Part eight of the first article in the MODESTY BLAISE SPECIAL, featuring a review of all the Princess’s novels.
A brief description of each novel’s plot is provided, along with a selection of covers from the various editions.
Regarding the previous sections, the topics covered to introduce the character of Modesty and her publishing history were:
- the first part focused primarily on her creator, Peter O’Donnell, how and why he received the assignment, what inspired him, and how the character’s publishing career and career evolved;
- the second part focused on Modesty herself, describing her early years and the psychological characteristics that make her a compelling and multifaceted character;
- the third part described Willie Garvin, Modesty’s adventure partner and best friend, and how deep and special their relationship is, like that of two brothers who are very much in tune and close;
- part four discussed practical aspects of the adventure, such as Modesty’s combat uniform and her and Willie’s favorite weapons;
- part five introduced the five artists who created the Princess’s comic book adventures;
- part six covered the publication of the strips and novels in Italy;
- part seven presented the versions of Modesty created for film and television.
Happy reading, everyone, and see you next Monday.
Mario Benenati and Daniele Tomasi, editors of the SPECIAL PROJECT MODESTY BLAISE
Note: this Special Project, like all others on this digital magazine, is non-profit and just for informative purposes, as the images used which are © of the rights holders.
The Italian association FUMETTOMANIA FACTORY – APS, which has been operating nationwide since 1991—while never neglecting the activities carried out within its headquarters in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto (Messina, Sicily)—has the aim of promoting, disseminating, and enhancing themes related to the language of comics.
Fumettomania’s mission is to attract young people of all ages by promoting projects dedicated to them, addressing current and engaging topics, using comics, which emerge as an autonomous art form that embodies the linguistic code of literature (words), its modes of consumption, but also the sequentiality of cinema and the figurative focus of traditional visual arts.
The Association’s commitment—35 years after its foundation (on May 14, 2026)—is to continue spreading comics culture and to continue its cultural and social projects in the area with workshops for young enthusiasts and schools, solo and group exhibitions dedicated to comics, illustration, and related fields, comic book presentations, and meetings with authors.
MODESTY BLAISE, THE PRINCESS – part 8: the novels
– by Joe7 –
Even though the film “Modesty Blaise” starring Monica Vitti was horrendous, it still allowed O’Donnell to explore the character of Modesty through fiction.
The first book, “Modesty Blaise“, was quite successful, and O’Donnell continued.
He found greater satisfaction in writing Modesty novels, with the opportunity to delve deeper into the characters and their nuances: something difficult to do in a comic book.
These novels are a sort of world unto themselves, sometimes interacting with the comic book, sometimes not.
In total, there were 11 novels, including two short stories.
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1965: MODESTY BLAISE (pubblicato in Italia con lo stesso titolo)
This was the first novel by Modesty Blaise and her right-hand man, Willie Garvin: technically, it’s a novelization of the screenplay written by O’Donnell for the Modesty Blaise film, which was released the following year. However, the filmed version of the screenplay bore little resemblance to the original. O’Donnell often said that only a small, irrelevant bit of dialogue from his screenplay remained in the film. Very little indeed. Nevertheless, the book became popular among crime fiction readers and was the beginning of a series of novels about Modesty Blaise. In the novel, Sir Gerald Tarrant contacts Modesty and convinces her to help him take down Gabriel’s gang.
Modesty contacts Willie Garvin, who, during his two years of seclusion in England, had lost all interest in everything and willingly agrees to restart the business with Modesty, albeit this time on the other side of the fence. Gabriel intends to steal a huge consignment of diamonds: the action begins in the south of France. Willie and Modesty feign enmity to act more freely: Willie manages to deceive Pacco, an important member of Gabriel’s gang. In Egypt, Modesty and Willie are captured by Gabriel’s gang, who manages to steal the diamonds and take them to a small island in the Mediterranean. There, Modesty defeats the wrestler Fothergille, and together with Willie, she manages to defeat Gabriel’s entire gang.
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1966: SABRETOOTH
Karz is a massive, intelligent, and cruel Mongolian military leader who is gathering and training an army of mercenaries in a hidden valley in the Hindu Kush mountains, near Afghanistan, to invade oil-rich Kuwait. However, he needs two capable commanders, and his choice falls on Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin. Meanwhile, Sir Gerald Tarrant, head of British intelligence, has noticed Karz’s activity: many mercenaries are being recruited by unknown employers and disappearing. He asks Modesty and Willie to investigate. Meanwhile, Karz kidnaps Lucille, a little girl dear to Modesty and Willie, and uses her to blackmail them into becoming commanders in his army. Modesty and Willie must then save Lucille and sabotage the invasion of Kuwait: they devise a risky and daring plan, in which Modesty must also face the two fearsome Siamese twins Lok and Chu, as well as Karz.
