Bertram John Boland (12 February 1913 – 9 November 1976) was a British novelist and science fiction author.
Boland was born in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
, but later lived in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
, on the edge of
Ashdown Forest
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England. Rising to an elevation
...
with his wife, Philippa.
[Biography and bibliography taken from the dust jacket of The Gentlemen at Large. Published by Forest House Books.]
His most well known book was ''
The League of Gentlemen
''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the live ...
'' (1958) which was released as a
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
. However, characters' names and the ending were changed.
[The book ends with the main character shooting himself. In the film, he gives himself up to the police.] He wrote two sequels:
* ''The Gentlemen Reform (1961)''
* ''The Gentlemen at Large (1962)''
They continued with the characterisations developed in the film.
His first novel "White August" (1955) was a science fiction weather control disaster story. His second, "No Refuge" (1956) begins as a bank robbery crime story but them changes into science fiction, depicting a futuristic lost world.
[SF Encyclopedia]
John Boland In this world children get much of their education from computers and adults walk around with a small device on their chest, listening to music through earpieces.
[John Boland (1956) "No Refuge" (Michael Joseph, London) pages 107 and 66 respectively]
As well as novels, he published short stories in science fiction magazines, including
Galaxy Science Fiction
''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edit ...
and
New Worlds.
[
Boland was closely involved with Swanwick writers' summer school becoming its chairman in 1958]
Bibliography
Fiction
* ''White August'' (Michael Joseph: 1955)
* ''No Refuge'' (Michael Joseph: 1956)
* ''Queer Fish'' (Boardman: 1958)
* ''The League of Gentlemen'' (Boardman: 1958)
* ''Mysterious Way'' (Boardman: 1959)
* ''Operation Red Carpet'' (Boardman: 1959)
* ''Bitter Fortune'' (Boardman: 1959)
* ''The Midas Touch'' (Boardman: 1960)
* ''Negative Value'' (Boardman: 1960)
* ''The Gentlemen Reform'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''Inside Job'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''The Golden Fleece'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''Vendetta'' (Boardman: 1961)
* ''The Gentlemen at Large'' (Boardman: 1962)
* ''Fatal Error'' (Boardman: 1962)
* ''Counterpol'' (Harrap: 1963)
* ''The Catch'' (Harrap: 1964)
* ''Counterpol in Paris'' (Harrap: 1964)
* ''The Good Citizens'' (Harrap: 1965)
* ''The Disposal Unit'' (Harrap: 1966)
* ''The Gusher'' (Harrap: 1967)
* ''Painted Lady'' (Cassell: 1967)
* ''Breakdown'' (Cassell: 1968)
* ''The Fourth Grave'' (Cassell: 1969)
* ''The Shakespeare Curse'' (Cassell: 1969)
* ''Kidnap'' (Cassell: 1970)
* ''The Big Job'' (Cassell: 1970)
* ''The Trade of Kings'' (Forest House: 1972)
* ''Holocaust'' (Futura: 1974)
Nonfiction
* ''Free-Lance Journalism''
* ''Short Story Writing''
Notes
References
*
External links
*
1913 births
1976 deaths
English science fiction writers
20th-century English novelists
English male novelists
20th-century English male writers
English male non-fiction writers
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