The Liquidator (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Liquidator was the first novel written by John Gardner
and the first novel in his Boysie Oakes
series.
After publishing his autobiographical account of alcoholism
Spin the Bottle, Gardner decided to write a novel about governments killing people. Sending the first four chapters to his literary agent, Gardner's agent summoned him to London and told him the pretentious book was truly rubbish and suggested as he made a hash of drama perhaps he could try his hand at comedy. Inspired by the James Bond
series of Ian Fleming
novels and films, Gardner wrote his book with the character of Brian "Boysie" Oakes as an anti-Bond.
The success of the novel led to several more in the series, interest from MGM in a Boysie Oakes film series, with only The Liquidator
made in 1965 with Rod Taylor as Boysie. One of Gardner's Boysie Oakes short stories A Handful of Rice mentions an actor named "Roy Buster" that expressed Gardner's impressions of Taylor.
New York Times Book Review reviewer Anthony Boucher remarked "Gardner succeeds in having it both ways; he has written a clever parody which is also a genuinely satisfactory thriller"..
Sergeant Boysie Oakes kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn. Twenty years later Mostyn's memories have transformed Oakes (who is in reality cowardly and hedonistic) into a fearless master assassin though nothing could be further from the truth. Mostyn recruits Oakes into the Secret Service where after a training course he is given an enviable lifestyle. Oakes' function is to "liquidate" security risks for the State. Oakes hires a mild mannered professional assassin
to do his dirty work for him.
Going for a "dirty weekend" leads to Boysie being captured by enemy agents who involve him in an assassination plot.
John Gardner (thriller writer)
John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford...
and the first novel in his Boysie Oakes
Boysie Oakes
Boysie Oakes is fictional secret agent created by the British spy novelist John Gardner in 1964 at the height of the fictional spy mania. Oakes is a richly comic character who is inadvertently taken to be a tough, pitiless man of action and is thereupon recruited into a British spy agency...
series.
After publishing his autobiographical account of alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
Spin the Bottle, Gardner decided to write a novel about governments killing people. Sending the first four chapters to his literary agent, Gardner's agent summoned him to London and told him the pretentious book was truly rubbish and suggested as he made a hash of drama perhaps he could try his hand at comedy. Inspired by the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
series of Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
novels and films, Gardner wrote his book with the character of Brian "Boysie" Oakes as an anti-Bond.
The success of the novel led to several more in the series, interest from MGM in a Boysie Oakes film series, with only The Liquidator
The Liquidator (film)
The Liquidator is a 1965 MGM film starring Rod Taylor as Brian "Boysie" Oakes, Trevor Howard as his Intelligence Chief Mostyn and Jill St. John as Mostyn's secretary Iris MacIntosh. It was based on the first of a series of Boysie Oakes novels by John Gardner, The Liquidator.-Plot:The film follows...
made in 1965 with Rod Taylor as Boysie. One of Gardner's Boysie Oakes short stories A Handful of Rice mentions an actor named "Roy Buster" that expressed Gardner's impressions of Taylor.
New York Times Book Review reviewer Anthony Boucher remarked "Gardner succeeds in having it both ways; he has written a clever parody which is also a genuinely satisfactory thriller"..
Plot
In Paris in 1944 Tank CorpsTank Corps
Tank Corps may refer to:* Tank Corps, later Royal Tank Corps, early name of the Royal Tank Regiment* Tank Corps , a type of Red Army formation used up to World War II...
Sergeant Boysie Oakes kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn. Twenty years later Mostyn's memories have transformed Oakes (who is in reality cowardly and hedonistic) into a fearless master assassin though nothing could be further from the truth. Mostyn recruits Oakes into the Secret Service where after a training course he is given an enviable lifestyle. Oakes' function is to "liquidate" security risks for the State. Oakes hires a mild mannered professional assassin
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
to do his dirty work for him.
Going for a "dirty weekend" leads to Boysie being captured by enemy agents who involve him in an assassination plot.
External links
- The Liquidator (novel) http://www.trashfiction.co.uk/liquidator.html