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1967: I, LUCIFER
This novel introduces the character of Stephen Collier, a parapsychologist who would later appear in the comic book. While Modesty and Willie are in Paris, she is invited to lunch by Renè Vaubois, the head of the Deuxième Bureau (the French secret service), who introduces her to parapsychologist Stephen Collier and asks his advice on some seemingly natural but very strange deaths, as those people, before dying naturally, had received death threats. Meanwhile, Willie, awaiting the Princess’s return, meets Chu-Li, a criminal bomb expert who wanted to blow up Renè’s car. It becomes known that several assassins are trying to eliminate Renè.
Behind it all is a man with a powerful but damaged mind, who calls himself Lucifer: in the past, he had tried to become a priest, but was seduced by a woman and suffered a nervous breakdown, convincing himself that he was the source of all sin—Lucifer, in fact—and acquiring the strange ability to foresee every natural death. Two criminals, Seff and Regina, who had noticed Lucifer’s incredible abilities, decided to use them to their advantage, creating a worldwide protection and ransom system. Modesty is captured and imprisoned at the Sylt base, where they surgically implant a remote-controlled cyanide capsule under her skin, forcing her to fight Willie Garvin on an island in the Philippines. The ending is cataclysmic, as Modesty tries to save Lucifer.
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1969: A TASTE FOR DEATH (inedito in Italia)
Canadian Dinah Pilgrim (who has been blind since she was 11) and her sister Judy are vacationing in Panama. Suddenly, they are attacked by a pair of gunmen on a lonely beach: Judy is killed and Dinah is taken prisoner. Willie Garvin is nearby and intervenes, killing the criminals. It later emerges that they were working for Gabriel, a criminal he and Modesty had previously confronted (in the first novel, “Modesty Blaise”). Willie takes Dinah to safety, knowing that Gabriel will mobilize Panama’s entire criminal underworld to find her. When Modesty Blaise comes to their aid, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, in which she and Willie evade traps and deadly attacks. When they return to England, Modesty encounters Simon Delicata, a huge man with an ape-like build and comparable strength, who has murdered a friend of Sir Gerald Tarrant. Willie has known Delicata for a long time: he beat him and nearly killed him in a barroom brawl.
Dinah is brutally kidnapped again by Delicata, who reveals herself to be Gabriel’s man. Modesty and Willie travel to Algeria, then to the Sahara to rescue Dinah. Modesty must defeat the fencing master Wenczelin in a duel to the death, in which he wears a steel armor jacket. In the final fight, set in an abandoned Foreign Legion fortress, Modesty has received a serious sword wound and is no longer able to act; Willie is forced to fight, unarmed, with the ape-man Delicata to save Dinah.
It’s noteworthy that Modesty Blaise’s last comic strip, “The Zombie,” published in 2001, ends with Modesty and Willie intending to return to the site of Willie’s fight with Delicata to recover the buried treasure they left there and donate it to the Salvation Army.
A panel in strip 10180 depicts the fight between Willie and Delicata in flashback. This explicit connection between the comic and the novel is unusual, as O’Donnell rarely inserted them into the comic: typically, the comic and the Modesty novel are parallel narratives.
In England, this novel was adapted into a five-part serial broadcast on BBC radio in 2012.
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1971: THE IMPOSSIBLE VIRGIN
The “Impossible Virgin” of the title refers to the name given by local natives to a special geographical formation in Africa. Russian Mischa Novikov, analyzing a satellite image of central Africa, discovers a hidden and inaccessible valley, called the “Impossible Virgin,” where precious mineral deposits lie. Eight months later, Novikov dies in a small hospital not far from his hidden treasure, a victim of torture by Brunel, a criminal and leader of a criminal organization, who had tried to extort the secret from him. Modesty Blaise must intervene when she discovers that two of Brunel’s men want to interrogate her friend, Dr. Giles Pennyfeather, who had been at Novikov’s bedside. Brunel suspects the doctor knows something.
Modesty and Willie manage to sabotage one of Brunel’s operations; but Lisa, one of Brunel’s slaves, tricks Willie and captures him, while in France, Brunel captures Modesty and Dr. Pennyfeather. They are taken to Africa, to Brunel’s plantation; Willie Garvin is thrown from a helicopter mid-flight, and Modesty finds herself incarcerated, alone, drugged, and brainwashed, while Brunel slowly tortures Dr. Pennyfeather. But Adrian Chance, Brunel’s right-hand man, learns Pennyfeather’s secret and discovers the location of the oil field. He forces Lisa to kill Brunel, thus taking his place. Chance then vents his deep-seated hatred for Modesty by placing her and Pennyfeather in a massive cage with Ozymandias, a gigantic and ferocious gorilla. But then the fuel warehouse catches fire, and it’s discovered that Willie has miraculously survived the flight. Modesty and Pennyfeather are freed, and Chance and his men are overwhelmed.
