Master of the Game (novel)
 The 1983 edition of Master Of The Game by Pan | |
| Author | Sidney Sheldon |
|---|---|
| Language | English, |
| Genre | Thriller, Novel |
| Publisher | Warner Books |
Publication date | 1982 |
| Publication place | United States |
Published in English | 1982 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback and Hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 06-8801-365-1 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Rage of Angels |
| Followed by | If Tomorrow Comes |
This article is about the book by Sidney Sheldon. For the mini-series, see Master of the Game(mini-series)
Master of the Game is a 1982 novel by Sidney Sheldon. The plot of the book spans four generations, and is based on the fictional lives of the Blackwell family. The book has won critical acclaim across the world. It debuted at number one on the New York Times Best Seller list and stayed there for almost three months. In total, it stayed on the bestseller list for 10 months.[1]
Publication History
The book is a major success, being translated to 13 languages,[2]and reprinted half a dozen times.
The first edition of Master Of The Games was published by a small publishing company named William Morrow And Co, in America. However, as more of the book is sold, it was published in other countries, such as the UK, by Pan and HarperCollins. The 1988 copy of Master Of The Game was published next, by Warner Books. In 1993, Master Of The Game was part of a omnibus edition by a publishing company named, Diamond Books, a company owned by HarperCollins. The other two books in the omnibus were Bloodline (1977) and Rage of Angels (1980), both major bestsellers by Sidney Sheldon.[1] The most recent version of the book, however, was printed in April 2005 by HarperCollins Ltd, despite most of Sheldon's books being printed by Warner Books.[3]
Background
The background to this novel is very accurate, with the author making slight adjustments to suit the theme of the story. The characters and events in this story is false, as Sheldon said in the "Acknowledgements" part, before the beginning of the story.
The characters and events in this novel is fictional. The background, however, is real and I am indebted to those who generously helped to fill it in for me. In a few instances, I have taken what I believe to be necessary dramatic license. Any legal or factual errors are mine alone.
- -Sidney Sheldon
Synopsis
The story is separated into seven sections,the prologue Kate 1982, Jamie 1883-1906, Kate and David 1906-1914, Kruger-Brent Ltd 1914-1945, Tony 1946-1950, Eve and Alexandra 1950-1975 and the epilogue Kate 1982
Characters
The list of characters to the book Master of the Game.
- Kate Blackwell/ McGregor - The main character to the story.
- Jamie McGregor/ Ian Travis - Kate Blackwell's father and creator of Kruger-Brent Ltd.
- Margaret "Maggie" McGregor/ Van Der Merwe - Wife of Jamie McGregor, mother of Kate Blackwell and daughter of Salomon Van Der Merwe.
- Banda - Best friend of Jamie McGregor and leader of a black movement.
- Salomon Van Der Merwe - Enemy of Jamie McGregor and father of Margaret McGregor.
- David Blackwell - Husband of Kate Blackwell
- Brad Rogers - Employee of Kruger-Brent Ltd
- Josephine O'Neill - David Blackwell's former lover
- Anthony "Tony" Blackwell - David and Kate Blackwell's son
- Dominique Masson - Tony Blackwell's former girlfriend
- Andre d'Usseau- Important art critic in Paris
- Marianne Hoffman - Tony Blackwell's wife and mother of Alexandra and Eve Blackwell
- Alexandra Blackwell/ Mellis - Daughter of Tony Blackwell, former wife of George Mellis and twin sister of Eve Blackwell
- Eve Blackwell - Daughter of Tony Blackwell and twin sister of Alexandra Blackwell/ Mellis
- George Mellis - A villain, former husband of Alexandra Blackwell, before he got murdered by Eve Blackwell. Comes from a rich family
- Dr. John Harley - The doctor of the Blackwell family.
- Dr. Keith Webster - A famous plastic surgeon and husband of Eve Blackwell
- Dr. Peter Templeton - A psychiatrist, husband of Alexandra Blackwell after Mellis died.
- Lieutenant Nick Pappas - The head detective working on the death of George Mellis.
- Robert Blackwell - Son of Alexandra and Peter Templeton.
Jamie 1883-1906
The first section is about Jamie McGregor, Kate's father.
Jamie was a very poor eighteen year old who left his family, in Scotland, to travel to the diamond field, in order to search for a better life. When he bought some prospecting equipment from Salomon Van der Merwe, a very rich and powerful man, he got cheated out of his remaining money and tortured and beaten. He swore revenge on Salomon Van Der Merwe. Jamie found out about a diamond field owned by Salomon so he began to plan how to steal the diamonds. He was helped by Banda, a black former slave of Salomon's who helps Jamie due to the fact that he wants revenge against Salomon, because Salomon raped Banda's 13-year-old sister, causing her death due to a miscarriage. After Jamie stole the diamonds, he got richer and much more powerful and he began to plan Salamon's downfall. He seduced Salomon's daughter, under another name and face, Ian Travis, and made her pregnant. This humiliated Salomon badly and lost him his business. Soon Salomon became bankrupt and was forced to sell the diamond field of Namib, not knowing that was the field that Jamie made his fortune from. After he sold the diamond field he lost the will to live and committed suicide.
