First edition | |
Author | Desmond Bagley |
---|---|
Language | English |
Genre | Thriller |
Publisher | Collins |
Publication date | 1968 |
Publication place | United Kingdom |
Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
Pages | 290 pgs |
Preceded by | Landslide |
Followed by | The Spoilers |
The Vivero Letter is a first-person narrative novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1968. [1] It was also made into a film in 1998 of the same name starring Robert Patrick, Fred Ward and Chiara Caselli.[ citation needed ]
Jeremy Wheale's brother is murdered by criminals attempting to steal a family heirloom: a 16th-century gold tray. In attempting to find out what was so special about the tray that someone would kill for it, he discovers that it contains a map. Wheale pursues the trail from Devon, England to Mexico and finally to the tropical rain forests of the Yucatán Peninsula, where he joins with two archaeologists to locate a legendary hoard of gold. This hoard comes from Uaxuanoc, the centuries-old lost city of the Mayas. However, the Mafia are on the trail of Wheale as well as the Chicleros, a deadly group of convict mercenaries, and Wheale is uncertain that he can even trust his two archaeologist friends.
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.
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died or were unable to return for other reasons before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards might then be uncovered much later by metal detector hobbyists, members of the public, and archaeologists.
The Ziwiye hoard is a treasure hoard containing gold, silver, and ivory objects, also including a few gold pieces with the shape of human face, that was uncovered on in Ziwiyeh plat near Saqqez city in Kurdistan Province, Iran, in 1947.
John Desmond Clark was a British archaeologist noted particularly for his work on prehistoric Africa.
Pietroasele is a commune in Buzău County, Muntenia, Romania, known for its vineyards. The name means "the rockies". The commune is composed of six villages: Câlțești, Clondiru de Sus, Dara, Pietroasa Mică, Pietroasele and Șarânga. It became famous with the discovery in 1837 of the Pietroasa Treasure composed of several pieces of gold and precious stones. The Romanian historian Alexandru Odobescu wrote a book on the archaeological discovery.
The Hoxne Hoard is the largest hoard of late Roman silver and gold discovered in Britain, and the largest collection of gold and silver coins of the fourth and fifth centuries found anywhere within the former Roman Empire. It was found by Eric Lawes, a metal detectorist in the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England in 1992. The hoard consists of 14,865 Roman gold, silver, and bronze coins and approximately 200 items of silver tableware and gold jewellery. The objects are now in the British Museum in London, where the most important pieces and a selection of the rest are on permanent display. In 1993, the Treasure Valuation Committee valued the hoard at £1.75 million.
The Pietroasele Treasure found in Pietroasele, Buzău, Romania, in 1837, is a late fourth-century Gothic treasure that included some twenty-two objects of gold, among the most famous examples of the polychrome style of Migration Period art.
The Golden Keel is the debut novel by English author Desmond Bagley, first published in 1963. Written in the first person narrative, the introductory biography of the protagonist is closely patterned after that of the author.
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.
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.
William Grant Bagley was a historian specializing in the history of the Western United States and the American Old West. Bagley wrote about the fur trade, overland emigration, American Indians, military history, frontier violence, railroads, mining, and Utah and the Mormons.
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 Tightrope Men is a novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1973.
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.
Night of Error is a First-person narrative novel written by English author Desmond Bagley, and was first published in 1984. The manuscript was completed in 1962; however, Bagley desired to make revisions and never pursued publication. After his death in 1983, the work was completed using revisionary notes he had left behind, and was published posthumously by his widow.
The Staffordshire Hoard is the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold and silver metalwork yet found. It consists of almost 4,600 items and metal fragments, amounting to a total of 5.1 kg (11 lb) of gold, 1.4 kg (3 lb) of silver and some 3,500 pieces of garnet cloisonné jewellery. It is described by the historian Cat Jarman as "possibly the finest collection of early medieval artefacts ever discovered".
The Mercian Trail is the name given to a group of museums and historical sites in the West Midlands of England that will be used to display objects from the Staffordshire Hoard. The trail is organised by a partnership of Lichfield District, Tamworth Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Birmingham City Council, and features the following locations:
Bagley Junction is an unincorporated community located in the town of Porterfield, Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States.
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.