Fri 20 Apr 2007
Death Noted: DESMOND CORY (1928-2001).
Posted by Steve under Authors , Characters , Crime Fiction IV , Obituaries / Deaths Noted[10] Comments
In an email to Al Hubin, subsequently forwarded on to me, mystery bookseller Jamie Sturgeon recently pointed out the existence of a website devoted to British spy and crime thriller writer Desmond Cory.
Many of Cory’s “Johnny Fedora” novels of espionage and adventure were published as paperback originals in the US by Award in the 1960s during the height of the boom for James Bond and his many imitators — only Johnny Fedora had been there first. Walker published a number of others in hardcover around the same time, and many of these were reprinted in softcover by Signet.
As available as his books were at one time, the fact remains that Desmond Cory’s fiction is now all but unknown in the US — and perhaps in the UK as well — even though the introduction to the previously mentioned website can arguably proclaim that –
Sometimes referred to as “Brit Grit,” this phenomenon comprised several well-known characters such as Ian Fleming’s James Bond, and Len Deighton’s Harry Palmer. At its peak, the genre sold several million books across the world, and was watched by even greater numbers on the Big Screen, due to the immense popularity of James Bond, as incarnated by the incomparable Sean Connery. Preceding the now legendary 007 was Desmond Cory’s Johnny Fedora, “the thinking man’s James Bond.”
Here, with one addition, the year of his death, not known until now, is the complete dossier on author Desmond Cory as found in Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin. British editions only are given, unless published in the US under new titles:
* Secret Ministry (n.) Muller 1951 [Johnny Fedora]
* This Is Jezebel (n.) Muller 1952 [Lindy Grey; England]
* This Traitor, Death (n.) Muller 1952 [Johnny Fedora; Paris]
* Dead Man Falling (n.) Muller 1953 [Johnny Fedora; Austria]
* Lady Lost (n.) Muller 1953 [Lindy Grey; England]
* Intrigue (n.) Muller 1954 [Johnny Fedora; Italy]
* The Shaken Leaf (n.) Shakespeare Head 1954 [Lindy Grey; England]
* Height of Day (n.) Muller 1955 [Johnny Fedora; Africa]
* The Phoenix Sings (n.) Muller 1955 [England]
* High Requiem (n.) Muller 1956 [Johnny Fedora; Africa]
* Johnny Goes North (n.) Muller 1956 [Johnny Fedora; Sweden]
* Pilgrim at the Gate (n.) Muller 1957 [Mr. Pilgrim; England]
* Johnny Goes East (n.) Muller 1958 [Johnny Fedora; Tibet]
* Johnny Goes South (n.) Muller 1959 [Johnny Fedora; Argentina]
* Johnny Goes West (n.) Muller 1959 [Johnny Fedora; South America]
* Pilgrim on the Island (n.) Muller 1959 [Mr. Pilgrim; Germany]
* The Head (n.) Muller 1960 [Johnny Fedora; Spain]
* Stranglehold (n.) Muller 1961 [Mr. Dee; England]
* Undertow (n.) Muller 1962 [Johnny Fedora; Spain]
* Hammerhead (n.) Muller 1963 [Johnny Fedora; Madrid]
* The Name of the Game (n.) Muller 1964 [Mr. Dee; England]
* Shockwave (n.) Walker 1964; See: Hammerhead (Muller 1963).
* Deadfall (n.) Muller 1965 [Spain]
* Feramontov (n.) Muller 1966 [Johnny Fedora; Spain]
* Overload (n.) NEL 1966; See: Johnny Goes South (Muller 1959).
* Timelock (n.) Muller 1967 [Johnny Fedora; Spain]
* Mountainhead (n.) Award 1968; See: Johnny Goes East (Muller 1958).
* Trieste (n.) Award 1968; See: Intrigue (Muller 1954).
* Dead Men Alive (n.) Award 1969; See: Height of Day (Muller 1955).
* The Hitler Diamonds (n.) Award 1969; See: Dead Man Falling (Muller 1953).
* The Night Hawk (n.) Hodder 1969 [Spain]
* The Swastika Hunt (n.) Award 1969; See: Johnny Goes North (Muller 1956).
* The Nazi Assassins (n.) Award 1970; See: Secret Ministry (Muller 1951).
* The Gestapo File (n.) Award 1971; See: This Traitor, Death (Muller 1952).
* Sunburst (n.) Hodder 1971 [Johnny Fedora; Spain]
* Take My Drum to England (n.) Hodder 1971 [Spain]
* Even If You Run (n.) Doubleday 1972; See: Take My Drum to England (Hodder 1971).
* A Bit of a Shunt Up the River (n.) Doubleday 1974 [England]
* The Circle Complex (n.) Macmillan 1975 [Wales]
* Bennett (n.) Macmillan 1977 [Spain]
* The Catalyst (n.) St. Martin’s 1991; See: The Strange Attractor (Macmillan (London) 1991).