Salomon's daughter, Margaret Van der Merwe, still loved Jamie despite him humiliating her father. Jamie paid her no attention until he realised he needs a son. He married her to get his son back. Soon after that, Margaret got pregnant again and gave birth to a girl named Kate. When his son got kidnapped and killed by workers who were unhappy about Jamie's companies working conditions; Jamie got a heart stroke and became a "vegetable". Jamie was taken care of by Margaret and died one year after the stroke.
Kate and David 1906-1914
This is the story of how Kate took over the company, of her childhood and infatuation towards David
The section starts off with the police hunting for Banda, who had escaped jail and was falsely convicted of killing a jail guard upon escape. Kate helped Banda escape the police and she was reprimanded by David, because he feared for the stability of the company if Kate was caught.
After Kate rescued Banda, we have a flashback into the past, in which Kate is a child. As a child, Kate was very mischievous, and often gets into fights with boys. She keeps on getting expelled from schools and keeps causing trouble. Finally, the principle of one of Kate's schools, found out that Kate was interested in animals. Later, she found out that Kate was interested in the animal's "fornication" David was the only one who could control Kate when she was young. She behaved superbly when he was around but acted like a devil when he wasn't.
After her mother's death from cancer, Kate became the official head of the company, although David was still running it. It was partly because of her mother's death that Kate becomes very determined to continue the company; as opposed to earlier when all she wanted to do was cause mischief. As opposed to boarding school, when she just messed around; when Kate went to business school she listened carefully, due to the fact that she wanted to make her company into one of the most powerful in the world.
After business school, she started to work in her new company. She meets Brad Rogers, a employee who will later play a big part in the development of her company.
Soon a massive problem occurred for Kate, causing both her private and public life to be shattered. David, the man she had loved since she was a teenager, has fallen in love with another woman. The only thing that stopped David from marrying the woman, Josephine O'Neil, was the fact that she refused to leave America for Klipdrift. Josephine's father, Tim O'Neil, solved the problem by asking David to join a frozen food company, he was creating. David was about to leave Kruger-Brent Ltd, for that new company, when Tim, unexpectantly, sold the patent for the invention to another company, Three Star Meat Packing Company for a huge sum of money. David rejoined Kruger-Brent Ltd. Unknown to David, Kate bought the Three Star Meat Packing Company, upon hearing of Tim O'Neil's invention. Six months after David rejoined the company, he and Kate got married, in a public ceremony, in Klipdrift.
Kruger-Brent Ltd 1914-1945
This is one of the shortest sections of this book, lasting only 20 pages. In this section, the main focus of the story has to do with the growing of Kruger-Brent Ltd into a massive billion dollar empire.
The section started off with Kate and David, after their wedding, having their honeymoon. After that, they heard news of a war coming up, over the heir of Austrian's throne getting assassinated. As WWI approaches, Kate wanted to make ammunitions and weapons for the Allied Forces, but David was firm against the idea. After David left to join the war, Kate decided to make ammunitions behind his back. Due to the manufacturing of weapons, Kruger-Brent Ltd grew to be one of the biggest businesses in the world. As the war ended, Kate began to grow more ambitious, changing the headquarters of the company to New York.
As she expanded her company, Kate suddenly fell ill, and was told she was going to have a baby. Suddenly, two months before the estimated due date of the baby, David was killed in a mining accident. The death was a huge mental and emotional blow to her, her baby came two months premature, an hour after she found out the news. She named him Anthony "Tony" Blackwell, after her father-in-law.
Tony always tried to live up to his mother's expectations, making him very tense and stutter when talking to her. As his mother gave him higher expectations, he realized that he wanted to be a painter, instead of following the business path. Kate was horrified, and persuaded Tony to take two years of business study, before he made his decision. Tony quit business school at the end of two years, intent on being a artist. He enrolled in a art school in Paris, and was suppose to go there on the fifteenth of December, 1941. Coincidentally, America got involved in the war eight days before the start of the school. As the war ended, Tony remained adamant about being an artist and went to Paris.
Tony 1946-1950
This section of the story explains Tony's life and his relationship with his mother, Kate Blackwell.
The section starts off in Paris, with Tony recently enrolled into one of the most prestigious art schools in the world. As he lived in Paris, he rented a cheap apartment, despite the fact that his mother owns several penthouse apartments there. As the years went on, living in Paris, he met a young model named Dominique Masson and fell in love with her. Soon after that, he managed to paint some exquisite paintings and a small gallery offered him a showing in their gallery. He accepted, and it turned out to be a disastrous experience for him. Andre d'Usseau, one of the best art critics in the world, came to the art gallery and, later, wrote about how ugly and distasteful the paintings were.
After that major blow, Tony quit painting and went back to working for Kruger-Brent Ltd. It was revealed that d'Usseau was paid, by Kate Blackwell, to comment on the paintings in such a bad manner. A few years later, by odd coincidence, Tony saw a picture of Dominique, in a fashion magazine. As he tried to find Dominique, (Tony left her in Paris), he found out that she is working for a model agency for his mother. He also found out that Kate actually hired her to be his mistress. After this huge revelation, Tony confronted his mother and told her to stay out of his personal life.