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1972: PIECES OF MODESTY
Pieces of Modesty is a book with six short stories:
– “A Better Day to Die“
– “The Giggle-Wrecker”
– “I Had a Date with Lady Janet”
– “A Perfect Night to Break Your Neck”
– “Salamander Four”
– “The Soo Girl Charity“
“I Had a Date with Lady Janet” is the only Modesty Blaise story told in the first person by Willie Garvin.
Some of these stories contain elements that were used in the comic strip.
The stories were originally written for publication in a book, accompanied by Holdaway’s illustrations, but it was never printed.
Holdaway’s illustrations were later printed in various magazines.
The stories were then published in Australia as supplements to a newspaper, each eight-page long and illustrated.
The artists’ names were not listed, except for the signatures on the front page illustrations. The sixth story appears to be by Holdaway, but the interior illustrations appear to be by another artist.
In the early 1980s, Pickwick Talking Books released a reading of the story “I Had a Date with Lady Janet” on cassette, with the voice of John Thaw.
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1973: THE SILVER MISTRESS
Sir Gerald Tarrant, a friend of Modesty Blaise, is also one of the heads of the British Secret Service. He is taken prisoner by mercenaries, including the extremely powerful Sexton, who boasts of being the greatest bare-knuckle fighter in the world. Gerald’s capture occurs during a surprise attack while he is traveling by car near the Tarn River in France. The scene was witnessed by an explorer, Quinn, who was hiking at the mouth of a distant cave. Through a staged accident, Tarrant is made to appear dead. But Modesty Blaise, who is unconvinced, accidentally encounters Quinn, who is in distress following an accident during his hike, and she begins to realize that Tarrant has been kidnapped. Modesty and Willie manage to find the place where Sir Gerald was likely held prisoner: the Château de Lancieux, at the foot of the Pyrenees in southern France.
The rescue proves extremely difficult, and Modesty and Willie use the caves beneath the castle to reach Sir Gerald. But they are captured by Sexton: Modesty and Willie must die at Sexton’s hands, one at a time, to force Sir Gerald to answer his questions. The situation is desperate, and Modesty and Willie must use all their tricks to escape, save Sir Gerald, and defeat Sexton and the others.
“The Silver Mistress” was broadcast in England on BBC Radio 4 as a five-episode adaptation, from February 13 to 17, 2017.
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1976: LAST DAY IN LIMBO
Sir Gerald Tarrant, a friend of Modesty Blaise, is also one of the heads of the British Secret Service. He is taken prisoner by mercenaries, including the extremely powerful Sexton, who boasts of being the greatest bare-knuckle fighter in the world. Gerald’s capture occurs during a surprise attack while he is traveling by car near the Tarn River in France. The scene was witnessed by an explorer, Quinn, who was hiking at the mouth of a distant cave. Through a staged accident, Tarrant is made to appear dead. But Modesty Blaise, who is unconvinced, accidentally encounters Quinn, who is in distress following an accident during his hike, and she begins to realize that Tarrant has been kidnapped. Modesty and Willie manage to find the place where Sir Gerald was likely held prisoner: the Château de Lancieux, at the foot of the Pyrenees in southern France.
The rescue proves extremely difficult, and Modesty and Willie use the caves beneath the castle to reach Sir Gerald. But they are captured by Sexton: Modesty and Willie must die at Sexton’s hands, one at a time, to force Sir Gerald to answer his questions. The situation is desperate, and Modesty and Willie must use all their tricks to escape, save Sir Gerald, and defeat Sexton and the others.
“The Silver Mistress” was broadcast in England on BBC Radio 4 as a five-episode adaptation, from February 13 to 17, 2017.
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1978: DRAGON’S CLAW
While sailing alone on a small yacht from Australia to New Zealand, Modesty Blaise saves Luke Fletcher, a world-famous painter, from drowning. But how did Luke end up adrift in the Tasman Sea, after disappearing in the Mediterranean two months earlier? He’s not the only person from the art world to have disappeared in the last two years, but he’s the only one discovered alive so far. Back in England, Modesty, along with Willie Garvin, refuses to delve into Luke’s mystery, preferring to continue her daily life. But then Luke is killed, and Modesty and Willie set out to discover who’s behind it all and kill him. The trail leads back to the Tasman Sea, to Dragon’s Claw Island: but Modesty and Willie make a mistake and find themselves prisoners.