* The Strange Attractor (n.) Macmillan 1991 [Prof. John Dobie; Dr. Kate Coyle; Wales]
* The Mask of Zeus (n.) Macmillan 1992 [Prof. John Dobie; Dr. Kate Coyle; Cyprus; Academia]
* The Dobie Paradox (n.) Macmillan 1993 [Prof. John Dobie; Dr. Kate Coyle; Scotland]
McCARTHY, SHAUN (Lloyd) (1928-2001); see pseudonyms Theo Callas & Desmond Cory
CALLAS, THEO; pseudonym of Shaun McCarthy, (1928-2001); other pseudonym Desmond Cory
Quoting from the website —
In the first novel, Secret Ministry, Johnny Fedora is introduced as a secret agent whose forte is the ability to outshoot, outwit, and outmaneuver his Cold War opponents. In subsequent novels, he is often teamed up with Sebastian Trout from the Foreign Office. Johnny’s connection with British intelligence is unofficial, but is hired by them for specific assignments.
Written at the same time as the early Fedora novels, the Lindy Grey series were entertaining private-detective thrillers, comprising over 4 titles.
In Begin, Murderer! Lindsay Grey starts as an urbane man-about-town who solves murders that baffle the Oxford police. Self-described as “a one-time private detective of one-time private means”, Lindy (as he likes to be called) is not ashamed of living a dissolute life.
In 1991, after a decade of dedicating his writing efforts to academic works, Cory returned to writing mystery novels, introducing a new series character, Professor John Dobie.
The first Dobie novel, The Strange Attractor, introduces us to an absent-minded maths professor who stumbles into the world of computer hacking, high-tech thievery, and multiple murder. Through wit and a clever plot, Cory takes Dobie through an intriguing sequence of events where he is drugged, tied up and made to witness a murder. New characters such as his girl-friend Dr. Kate Boyle, and Detective Inspector Michael Jackson (Wacko Jacko) add further spice to this clever mystery novel.
One novel, Deadfall, was made into a film starring Michael Caine as cat burglar Henry Clarke, who with his accomplices attempts to steal diamonds from the chateau of a Spanish millionaire.
Chock full of other information about the author and his other standalone thrillers, the website is certainly worth a visit. Lots of great cover art, too, of which I’ve provided you with only a small sampling.
May 4th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Real shame to hear about this.
Desmond Cory wrote some great novels, and his Fedora novels were arguably overlooked when people evaluated the British British Spy genre, focusing mostly on Bond only instead.
The humour in his books was great, and the plots were always interesting.
I read one of his later novels featuring Prof. Dobie, and continued to enjoy his literary style. Thanks for the tip to visit his site at http://www.desmondcory.com – one of the better dedicated author sites I’ve seen.
May 6th, 2007 at 2:08 pm
[…] Thanks for a great tribute to Desmond Cory on your blog. It’s greatly appreciated by the Cory fan club members. I contacted some of them who run the [Desmond Cory] website you mention, asking if there are any aspects of his life left out. […]
August 26th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Wow – just read an interesting thread on Johnny Fedora at http://www.avclub.com/content/blog/the_box_of_paperbacks_book_club_4
I too read a lot of espoionage thrillers and am ashamed I never read more of Desmond Cory’s books. Shame to hear this news, but great to see that his novels live on and that (according to his official web site) others remain un-published. Bring them on, I say!
January 15th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
soprry to hear of his demise though i did wonder if he had shuffled off this mortal coil i ve always been an avid collector from an early age and the syndication of deadfall in the daily mirrior is one of my earliest memories as the paper is soon to be fully digitalised i will get a copy i have a letter from him often wondered why he chose that particular pen name and where he got the inspiration for feramontov from trying to locate copy of the phoenix sings can anyone help
March 31st, 2008 at 3:27 pm
He chose the name Desmond Cory because at the time he started writing, many popular authors had surnames beginning with the letter C (Agatha Christie, for example). As novels were classified in libraries in alphabetical order, he hoped that potential readers would accidentally come across his novels while searching for works by more illustrious contemporaries.
April 1st, 2008 at 6:38 pm
hi i am a fan of desmond cory and have complete collection of all his books schlock horror strange but true what i am after is the three short stories he published one is stumblebum the magician the second a professor dobie one cant recall the third one or more may have been published in a compedium of short storiesor similar these were published in the last few years of his life can anyone help
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
“Stumblebum the Wizard” I think was in a “Winter’s Crimes No 8” compilation published by MacMillan in the 1970s, as was “The Crime of Prince Milo” (No 7). “Song of Fariq” was included in a Mystery Guild Anthology either in the late 70s or early 80s. I’m not aware of any Professor Dobie short stories – there were three published novels and at least one unpublished finished manuscript. Desmond Cory was working on a revival of Johnny Fedora when he died, and on numerous other projects. He continued writing until shortly before his death on January 4th 2001 in Marbella hospital, Spain.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:30 am
While I was growing up in Sully (South Wales) my parents got to know Shaun (Desmond Cory) and his family very well. I always remember what a great time I had with his family (and dog!). His sons were always good to me (they were older but didn’t mind me ‘being around’!) and he and his wife always embraced life with a virtue which seems to be lacking in many people of late. Now, my Mother I believe is still in contact with his widow and every now and then I reach back in my memory to those seemingly longer summers in their lovely house – playing in the house and garden and laughing..a lot of laughing. I thank them all for the memories..
February 26th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Wondering if John McCarthy could make contact. I found a picture by Shaun McCarthy’s father William who was at one point a painter and would like to know if he knows if any more pictures have survived?
March 29th, 2016 at 8:24 am
Having the pleasure of having them at our home in Sanaa Yemen,his wife and Desmond were a delight,never mention his writting,we knew he was an expat like us,he was teaching at the University in Sanaa.
Both Blanca and Desmond were twin souls,an example of love and devotion.