Soon, disaster strikes in Africa for Kate. Banda has been killed in a prison break. He was caught, trying to rally the black movement in South Africa. Kate made a vow to never come to South Africa again after Banda's death.
Kate wanted to expand Kruger-Brent Ltd, despite it being a huge company already. Brad Rogers soon found two very powerful companies that could increase the company's profits. Both of those companies, Frederick Hoffman's International Technology and Charlie Wyatt's Wyatt Oil & Tools, aren't for sale but Kate is determined to acquire at least one of them. She realized that she could only acquire the companies if Tony help her and she lured him to her annual party, in order to seduce one of the daughters of the heads of the companies. Tony thought that Kate was going for the Wyatt company, so he fell in love with Marianne Hoffman and married her. It later turned out that Kate was after International Technology.
Problem arises for Kate again when she was told by the family doctor, Dr. John Harley, that Marianne couldn't have children, because of a berry aneurysm, which could kill her if she become pregnant. Kate persuaded Marianne to keep it a secret from Tony and to ignore Dr. Harley's advice. Soon later, Marianne became pregnant and refused to have an abortion. Eight months after the start of the pregnancy, Marianne was rushed off to the hospital. Tony, while waiting, met Dominique again, and was told that d'Usseau was paid by his mother to write bad comments about his paintings. A few minutes later, he was told by Dr. Harley, that Marianne has died because she and Kate didn't heed his advice. Tony rushed to the house to find Kate and shot her with a gun.
Eve and Alexandra 1950-1975
Blurb
For business tycoon Kate Blackwell, power and success in a man's world have become a deadly game - a game of which she is the master. Now ninety, Kate is confident her dynasty will prosper - but will anyone ever know how murder and madness were the price of that success. Throughout her life, she has manipulated events with the skill of a consummate player. But even Kate Blackwell cannot win on every score...
Awards And Praise
- "A master storyteller at the top of the game."
-USA Today [4]
- "Compulsively readable...Any writer who can get his audience to ask breathlessly, 'What next?' needs no help from this or any other envious reviewer."
-New York Times Book Review [4]
- "The title of this book is an apt description of the author. In the business of creating hard-to-put-down bestsellers, Sidney Sheldon is indeed the master of the game."
-Worchester Sunday Telegram [5]
- Debut at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for 11 weeks.[1]
Film And TV
A TV mini series was made about Master Of The Game and was aired in 1984. It starred Dyan Cannon as Kate Blackwell.[6] The tv series was a success, getting nominated for a Emmy. [7]
Tagline
- 3 ruthless people. 3 compelling stories. 3 powerful films. Now on video. Sidney Sheldon's "Master of the Game" Trilogy.[8]
- They tamed a continent, built an empire and utterly destroyed everybody who stood in their way.[8]
Historical And Cultural References
- The first section of the book mentions De Beers, trying to take over the company. De Beers in reality, is the biggest diamond company in the world, controlling 80% of the world's diamond sales.[9] Also in Eve And Alexandria , Kate Blackwell quoted Cecil Rhodes' saying "So little done-so much to do." Cecil Rhodes was the founder of De Beers. [10][11]
- One of the main places the book mentions is Klipdrift. Klipdrift was a former name for Barkley West but it was changed from Klipdrift upon the discovery of diamonds, long before Jamie McGregor got there. Apart from this error, the information of Klipdrift is accurate.[12][13]
- Banda's tribe, Barolong, is a real South African tribe. Banda, himself, has some historical origins, despite the fact that he is fictional. He is assumed to have been a leader for the ANC, although the story never said which movement he was part of.
- The information about the prison camps in the Boer War and about the harsh conditions of being a prisoner of war is correct and the number of casualties is very accurate (34,000 Boers died).[14]
- In WWI businesses did gain profit selling weaponry, although Kruger-Brent Ltd, being a fictional company, wasn't one of the top providers.[15]
See Also
References
Text
- Master Of The Game by Sidney Sheldon.
- The Other Side Of Me by Sidney Sheldon.
External Links
- SidneySheldon.com | Bookshelf
- Information on Master Of The Game from Amazon
- Publishing History of Master Of The Game
- Reviews of the book
- Brief overview of Master of the Game
- Master Of The Game debuts at No. 1
- Sidney Sheldon timeline
Notes
- ^ a b c Master Of The Game debuts at No. 1.
- ^ Languages published for Master of the Game
- ^ 2005 Edition of Master Of The Game
- ^ a b Quotes from Hachette Book Group
- ^ Critical praise for Sidney Sheldon
- ^ * Master of the Game at IMDb
- ^ Master Of The Game's Emmy nomination
- ^ a b Master of the Game (mini-series) taglines
- ^ Diamond, Gold And South Africa
- ^ The life of Cecil John Rhodes
- ^ The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power by Robert I. Rotberg.
- ^ Short description of Barkley West
- ^ Short history Of Barkley West
- ^ Second Boer War
- ^ War profiteering