Gérard de Villiers: Difference between revisions
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'''Gérard de Villiers''' ({{IPA-fr|ʒeʁaʁ də vilje|lang}}; |
'''Gérard de Villiers''' ({{IPA-fr|ʒeʁaʁ də vilje|lang}}; (8 December 1929 — 31 October 2013) was a French writer, [[journalist]] and [[editing|editor]]. His [[Son Altesse Sérénissime|''SAS'']] series of [[Spy fiction|spy novel]]s have been bestsellers, according to the ''New York Times'', "His works have been translated and are especially popular in Germany, Russia, Turkey, and Japan. S.A.S. series has sold about 100 million copies worldwide, which would make it one of the top-selling series in history, on a par with [[Ian Fleming]]'s James Bond books. S.A.S. may be the longest-running fiction series ever written by a single author."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/magazine/gerard-de-villiers-the-spy-novelist-who-knows-too-much.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 |title=The Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much |work=[[New York Times]] |author=Robert F. Worth |date=January 30, 2013 |accessdate=January 31, 2013}}</ref> |
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==Life== |
==Life== |
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Revision as of 16:59, 1 November 2013
Gérard de Villiers (French: [ʒeʁaʁ də vilje]; (8 December 1929 — 31 October 2013) was a French writer, journalist and editor. His SAS series of spy novels have been bestsellers, according to the New York Times, "His works have been translated and are especially popular in Germany, Russia, Turkey, and Japan. S.A.S. series has sold about 100 million copies worldwide, which would make it one of the top-selling series in history, on a par with Ian Fleming's James Bond books. S.A.S. may be the longest-running fiction series ever written by a single author."[1]
Life
Villiers is the son of Jacques Adam de Villiers and a graduate of Sciences Po Paris, France's most reputed and highly selective Political Science university, as well as the ESJ Paris (Superior School of Journalism in Paris).
After working as a foreign correspondent until 1965, he started writing spy novels. He is the author of the spy novel series SAS, beginning in 1965, which tells the adventures of the Austrian prince and CIA agent Malko Linge. The title SAS is a play on initials and acronyms: Son Altesse sérénissime (SAS) is the French version of "His Serene Highness" (HSH). In addition, the British Special Air Service (SAS) is the principal special forces unit of the British Army.
As of 2007, Villiers had written 171 novels of the franchise, selling more than 150 million books, which are popular in Germany, Russia, Turkey and Japan, as well as in France. He has published as many as four per year.[2] Usually the locale of the story is featured in the title (as in, Les amazones de Pyongyang' or Putsch à Ouagadougou). Villiers is well-known for writing novels in tune with contemporary events, such as wars or terrorist threats. He has frequently visited theatres of operation, doing research and interviews to ground his stories with accurate facts.[2]
His mastery of political intrigue has sometimes led him to publish books that anticipate crisis events. These included portrayals of the assassinations of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Due to tips from spies, he was nearly finished writing SAS: The Hunt for Carlos when the assassin was captured.[3]
Film adaptations
- Victims of Vice (Brigade mondaine), directed by Jacques Scandelari (1978)
- Miles O'Keefe played Malko in S.A.S. à San Salvador (1983).
- Richard Young starred in Eye of the Widow (1989), directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.
Notes
- ^ Robert F. Worth (January 30, 2013). "The Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much". New York Times. Retrieved January 31, 2013.
- ^ a b Hugh Schofield, "Get out of Afghanistan: France's million-selling spy writer", Sunday Times Online, Sri Lanka, 7 October 2007, accessed 4 July 2011
- ^ Alan Riding, "France's James Bond Gets the Scoop on the Hunt for Carlos", New York Times, 18 September 1994, accessed 4 July 2011
References
- Christophe Deloire, « Gérard de Villiers : Le mercenaire du polar », Le Point, January 13, 2005
External links
- "Looking desperately for spies in Macau: from golden guns to nukes", Macau Business
- "The Spy Novelist Who Knows Too Much" by Robert F. Worth, New York Times
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