Modesty Blaise (novel): Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"The most complex, sophisticated, skilled and intelligent of all [[Action Girl|action heroines]]."''|'''Jennifer K. Stuller''', author of ''Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology''}}

Series of novels and short stories by Peter O'Donnell, spun off from his [[Modesty Blaise (~~Comic~~ ~~Strip~~)|long-running adventure comic of the same name]].

Series of novels and short stories by Peter O'Donnell, spun off from his [[Modesty Blaise (comic strip)|long-running adventure comic of the same name]].

Modesty Blaise is an orphan with a [[Dark and Troubled Past]] who was head of a criminal syndicate before she was 20, and retired wealthy before she was 30. Willie Garvin is a multi-talented Cockney former [[Street Urchin|street kid]] who became Modesty's trusted right-hand man and followed her into wealthy retirement. Retirement was boring, so now [[They Fight Crime]].

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(Only crime that's unusual enough to attract their interest, though -- or nasty or personal enough to attract their anger.)

The first novel was published as a tie-in with the [[Modesty Blaise (~~Film~~)|1966 film adaptation]], and is based on the screenplay O'Donnell wrote for the film (which was altered substantially by the filmmakers, so the film didn't end up much like the novel). The film was not a success, but the novel was, and more followed.

The first novel was published as a tie-in with the [[Modesty Blaise (film)|1966 film adaptation]], and is based on the screenplay O'Donnell wrote for the film (which was altered substantially by the filmmakers, so the film didn't end up much like the novel). The film was not a success, but the novel was, and more followed.

The books are not in continuity with the comic strip: the first novel begins with a significantly different version of the opening sequence of the comic strip, then goes its own way. Incidents and characters from the strip appear in the books revised, tweaked, and in completely different contexts. It's essentially the [[Ultimate Universe]] version of ''Modesty Blaise'', only not in the same medium. Despite this, characters from the novels later began to appear in the comic strip, and the strip also adapted several short stories.

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* [[Disability Superpower]]: Recurring character Dinah Collier is blind and psychic.

* [[Distant Finale]]: "Cobra Trap" is set at least a decade, possibly more, after the events of the novels and comic strip.

* [[Distracted By the Sexy]]: Personified by a trick Modesty uses on occasion called "The Nailer" in which she'll strip to the waist and enter a room topless. The momentary distraction caused by seeing a sexy female enter suddenly is often enough for Willie or Modesty to get the upper hand (lampooned in a mid-1970s comic strip when the Nailer is noted as being less effective because men in the 1970s have been exposed to increasingly amounts of sexually explicit films and magazines).

* [[Distracted by the Sexy]]: Personified by a trick Modesty uses on occasion called "The Nailer" in which she'll strip to the waist and enter a room topless. The momentary distraction caused by seeing a sexy female enter suddenly is often enough for Willie or Modesty to get the upper hand (lampooned in a mid-1970s comic strip when the Nailer is noted as being less effective because men in the 1970s have been exposed to increasingly amounts of sexually explicit films and magazines).

* [[Double Standard]]: Averted; both protagonists routinely take lovers. Willie more than Modesty, admitted. By the last arcs in the strip, Modesty has several old flames who she routinely cycles between, with all parties involved aware of the others. Willie, on the other hand, has a lot of flings and one-night stands, with Maude Tiller (and in the book version, Lady Janet Gillam) as the recurring love interest.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: While she was running her crime syndicate, Modesty refused to deal in drugs. Or prostitution. Or anything that would require killing innocent people or police. Or even killing other criminals, except in self-defense or defense of another. Although they did a rather large amount of killing re: that last.

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* [[Lady of War]]: Modesty

* [[Lock and Load Montage]]

* [[Locking MacGyver in ~~The~~ Store Cupboard]]: In one novel, Modesty and Willie are captured by a villain who wants to see if their reputation for inventiveness is deserved before recruiting them. He locks them in a cell but deliberately leaves a means of escape to see if they will discover it. They do, then decide that is too obvious and must be a trap, and proceed to invent their own means of escape. The bad guy is very impressed.

* [[Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard]]: In one novel, Modesty and Willie are captured by a villain who wants to see if their reputation for inventiveness is deserved before recruiting them. He locks them in a cell but deliberately leaves a means of escape to see if they will discover it. They do, then decide that is too obvious and must be a trap, and proceed to invent their own means of escape. The bad guy is very impressed.

* [[Moral Dissonance]]: Lampshaded in the short story "I Had a Date with Lady Janet" when Willie (narrating the story in first person) defends accusations of Modesty being a cold-blooded killer.

* [[More Expendable Than You]]: Whenever a caper requires Modesty to put her life on the line, Willie asks if he can't do it instead.