Many a writer has taken refuge under nom-de-plumes and particularly in earlier centuries, women have been known to hide under male pseudonyms, as did Mary Ann Evans when she wrote as George Eliot.
But readers of these Retro Revival series will be fascinated to learn that the author who wrote as Madeleine Brent was in reality, Peter O’Donnell, the creator of Modesty Blaise.
He used the Blaise initials for his nom-de-plume, first in 1969 for a lark when his publishers asked him to try his hand at a Gothic novel. Peter opted for a feminine name believing that such novels are generally written by women for women.
The book, Tregaron’s Daughter, wound up a runaway success both in England and America and there was no looking back. The American publisher did not know the identity of “Dear Madeleine” for twenty years and when this author won the Romantic Novel of the Year award in 1978 for Merlin’s Keep, “she” never got to receive this and other awards in public!
The other very distinct feature of these nine novels is that all of them have been written in the first person from the perspective of a woman. Perhaps, it is easier for an author to get into the shoes of her character by writing in the first person but when you belong to the opposite sex, it is more of a challenge and Peter executes it marvellously.
Even a thorough scanning does not reveal a lack of understanding of the feminine psyche and what is indeed delightful is that all these women are extremely strong characters despite ranging in age from the late teens to the early twenties.
O’Donnell’s feminist approach towards his leading characters is even more interesting considering that the stories seem to imply Victorian England. ‘Madeleine’ swings comfortably between the titled, the untitled and even dwells on poverty as a virtue. The author takes a refreshing look at the customs and norms of the day, often poking fun at them.
The good and the bad
As happens with novels that have a woman playing the central role, the men are a great enigma and their true characters are revealed only in the last quarter of the stories when the good guys turn out to be the bad ones and vice versa. This is where the characterisations become somewhat predictable and you wish that Peter had tried something different.
And here is where those of us who know that the writer is a man might feel that the cruelty, horror and ruthlessness portrayed could not have been dealt with in so detailed a fashion by a woman. With women as the target audience, one wonders about this. Could it be that O’Donnell wanted to be brutally honest or was he too eager to prove to himself that he was not guilty of any manly bias? Whatever might be the reason, it is the strength and resilience of the women protagonists that stand out throughout.
The author has ably researched his locations— the characters race between places across Europe and are also based in far-away countries like Australia, China, India and even the esoteric Tibet. Peter O’Donnell has a fondness for prophecy, which invariably comes true for the heroine.
The reader looking for romance may be somewhat disappointed, as this blossoms only towards the fag end of each book. Physical intimacy between the lovers is negligible, perhaps keeping the century in view. The language is poetic and literary and enjoyable in the use of British idiomatic English. The books make for great reading but not all nine at one go!
These titles have been brought out by Penguin for the first time in India.
