Which of DW's characters...

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Jim
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Post by Jim »

Charles wrote: I hope others will continue this thread, I think it's hugely enjoyable .... and Alan, I agree with you completely about fanfic ... maybe in the fullness of time this will happen ... I certainly hope so.
Folks no doubt know about Dr Watson's various allusions, in the Sherlock Holmes stories, to other cases "for which the world is not yet prepared," etc. The DW reference that has always intrigued me is in Dangerous Inheritance, when the Duke learns, quite out of the blue, that he owns property in Ceylon, willed to him by a deceased cousin "whom he had succeeded in rescuing from execution by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917." I have to wonder if there was another novel planned but never written...
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Post by Steve Whatley »

My choice would be Sir Pellinore Gwaine-Cust, because he sounds an interesting old buffer, and - hopefully - he might offer me champagne by the pint in a silver tankard.[font=Courier New] [/font]
Richard Webster
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Post by Richard Webster »

Jim wrote:Folks no doubt know about Dr Watson's various allusions, in the Sherlock Holmes stories, to other cases "for which the world is not yet prepared," etc. The DW reference that has always intrigued me is in Dangerous Inheritance, when the Duke learns, quite out of the blue, that he owns property in Ceylon, willed to him by a deceased cousin "whom he had succeeded in rescuing from execution by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917." I have to wonder if there was another novel planned but never written...
In one of DW's books - I forget which, but probably "The Forbidden Territory" - the Duke refers to having served in General Denikin's White Russian forces during the civil war that followed the Bolshevik revolution. So it's interesting to speculate if DW might have been planning to fill in this part of the Duke's back story at some point with another novel, as per other retrospective works like "Vendetta in Spain" and "The Second Seal".

Anyway, a very good thread, which I have come to belatedly. For me, any encounter with DW's characters in real life would have to include someone drawn from the Duke's immediate circle. But who to choose?

I'm tempted to say the Duke himself, because I so venerate his character, agree with his views on just about everything, and so completely trust his instincts. And one would learn so much by being in his presence; being mentored by him; sitting at his feet, as it were, and soaking up some of the great man's knowledge. Plus, a great person to have by one's side in a tight spot, particularly if being subjected to some sort of Mocata-led occult assault. [An aside, but I'm currently writing an occult thriller in my spare time, about a coven of satanists attempting to open a portal to hell in the Wiltshire countryside, and one of my principal heroes trying to prevent this, an elderly occult expert who I have called Professor Julian Faraday, is 100% inspired by the Duke. And yes, I have written a scene where we all take shelter in a pentagram!]

But might I find him just a little bit exacting in real life, not to mention mildly intimidating in a one-on-one situation? I think I might prefer his company as part of a group.

So it would have to be Richard Eaton, for me. Richard, as I think I've said before, is my favourite character of the five, and the one with whom I feel by far the most empathy. I doubt you could slide a cigarette paper between his philosophy cum world view and my own, and we'd likely agree on just about everything, ideally when ensconced in the library at Cardinal's Folly, after a good dinner, and with a glass of something to hand. He's much more of a countryman than any of the others, the archetypal gentleman farmer, a staunch patriot and thoroughly good fellow. And he owns Cardinal's Folly. Which would be a very nice place to go for the weekend.
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Post by Alan »

Richard Webster wrote:
Jim wrote:Folks no doubt know about Dr Watson's various allusions, in the Sherlock Holmes stories, to other cases "for which the world is not yet prepared," etc. The DW reference that has always intrigued me is in Dangerous Inheritance, when the Duke learns, quite out of the blue, that he owns property in Ceylon, willed to him by a deceased cousin "whom he had succeeded in rescuing from execution by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917." I have to wonder if there was another novel planned but never written...
In one of DW's books - I forget which, but probably "The Forbidden Territory" - the Duke refers to having served in General Denikin's White Russian forces during the civil war that followed the Bolshevik revolution. So it's interesting to speculate if DW might have been planning to fill in this part of the Duke's back story at some point with another novel, as per other retrospective works like "Vendetta in Spain" and "The Second Seal".

Anyway, a very good thread, which I have come to belatedly. For me, any encounter with DW's characters in real life would have to include someone drawn from the Duke's immediate circle. But who to choose?

I'm tempted to say the Duke himself, because I so venerate his character, agree with his views on just about everything, and so completely trust his instincts. And one would learn so much by being in his presence; being mentored by him; sitting at his feet, as it were, and soaking up some of the great man's knowledge. Plus, a great person to have by one's side in a tight spot, particularly if being subjected to some sort of Mocata-led occult assault. [An aside, but I'm currently writing an occult thriller in my spare time, about a coven of satanists attempting to open a portal to hell in the Wiltshire countryside, and one of my principal heroes trying to prevent this, an elderly occult expert who I have called Professor Julian Faraday, is 100% inspired by the Duke. And yes, I have written a scene where we all take shelter in a pentagram!]

