Philip Nicholson (25 June 1940 – 10 July 2005), known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

A. J. Quinnell, was an English thriller novelist.Social and Personal Obituaries
." ''

Times of Malta The ''Times of Malta'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Malta. Founded in 1935, by Lord and Lady Strickland and Lord Strickland's daughter Mabel, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in Malta. It has the widest circu ...

''. Thursday 14 July 2005. Retrieved 28 March 2011. He is best known for his novel '' Man on Fire'', which has been adapted to film twice, most recently in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

featuring

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

. Later in life he spent much of his time in

Gozo Gozo ( ), known in classical antiquity, antiquity as Gaulos, is an island in the Malta#The Maltese archipelago, Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After the Malta Island, island of Malta ...

, Malta, where he died.

Life and work

Nicholson travelled throughout his life and several minor characters in his books are based on real people that he encountered on his travels. Nicholson was married three times. His last wife, Elsebeth Egholm, is a Danish mystery novelist. The couple maintained residences on the island of

and in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. When the author was preparing to publish his first book, '' Man on Fire'', he wanted to keep his real identity a secret. During a conversation in a bar, his agent, Chris Little, told him he could use a pseudonym. The author chose "Quinnell", after the

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player Derek Quinnell and "A. J." from the initials of the bartender's son. Nicholson frequented Gleneagles bar in Mġarr, Gozo, the town where the Malta ferry disembarks. He could often be found drinking vodkas with soda. He wrote late at night and through until the morning, always standing up. He also sponsored a local Gozo soccer team and was admired by the Gozitans. The author's best-known creation was the character of Marcus Creasy, an American-born former member of the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...

. The Creasy novels are cult favorites in Japan. '' Man on Fire'' was directly adapted for film twice, in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and

. The latter film was adapted into a 2005 Bollywood film. This resulted in a wider demand for Quinnell's books, especially those that feature Creasy (listed in the Bibliography below).

Bibliography

References

External links

*
A.J. Quinnell Fan Site

*
A.J. Quinnell
" at

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

(archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinnell, A. J. Quinell, A.J. Quinnell, A.J. Quinnell, A.J. People from Nuneaton 20th-century English novelists English male novelists 20th-century English male writers