The Xanadu Talisman is the title of an action-adventure/spy novel by Peter O'Donnell that was first published in 1981, featuring the character Modesty Blaise. This was the tenth book to feature the character. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
Plot summary
Ms. Pendergast, a middle-aged nanny operating the criminal force "El Mico", may not be your typical villain. But in the world of Modesty Blaise, who is? She and her two young charges, Jeremy and Dominic Silk, have made themselves the most potent underworld force in North Africa. In their latest triumph, they've stolen "The Object" an item of immense value. However, they've also suffered their greatest setback - Bernard Martel, a top lieutenant, has double-crossed them and stolen it back.
Pursued and close to death, a delirious Bernard reveals to Modesty a series of obscure clues, setting her and Willie on a quest to recover The Object and rescue Tracy, Bernard's wife. From thrilling Tangier, to mysterious Marrekesh, to the grandeur of the High Atlas Mountains, Blaise and Garvin stop at nothing in one of their most riveting and action-packed adventures yet.
The caper story is a subgenre of crime fiction. The typical caper story involves one or more crimes perpetrated by the main characters in full view of the reader. The actions of police or detectives attempting to prevent or solve the crimes may also be chronicled, but are not the main focus of the story.
Modesty Blaise is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talents and a criminal past, and her trusty sidekick Willie Garvin. It was adapted into films in 1966, 1982, and 2003, and from 1965 onwards, 11 novels and two short-story collections were written.
Peter O'Donnell was an English writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of Modesty Blaise, an action heroine/undercover trouble-shooter. He was also an award-winning gothic historical romance novelist who wrote under the female pseudonym Madeleine Brent, in 1978, his novel Merlin's Keep won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Willie Garvin is a character in the long-running British comic strip series Modesty Blaise, as well as a series of novels based upon the strip. The character was created by Peter O'Donnell in 1963 and, alongside Modesty Blaise, made his first appearance in the story La Machine, appearing for the first time in strip no. 21. Willie Garvin also appears in every volume of the Modesty Blaise book series.
My Name Is Modesty is a 2004 American action film directed by Scott Spiegel. Quentin Tarantino executive produced. It was released direct-to-DVD. The film is based on the early years of the character Modesty Blaise, a former crime boss turned secret agent. This is the third production that brings Peter O'Donnell's character Modesty Blaise to the screen, following the feature film Modesty Blaise with Monica Vitti in 1966 and the TV pilot Modesty Blaise with Ann Turkel in 1982.
Cobra Trap is the title of a short story collection by Peter O'Donnell featuring his action/adventure heroine Modesty Blaise. The book was published in 1996, and is the thirteenth, and final book in the Modesty Blaise series which began in 1965. Cobra Trap was released 11 years after the previous book in the series, Dead Man's Handle. It was the final book to be written by O'Donnell before his death in 2010.
Pieces of Modesty is a short story collection by Peter O'Donnell featuring his action heroine, Modesty Blaise, first published in 1972. It was O'Donnell's first such collection of stories.
I, Lucifer is an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell first published in 1967, featuring the character of Modesty Blaise, whom O'Donnell had created for a comic strip several years earlier. It was the third novel to feature the character.
The Silver Mistress is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in the United Kingdom in 1973. It was the seventh book of adventures featuring O'Donnell's comic strip heroine, Modesty Blaise.
Axa is a newspaper fantasy comic strip and later comic book featuring the eponymous lead character, which was published in British daily tabloid The Sun from 1978 to 1986. It was created and illustrated by Romero and scripted by Donne Avenell.
Modesty Blaise is an action-adventure/spy fiction novel by Peter O'Donnell first published in 1965, featuring the character Modesty Blaise, whom O'Donnell had created for a comic strip in 1963.
Sabre-Tooth is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1966, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for the comic strip of the title. It was the second novel to feature the character, though technically it was the first original novel as the preceding volume was a novelisation of a movie screenplay.
A Taste for Death is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1969, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for a comic strip several years earlier. It was the fourth novel to feature the character. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
The Impossible Virgin is the title of the fifth novel chronicling the adventures of crime lord-turned-secret agent Modesty Blaise. The novel was published in 1971 and was written by Peter O'Donnell, who had created the character for a comic strip in the early 1960s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
Last Day in Limbo is the title of the eighth novel chronicling the adventures of crime lord-turned-secret agent Modesty Blaise. The novel was first published in 1976 and was written by Peter O'Donnell, who had created the character for a comic strip in the early 1960s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom by Souvenir Press.
Dragon's Claw is the title of an action-adventure novel by Peter O'Donnell which was first published in 1978, featuring the character Modesty Blaise which O'Donnell had created for a comic strip in the early 1960s. It was the ninth book to feature the character.
Dead Man's Handle is the title of a 1985 action-adventure and spy novel written by English writer Peter O'Donnell. It was the eleventh and final full-length novel chronicling the adventures of O'Donnell's comic strip creation, Modesty Blaise. Although O'Donnell continued to write the comic strip, he did not write any further Modesty Blaise prose until the 1996 volume, Cobra Trap, which consisted of short stories. The opening chapters of the novel are set prior to the novel and comic strip and constitute the "origin story" of Blaise's partner, Willie Garvin.
Modesty Blaise is a 1966 British spy-fi comedy film directed by Joseph Losey, produced by Joseph Janni, and loosely based on the popular comic strip Modesty Blaise by Peter O'Donnell, who co-wrote the original story upon which Evan Jones and Harold Pinter based their screenplay. It stars Monica Vitti as "Modesty", opposite Terence Stamp as Willie Garvin and Dirk Bogarde as her nemesis Gabriel. The cast also includes Harry Andrews, Michael Craig, Alexander Knox, Rossella Falk, Clive Revill, and Tina Aumont. The film's music was composed by Johnny Dankworth and the theme song, Modesty, sung by pop duo David and Jonathan. It was Vitti's first English-speaking role.
Modesty Blaise was a 1982 American-produced one-hour television pilot produced for the ABC Network and based upon the comic strip Modesty Blaise, created by Peter O'Donnell.
Michelle Sy is an American film producer and executive producer. She started her career as a production assistant, working on films such as Good Will Hunting and The Mighty. Later on in her career she moved into producing films herself. Her most successful film to date is Finding Neverland; a J. M. Barrie biographical film made in 2004. Other works include 2007 film Fan-Demanium and 2004's My Name Is Modesty: A Modesty Blaise Adventure. In addition, 2002 release Stolen Summer, which Sy produced, was the first independent film stemming from Project Greenlight, a film competition made as a TV series with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Sy appeared in the series, reflecting its "behind the scenes" nature. Sy is producing a biopic about late musician Jeff Buckley with the singer's mother, Mary Guibert, which as of May 2008 is in the scripting stage.
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