Tobias George Smollett was a Scottish novelist, surgeon, critic and playwright. He was best known for picaresque novels such as The Adventures of Roderick Random (1748), The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle (1751) and The Expedition of Humphry Clinker (1771), which influenced later novelists, including Charles Dickens. His novels were liberally altered by contemporary printers; an authoritative edition of each was edited by Dr O. M. Brack Jr and others.
Desmond Bagley was an English journalist and novelist known mainly for a series of bestselling thrillers. He and fellow British writers such as Hammond Innes and Alistair MacLean set conventions for the genre: a tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary hero pitted against villains determined to sow destruction and chaos for their own ends.
Mark Bagley is an American comics artist. He has worked for Marvel Comics on such titles as The Amazing Spider-Man, Thunderbolts, New Warriors, Venom and Ultimate Spider-Man and for DC Comics on Justice League of America, Batman, and Trinity.
Sir Nathaniel William Wraxall, 1st Baronet was an English author and politician.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain is a written collection of reminiscences, the majority of which were dictated during the last few years of the life of American author Mark Twain (1835–1910) and left in typescript and manuscript at his death. The Autobiography comprises a collection of anecdotes and ruminations rather than a conventional autobiography. Twain never compiled the writings and dictations into a publishable form in his lifetime. Despite indications from Twain that he did not want his autobiography to be published for a century, he serialized selected chapters during his lifetime; in addition, various compilations were published during the 20th century. However, it was not until 2010 that the first volume of a comprehensive three-volume collection, compiled and edited by The Mark Twain Project of the Bancroft Library at University of California, Berkeley, was published.
Prof Otto Martin Torell HFRSE was a Swedish naturalist and geologist.
Joseph Henry Delaney was an English author best known for his children's dark fantasy series, Spook's, inspired by the folklore, history and geography of Lancashire. The series has been published in 30 countries, achieving sales of over 4.5 million copies.
Bahama Crisis is a first-person narrative thriller novel by English author Desmond Bagley, first published in 1982. It was completed by May 1980 following a holiday with his wife in the Bahamas taken late in 1979.
The Enemy is a first person narrative espionage thriller novel by English author Desmond Bagley, first published in 1977. In 2001 it was made into a movie starring Roger Moore, Luke Perry and Olivia d'Abo.
Flyaway is a first person narrative thriller novel by English author Desmond Bagley, first published in 1978. It introduces Max Stafford as protagonist, who would later appear in Bagley's novel, Windfall.
Windfall is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1982. It was the last of his works to be published within his lifetime. This novel is one of the few times Desmond Bagley reintroduces a prior protagonist - Max Stafford - in a second novel.
The Snow Tiger is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1975. The sub-title of the book quotes the ski pioneer Mathias Zdarsky: "Snow is not a wolf in sheep's clothing – it is a tiger in lamb's clothing".
The Tightrope Men is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1973.
The Vivero Letter is a first-person narrative novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1968. It was also made into a film in 1998 of the same name starring Robert Patrick, Fred Ward and Chiara Caselli.
The Spoilers is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1969 with a cover by Norman Weaver.
The Freedom Trap is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1971 with a cover by Norman Weaver. It was loosely based on the escape of George Blake from prison five years before. In 1973 it was made into a film entitled The Mackintosh Man, starring Paul Newman.
Juggernaut is a first-person narrative novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1985. This was Bagley's last novel, and as he died in 1983, it was published posthumously by his widow.
Posthumous publication refers to publishing of creative work after the creator's death. This can be because the creator died during the publishing process or before the work was completed. It can also be because the creator chose to delay publication until after their death. Posthumous publication can be viewed as controversial when people believe the author would not have wanted the work made public or would not have approved the version that was published.
Sydney Hobart Ball was an American geologist and mining engineer. Educated at the University of Wisconsin, Ball spent his early career in public service. In 1907 he left the US to prospect for minerals in the Belgian Congo for the Forminière company. Ball discovered the first part of the Congo-Angola diamond field, which proved a valuable source of revenue. Returning to America, Ball established a private practice and acted as consultant to a number of public bodies.
Domino Island is a first-person narrative novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published posthumously in 2019. Originally drafted in 1972, the novel was discovered by Philip Eastwood in 2017 among the author's archived papers at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center in Boston, USA. Eastwood found a typed first draft with handwritten annotations by Bagley and his original editor, Bob Knittel. There was also correspondence between the two discussing plans for the second draft. The author and journalist Michael Davies acted as "curator" to bring the novel to publication.