But might I find him just a little bit exacting in real life, not to mention mildly intimidating in a one-on-one situation? I think I might prefer his company as part of a group.

So it would have to be Richard Eaton, for me. Richard, as I think I've said before, is my favourite character of the five, and the one with whom I feel by far the most empathy. I doubt you could slide a cigarette paper between his philosophy cum world view and my own, and we'd likely agree on just about everything, ideally when ensconced in the library at Cardinal's Folly, after a good dinner, and with a glass of something to hand. He's much more of a countryman than any of the others, the archetypal gentleman farmer, a staunch patriot and thoroughly good fellow. And he owns Cardinal's Folly. Which would be a very nice place to go for the weekend.
Richard, any chance of seeing this work, or are you one of those authors that like to keep it all under wraps until it is finished?
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Post by Richard Webster »

Alan wrote:Richard, any chance of seeing this work, or are you one of those authors that like to keep it all under wraps until it is finished?
Very happy indeed to share it, Alan, but as it's nearly finished (as in, 42 out of 50 chapters done, or c. 140,000 out of c. 180,000 words) I'll keep it under wraps for just a little bit longer, if you don't mind. But very happy indeed to share once it's done. Unfortunately, my day job has been taking up far too much of my time, the past few months, as I really wanted it done by now, so I can go on to the next one. But I plan to complete the first draft by the end of the Christmas holidays.

Incidentally, I did pledge, when writing my introductory post here, and mentioning the book in passing, that I wouldn't use this space to plug it, but hopefully it doesn't matter too much, and people won't mind, as it's very much "on topic", and hugely inspired by the works of Dennis Wheatley. Not only do I have my Duke de Richlieu character, but my chief villain bears more than a passing resemblance to Mocata in "The Devil Rides Out" (or rather, Mocata as portrayed by the wonderful Charles Gray in the film version, more than the character DW wrote), and for the true DW fan, there's a subtle reference to "The Haunting of Toby Jugg". And, of course, I have my obligatory pentagram scene. I'm certainly having a lot of fun writing it, which was the chief purpose of the exercise.
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Post by Alan »

Richard Webster wrote:
Alan wrote:Richard, any chance of seeing this work, or are you one of those authors that like to keep it all under wraps until it is finished?
Very happy indeed to share it, Alan, but as it's nearly finished (as in, 42 out of 50 chapters done, or c. 140,000 out of c. 180,000 words) I'll keep it under wraps for just a little bit longer, if you don't mind. But very happy indeed to share once it's done. Unfortunately, my day job has been taking up far too much of my time, the past few months, as I really wanted it done by now, so I can go on to the next one. But I plan to complete the first draft by the end of the Christmas holidays.

Incidentally, I did pledge, when writing my introductory post here, and mentioning the book in passing, that I wouldn't use this space to plug it, but hopefully it doesn't matter too much, and people won't mind, as it's very much "on topic", and hugely inspired by the works of Dennis Wheatley. Not only do I have my Duke de Richlieu character, but my chief villain bears more than a passing resemblance to Mocata in "The Devil Rides Out" (or rather, Mocata as portrayed by the wonderful Charles Gray in the film version, more than the character DW wrote), and for the true DW fan, there's a subtle reference to "The Haunting of Toby Jugg". And, of course, I have my obligatory pentagram scene. I'm certainly having a lot of fun writing it, which was the chief purpose of the exercise.
Well, I for one look forward to seeing it. Since (obviously) we'll get no more "Modern Musketeer" black magic books, this will be very much a consolation. And I personally feel it's very much on topic for a black magic tale obviously influenced by DW to be discussed here in the library.
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Post by Richard Webster »

Alan wrote:Well, I for one look forward to seeing it. Since (obviously) we'll get no more "Modern Musketeer" black magic books, this will be very much a consolation. And I personally feel it's very much on topic for a black magic tale obviously influenced by DW to be discussed here in the library.
I sometimes think it's a shame that DW was never as popular as Ian Fleming (although we shouldn't forget that Gregory Sallust was one of the inspirations for James Bond), otherwise, there might be a burgeoning market for Sallust, Roger Brook and Duke de Richlieu novels, just like you get all those Bond re-boots by various authors, sanctioned by, probably encouraged by the Fleming estate.

So with that in mind, I'd like to propose a sort of loose sequel to "The Devil Rides Out", set about thirty years after the original, and located almost exclusively at Cardinals Folly. It would take place in the 1960s, right after the characters get back from Ceylon in "Dangerous Inheritance". The Duke, infirm of body, but with his mind as sharp as ever, is spending his final days at Cardinal's Folly, being cared for by Richard and Marie-Lou, when Rex and Simon arrive at the house for an extended stay. One would also bring in the younger generation - Fleur Eaton and whatever Rex's son was called (name escapes me), and maybe Simon's bride from "Gateway to Hell" who's strangely absent from "Dangerous Inheritance", probably because DW hadn't conceived that character when he wrote the earlier book. So the essential set-up would be an extended house party at Cardinal's Folly, and you could just run with that alone for a while - a bit like the Tintin book, "The Castifiore Emerald", where the characters just hang out at Marlinspike Hall for the summer, and nothing really happens. Anyway, you then ramp up the action by having the offspring of Mocata arrive on the scene, out for revenge, following the thwarting of his father's satanic plot, thirty years previously. Good opportunity here to educate the younger musketeers in the perils of the left-hand path, just as the Duke educated Rex, all those years ago. And of course everything would then culminate in the mother of all pentagram scenes.