They’ve discovered the reason for the disappearance of several people with artistic talent, but they don’t know if they’ll live long enough to tell the tale. Willie, ever resourceful, manages to escape from his cell, but is then captured again. After that, the criminals don’t intend to give Modesty and Willie another chance to escape. They force Modesty to engage in a pistol duel with Reverend Uriah Crisp, the gun-toting minister who has proven to be quicker with a draw than Modesty. She is given his pistol, with only one bullet, and its holster. Modesty waits calmly as the mad priest advances, a prayer book in one hand and a six-shooter at her hip.
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1981: THE XANADU TALISMAN
Ms. Pendergast, a middle-aged nanny who runs the criminal force “El Mico,” may not be your typical villain. But in Modesty Blaise’s world, who is? She and her two young sidekicks, Jeremy and Dominic Silk, have become the most powerful criminal organization in North Africa. In their latest exploit, they stole “The Object,” an instrument of immense value called the Xanadu Talisman. However, they also suffered their greatest defeat: Lieutenant Bernard Martel confronted them and retook the Object.
Pursued and mortally wounded, a delirious Bernard reveals several dark clues to Modesty, setting her and Willie on a mission to recover the Object and save Bernard’s wife, Tracy. From the dangerous Tangier to the mysterious Marrekesh to the grandeur of the High Atlas Mountains, Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin stop at nothing in one of their most gripping and action-packed adventures yet.
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1982: THE NIGHT OF MORNING STAR
The Watchmen are an international terrorist organization that emerged from nowhere and is carrying out ruthless attacks on high-value targets. For example, they killed the entire staff of the Turkish embassy in Madrid, destroyed a French nuclear power plant, and blew up a dam in Utah. No one knows who they are or what their true intentions are. CIA agent Ben Christie, an old friend of Modesty Blaise, is trying to infiltrate the organization. But Modesty meets Ben in San Francisco and blows his cover. Things go from bad to worse when Modesty tries to stick around to help Ben if necessary: they are captured by the Watchmen organization. She and Ben are held at gunpoint on a small fishing boat in San Francisco Bay while the Watchmen make final preparations to destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. Modesty manages to escape, but without gaining any information to locate the Watchmen. Back in England, she and Willie Garvin finally gain a lead on one of the Watchmen’s top leaders, Major Earl St. Maur, former leader of a British Naval commando battalion.
They follow St. Maur’s trail to the island of Madeira, off the coast of Morocco. They discover that the Watchmen plan to kill the presidents of the United States and France, as well as the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and West Germany. Modesty and Willie are captured by the Watchmen: imprisoned and drugged, they will be used as scapegoats. But Modesty and Willie manage to free themselves and defeat St. Maur and his organization.
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1985: DEAD MAN’S HANDLE
“Dead Man’s Handle” is the eleventh and final full-length novel chronicling the adventures of Modesty Blaise. Although O’Donnell continued to write the comic, he did not write any more Modesty Blaise novels until the final volume, Cobra Trap, in 1996, which consisted of short stories. The story goes like this: the home of “The Hostel of Righteousness” is an ancient monastery on the small Greek island of Kalivari. But there’s nothing righteous about it: on the contrary, Dr. Thaddeus Pilgrim and his followers are among the most evil people you’ll ever meet. By chance, Willie Garvin and Modesty Blaise are targeted by Dr. Pilgrim, who is obsessed with creating “interesting scenarios.” He sends Sibyl and Kazim, his two best assassins, to England to capture Willie Garvin and bring him to Kalivari under sedation.
There, Dr. Janos Tyl subjects Willie to a diabolical brainwashing: he is made to believe that a woman named Delilah brutally murdered Modesty, and now he must avenge Modesty’s death by killing Delilah. Willie is shown photos of this she-devil Delilah: in reality, they are photos of Modesty Blaise. In other words, Willie is now programmed to kill Modesty on sight. At that point, he will regain his memory and presumably go mad when he realizes what he has done. Modesty manages to track Willie down and eventually arrives in Kalivari: Pilgrim has arranged for Modesty and Willie to meet in the old amphitheater, suddenly seeing each other when the floodlights come on. Willie doesn’t hesitate for a moment: he draws his knife and throws it. But something happens that derails Pilgrim’s plans, and he ultimately meets his fate. This story, in which Willie is programmed to kill Modesty on sight, is also told in the comic book, but in reverse: there it is Modesty who is programmed to kill Willie (“The Puppet Master”).
