The French writer and journalist Gerard de Villiers is well known to the Russian reader. World-famous novels brought him world fame , the main character of which is an Austrian aristocrat who freelance works for American intelligence. In the homeland of this hero was nicknamed "French James Bond."
Childhood and youth
Gerard de Villiers was born in Paris on December 8, 1929. His father is the famous French playwright Jacques Bularan de Combazhux. In literature, he was known under the pseudonyms Jacques Dewal and Adam de Villiers, creating plays of various problems.
On the maternal side, Gerard de Villiers comes from a family of French bourgeois of aristocratic descent. The family leads its roots from the island of Reunion. This is the overseas region of France, located in the Indian Ocean.
Gerard de Villiers received his education in the French capital, at the Institute for Political Studies. This university is considered the forge of the political and diplomatic elite of France. Also, de Villiers graduated from the Higher School of Journalism, having received the most comprehensive education.
At the front
In the mid-50s, Gerard de Villiers as an officer went to the Algerian war. The war for the independence of this African state lasted from 1954 to 1962. From the French side, about 470 thousand soldiers took part in it. De Villiers, at the front, began to actively engage in journalism, returning from the war, worked in well-known French publications - Minute, Rivarole, Paris Press and many others.
As a correspondent traveled the whole world. In 1965, he concentrated on literary activity - began to write espionage novels, extremely popular at that time.
French James Bond
The main character of the most famous series of de Villiers works is Malko Linge. This is an Austrian prince who works outside the state for American intelligence agencies, in particular for the CIA.
Thanks to this particular character, Gerard de Villiers received world fame. SAS - so began to be called a series of these espionage works. The first book was published in 1965 under the title "CAC in Istanbul". In the same year, in the wake of success, de Villiers published several more books.
Researchers attribute these works to tabloid literature. Among the main advantages, unprecedentedly accurate descriptions are noted, as well as the forecasting of many world political events. The author was able to do this thanks to his profile education at the Institute for Political Studies.
Political forecast
Gerard de Villiers, whose books diverged with enthusiasm in the 60s and 70s, as mentioned above, often became a visionary of many political events.
In 1980, de Villiers released the novel "The Battle of Abu Dhabi", which describes in detail the attempt on Anvar Sadat, who led Egypt at that time. Exactly one year later, the events described in the novel come true - on October 6, 1981 during a military parade in honor of the Arab-Israeli war. At the end of the parade, one of its participants threw a grenade toward the rostrum. But she burst, not reaching the goal. Immediately several paratroopers opened fire on the government platform from machine guns. Sadat jumped up and immediately got bullets in the neck and chest.
In 1986, de Villiers released the novel "Kill Gandhi." In it, he predicts the events of 1991, when the ex-Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi, died as a result of the attempt. The attempt occurred during the election campaign near the city of Madras.
Russian trace
Several novels by Gerard de Villiers write about Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The SAS series owns the Bangkok Trap, based on the biography of the famous Russian businessman accused of arms trafficking, Viktor Bout. Later in Hollywood, a movie about Booth was released, The Armory Baron.
In 2007, another book was published - "Polonium-210, or how Vladimir Putin ordered the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko."
In 2004, the book "Kill Yushchenko" was published, dedicated to the Orange Revolution in Ukraine of that year. Critics rate her as a tabloid-erotic political detective. This is one of the most striking novels written by Gerard de Villiers. CAC, a series of books about spies, brought him unprecedented circulation. To date, about 100 million copies have been published. This makes this series of books one of the best-selling books in history and one of the longest-running fiction series by one author. After all, de Villiers did not cheat on his hero for 44 years, until his death.
The actions of this novel take place in Kiev. The main character of all the works of de Villiers, Prince Linge, comes to the capital of Ukraine under the guise of an OSCE observer. On a visit, he arrives on the eve of the second round of presidential elections in Ukraine to prevent the poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko. In the novel dedicated to the Orange Revolution in Kiev, the main character, Prince Linge, protects the president from attempt. The first assassination attempt occurs in the country house of the deputy chairman of the Security Service of Ukraine.
A separate killer is hunting for Ling, who makes an attempt to end him by drowning in a tank with vodka. The novel is riddled with irony and sarcasm. So, Linge deals with his spiteful critics in the most unexpected places, for example, in a sauna or church.
The final scene takes place at the headquarters of the Our Ukraine Party. Supporters of Yushchenko celebrate the victory here, who, according to the election commission, is gaining more than 70 percent of the vote. However, US embassy officials tell Linge that this is only a ploy. In fact, the election results are still unknown. An experienced prince feels that something is amiss and at the last moment decides who the next killer of the president is. He intercepts a girl dressed in all orange, who was planning to kill the president with a kiss. Her lips were smeared with poisonous lipstick.
The novel ends with the triumph of democracy, and the Russian special services, as often happens in de Villiers novels, suffer another debacle.
Writer reviews
In reviews of the work of Gerard de Villiers, readers note that the main drawback is that it is not published much in Russia. And those works that appear in Russian do not fully convey the fullness of his style and grace.
At first glance, many may think that his novels are too brutal and sugary. However, in reality it is very tough literature that quickly debunks myths about people and nations. And one of the main advantages of the author, as readers note, is his inexhaustible imagination.
Famous film adaptations
Exciting plots and descriptions of current world political events in de Villiers novels evoke a desire to film these works by many directors.
A series of espionage novels are planned to be released on the screens of Hollywood masters. Moreover, sometimes films on the books of Gerard de Villiers come out on the big screen, but parodies of them. So, in 2006, France released the film "Spy Passion" directed by Vincent de Bruce. The main roles in it were played by Christian Clavier, Daniel Otoy and Jennifer Saunders.
The protagonist of this film is an aristocrat with high moral principles - Francois de la Conche. Only, unlike the ever-young Linge y de Villiers, this hero is already very elderly. At the same time, he is going to begin to serve his homeland again. His task is to help crank out the operation to return the secret chip, the cost of which is estimated at $ 25 million. The uniqueness of the chip is that, once in the human body, it deprives any pain for 12 hours. Therefore, the military leaders of most countries of the world who regularly unleash armed conflicts so want to get it.
The death of a writer
After writing about 200 novels about Prince Linge, Gerard de Villiers passed away on the night of November 1, 2013. It turned out that the prose writer for many years struggled with cancer - pancreatic cancer.
His death was reported to the public by lawyer de Villiers. The writer’s wife, Christina, noted that in the last days of his life he was extremely weak, but retained consciousness. It was very important for him to leave this world with a bright head.