Picture the preamble to this:

The Duke, his grey eyes as piercing as ever, even when sunk within his gaunt and exhausted features, surveyed his compatriots, who were standing anxiously at the foot of his bed.

"My friends," he said, slowly but deliberately, "It would appear that we have been called upon to undertake one final battle. This will be my last ever mission against the forces of darkness. Mocata is gathering his acolytes, as we speak, and preparing to assault us with every foul weapon in his arsenal; an unleashing of pure evil, the like of which the world has never seen. And so it falls to us, once again, to save mankind. Tonight, we return to the library."

Sort of works. I'd read it!
Alan
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Post by Alan »

Richard Webster wrote:
Alan wrote:Well, I for one look forward to seeing it. Since (obviously) we'll get no more "Modern Musketeer" black magic books, this will be very much a consolation. And I personally feel it's very much on topic for a black magic tale obviously influenced by DW to be discussed here in the library.
I sometimes think it's a shame that DW was never as popular as Ian Fleming (although we shouldn't forget that Gregory Sallust was one of the inspirations for James Bond), otherwise, there might be a burgeoning market for Sallust, Roger Brook and Duke de Richlieu novels, just like you get all those Bond re-boots by various authors, sanctioned by, probably encouraged by the Fleming estate.

So with that in mind, I'd like to propose a sort of loose sequel to "The Devil Rides Out", set about thirty years after the original, and located almost exclusively at Cardinals Folly. It would take place in the 1960s, right after the characters get back from Ceylon in "Dangerous Inheritance". The Duke, infirm of body, but with his mind as sharp as ever, is spending his final days at Cardinal's Folly, being cared for by Richard and Marie-Lou, when Rex and Simon arrive at the house for an extended stay. One would also bring in the younger generation - Fleur Eaton and whatever Rex's son was called (name escapes me), and maybe Simon's bride from "Gateway to Hell" who's strangely absent from "Dangerous Inheritance", probably because DW hadn't conceived that character when he wrote the earlier book. So the essential set-up would be an extended house party at Cardinal's Folly, and you could just run with that alone for a while - a bit like the Tintin book, "The Castifiore Emerald", where the characters just hang out at Marlinspike Hall for the summer, and nothing really happens. Anyway, you then ramp up the action by having the offspring of Mocata arrive on the scene, out for revenge, following the thwarting of his father's satanic plot, thirty years previously. Good opportunity here to educate the younger musketeers in the perils of the left-hand path, just as the Duke educated Rex, all those years ago. And of course everything would then culminate in the mother of all pentagram scenes.

Picture the preamble to this:

The Duke, his grey eyes as piercing as ever, even when sunk within his gaunt and exhausted features, surveyed his compatriots, who were standing anxiously at the foot of his bed.

"My friends," he said, slowly but deliberately, "It would appear that we have been called upon to undertake one final battle. This will be my last ever mission against the forces of darkness. Mocata is gathering his acolytes, as we speak, and preparing to assault us with every foul weapon in his arsenal; an unleashing of pure evil, the like of which the world has never seen. And so it falls to us, once again, to save mankind. Tonight, we return to the library."

Sort of works. I'd read it!
Hate to put a downer on this, but didn't the Duke die at the end of "Dangerous Inheritance?" Apart from which, this idea works stunningly well for me. Despite nothing happening (which of course was done for deliberate comic effect by Herge) "The Castifiore Emerald" is one of my favourite Tintin stories, and it'd be great to see the musketeers, along with Miranda, Fleur and Truss generally chilling out, as subtle hints start to multiply and suddenly the wise old Greyeyes realies that their arch enemy is back seeking a return bout from beyond the grave (since after all, he too is dead!) - then the suspense can ramp up, the skepticism of the younger ones (Fleur has been encouraged to forget her abduction in "DRO") proves a definite handicap, and it's back into the pentacle to take on the wooglies for one last time!

I make only two slight suggestions, though, and hope I do not offend by so doing. One (see above) perhaps set it slightly earlier, so that Greyeyes has not yet inherited his Sri Lankan estates, and is very much alive (and hopefully still fit enough to take an active role) and two, provide some real life framework (as "Strange Conflict" had WWII and "Gateway to Hell," unfortunately, used the Black Power movement) for the Satanic powers to work through. Still, what do I know?
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