traits or behaviors associated with an undefined popular stereotype of psychopathy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colleen Hoover</span> American author (born 1979)

Colleen Hoover is an American author who primarily writes novels in the romance and young adult fiction genres. She is best known for her 2016 romance novel It Ends with Us. Many of her works were self-published before being picked up by a publishing house. As of October 2022, Hoover has sold approximately 20 million books. She was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.

Sarah Janet Maas, known as Sarah J. Maas is an American fantasy author known for her fantasy series Throne of Glass,A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City. As of 2024, she has sold over 38 million copies of her books and her work has been translated into 38 languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jodie Comer</span> English actress (born 1993)

Jodie Comer is an English actress. She began her career in an episode of The Royal Today in 2008. Comer gained recognition for appearing in the series My Mad Fat Diary (2013–2015) and Doctor Foster (2015–2017), and starred in the drama miniseries Thirteen (2016).

<i>Killing Eve</i> British spy thriller television series (2018–2022)

Killing Eve is a British spy thriller television series, produced in the United Kingdom by Sid Gentle Films for BBC America and BBC Three. The series follows Eve Polastri, a British intelligence investigator tasked with capturing psychopathic assassin Villanelle. As the chase progresses, the two develop a mutual obsession. Based on the Villanelle novel series by Luke Jennings, each of the show's series is led by a different female head writer. The first series had Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the head writer, the second series Emerald Fennell, the third series Suzanne Heathcote, and the fourth series Laura Neal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nice Face</span> 1st episode of the 1st season of Killing Eve

"Nice Face" is the first episode of the BBC America television show Killing Eve. It aired on 8 April 2018 in the United States and 15 September 2018 in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'll Deal with Him Later</span> 2nd episode of the 1st season of Killing Eve

"I'll Deal with Him Later" is the second episode of the BBC America television show Killing Eve. It aired on 15 April 2018 in the United States and 22 September 2018 in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don't I Know You?</span> 3rd episode of the 1st season of Killing Eve

"Don't I Know You?" is the third episode of the BBC America television show Killing Eve. It aired on 22 April 2018 in the United States and 29 September 2018 in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Have a Thing About Bathrooms</span> 5th episode of the 1st season of Killing Eve

"I Have a Thing About Bathrooms" is the fifth episode of the BBC America television show Killing Eve. It aired on 6 May 2018 in the United States and 13 October 2018 in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villanelle (character)</span> Fictional assassin

Villanelle, birth name Oxana Vorontsova or Oksana Astankova is a fictional character in Luke Jennings' novel Codename Villanelle (2018), its sequels Killing Eve: No Tomorrow (2019) and Killing Eve: Die For Me (2020), and the BBC America television series adaptation Killing Eve (2018–2022) in which she is portrayed by English actress Jodie Comer. She is a psychopathic assassin who works for a crime syndicate called The Twelve, and the archenemy of British intelligence agent Eve Polastri. Their mutually obsessive relationship is the main focus of both the novels and the TV series. The character and Comer's performance have received universal critical acclaim, with Villanelle widely being considered the show's breakout character and one of the most popular and acclaimed characters on television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eve Polastri</span> Fictional character from the 2018 novel Codename Villanelle

Eve Polastri is a fictional agent working for British intelligence, and the titular character of the novel and television series Killing Eve.

Luke Jennings is a British author, dance critic and journalist.

Sorry Baby (<i>Killing Eve</i>) 4th episode of the 1st season of Killing Eve

"Sorry Baby" is the fourth episode of the BBC America television show Killing Eve. It aired on 29 April 2018 in the United States and 6 October 2018 in the United Kingdom.

<i>Killing Eve: No Tomorrow</i> 2018 novel by Luke Jennings

Killing Eve: No Tomorrow is a 2018 thriller novel by British author Luke Jennings and the second installment in the Killing Eve series, following Codename Villanelle (2017). It was published in the United Kingdom by John Murray on 25 October 2018. The novels are the basis of the BBC America television series Killing Eve (2018–2022).

A villanelle is a nineteen-line poetic form consisting of five tercets followed by a quatrain.

<i>Killing Eve: Die for Me</i> 2020 novel by Luke Jennings

Killing Eve: Die for Me is a 2020 thriller novel by British author Luke Jennings. It is the third and final installment in the Killing Eve series, following Codename Villanelle (2017) and Killing Eve: No Tomorrow (2018). The novel was published in the United Kingdom by John Murray as an e-book on 9 April 2020, followed by hardcover and paperback versions on 11 June and 12 November 2020, respectively. The novels are the basis of the BBC America television series Killing Eve (2018–2022).

Idoia López Riaño is a former ETA assassin nicknamed "La Tigresa" for her "sexual prowess". She was jailed in the 1990s for a string of murders for the Basque terror group.

References

  1. ↑ Killing Eve: Codename Villanelle: The basis for the BAFTA-winning Killing Eve TV series (Killing Eve series Book 1) – Kindle Edition. United Kingdom. ASIN   B06XYQT7Z8.
  2. ↑ Codename Villanelle: The basis for Killing Eve, now a major BBC TV series (Killing Eve series) – Hardcover. United Kingdom. ASIN   1473666384.
  3. ↑ Codename Villanelle: The basis for Killing Eve, now a major BBC TV series (Killing Eve series) – Paperback. United Kingdom. ASIN   1473666392.
  4. 1 2 "Codename Villanelle". Publishers Weekly . 1 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Noon, Jeff (14 October 2017). "The best recent crime fiction reviewed". The Spectator . Archived from the original on 27 December 2017.
  6. 1 2 Harrison, Ellie (14 May 2020). "Killing Eve: The real-life 'psychopath' who murdered 23 people and inspired Villanelle character". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "Codename Villanelle (Villanelle #1)". Goodreads . Archived from the original on 20 April 2018.
  8. ↑ "Villanelle: Hollowpoint (Villanelle #2)". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Villanelle: Shanghai (Villanelle #3)". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "Odessa (Villanelle #4)". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Dugdale, John (17 September 2017). "Book review: Suburra by Carlo Bonini and Giancarlo De Cataldo; Yesterday by Felicia Yap; Ravenhill by John Steele; Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings". The Times . Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Cowdrey, Katherine (6 April 2017). "John Murray snaps up spy thriller first published as Kindle Single". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017.
  13. 1 2 Wittmer, Carrie (8 May 2018). "Killing Eve is a smart and seductive spy thriller that has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes". Business Insider . Archived from the original on 8 May 2018.
  14. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (8 April 2019). "'Killing Eve' Gets Season 3 Renewal — With New Showrunner". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 7 September 2019.
  15. ↑ Tolentino, Jia (27 May 2018). "The Pleasurable Patterns of the Killing Eve Season Finale". The New Yorker . Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.
  16. ↑ No Tomorrow: The basis for the BAFTA-winning Killing Eve TV series (Killing Eve series) – Hardcover. United Kingdom. ASIN   1473676568.
  17. ↑ Killing Eve: Die For Me: The basis for the BAFTA-winning Killing Eve TV series (Killing Eve series Book 2) – Kindle Edition. United Kingdom. ASIN   B07SC43MF6.
  18. ↑ Knight, Lewis (30 July 2019). "Will Killing Eve season 3 be the last? Books to end next year with Endgame". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.