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1996: COBRA TRAP
This volume concludes the stories of Modesty and Willie, who die in battle, as befits two adventurers. O’Donnell brings the curtain down with his characteristic finesse. This novel was published 20 years after the last strip, and Modesty and Willie are in their fifties (in the final strip, “The Zombie,” they are in their thirties). This is a collection of O’Donnell’s short stories: it is the thirteenth and final book in the Modesty series. It was published 11 years after the previous book in the series, “Dead Man’s Handle.” It was also the last book written by O’Donnell before her death in 2010.
The original cover of the first edition of “Cobra Trap” featured a painting of Modesty Blaise by Jim Holdaway, who drew the original comic strip for O’Donnell from 1963 until her death in 1970. “Cobra Trap” is one of the rarest Modesty Blaise books, as it is the only one not available in paperback, and the hardcover editions are out of print and considered collector’s items. However, Souvenir Press released a paperback edition of the collection in 2006, 10 years after the hardcover release, putting the book back into circulation. The stories in the collection are:
– Bellman
– The Dark Angels
– Old Alex
– The Girl With the Black Balloon
– Cobra Trap
“Bellman” is an adaptation of the 1968 comic book story “The Killing Ground.”
All five stories take place at different times in Modesty Blaise’s life. The first, “Bellman,” begins with a flashback when Modesty is 20 years old. In “The Dark Angels,” Modesty is in her 20s; in “Old Alex,” she is in her 30s; in “The Girl With the Black Balloon,” she is in her 30s; and finally, in “Cobra Trap,” she is in her 52s. The ages are approximate because they are not specified and Modesty does not know her exact age.
In “Old Alex,” O’Donnell says that Modesty ages at a different rate than real people. The story of “Old Alex” is set in 1997, so assuming the stories in the early books took place around 1965–1970, then Modesty aged about eight years during an actual 30-year period.
“Cobra Trap,” the title story, is Modesty Blaise’s most controversial story among fans, as it details the final mission of Modesty and her partner, Willie Garvin. The story takes place 10-15 years after the beginning of Modesty’s saga. Modesty has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and has little time left to live. At one point, overwhelmed by circumstances, she chooses to give her life to save a train full of innocents, including many children, from a group of rebels. Shortly after revealing her illness to Willie, Modesty is killed during the attack, and shortly thereafter Willie is killed as well. The story ends with the two friends reunited in a sort of afterlife.
[to be continued in part 9]
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Modesty Blaise © Modesty Blaise Ltd.
All images are used for informational purposes only and are © their respective owners.
The opinions expressed in the article by the author do not necessarily reflect those of the Fumettomania Association, which aims to offer a platform that always guarantees the right to free expression through its website.
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NOTE:
To access the index and links to all the articles in the SPECIAL PROJECT MODESTY BLAISE, visit this page with the introductory article::
– Italian version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/progetti-di-fumettomania/contenuti-web-extra-dal-2012-in-poi/modesty-blaise-la-principessa-delle-spie/
– English version: https://www.fumettomaniafactory.net/fumettomania-presents-the-special-project-modesty-blaise/
EXTRA
DANIELE TOMASI is a multifaceted creative in the field of ComicArt, acting as artist, letterer, colorist, editor.
With the DTE brand, “the smallest publishing house in the world”, he edited and published three volumes of the “DebbieDillinger” series (where he is even the artist), the first number of “TetroTeatro” magazine (author of texts and drawings), the digital magazine “Continua…” (a free-distribution magazine with comics of various genres and authors, seven issues so far) and three issues of the magazine “Gli Archivi del Fumetto” (new issues and large-format volumes are planned).
He has created comics and illustrations for various Italian publishers (Tunuè, ProGlo, ComixCommunity, UndergroundPress, BotteroEdizioni, Pegasus/Comicus, Antani, Apache, AltaFedeltà).
He has worked as graphic designer for Italian publishers ProGloEdizioni, GreencomService, Shockdom, Palabanda Edizioni and Chimbe.
He has made lettering for Black Velvet and RW Edizioni.
He organizes courses about the Language of Comics.
In Internet you can see some of his artworks on the website danieletomasi.altervista.org , see other works and read some of his thoughts and opinions on the blog danieletomasi.blogspot.com , read for free some of the DTE publications in issuu.com/dteditore, read for free a fake storyboard of the “Spider-man” movie by James Cameron downloading the pdf (screen or print resolution) from the site spidercameron.altervista.org , write to him at the e-mails danieletomasi@gmail.com and dteditore@gmail.com
