The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center

Explore the real historical figures who inspired characters in Desmond Bagley’s thriller The Spoilers, revealing how history shaped one of his most authentic novels.

Feature Articles: The Bagley Brief

The Wild Man: Bagley’s first attempt at espionage fiction

In November 1966 Bagley began exploring the possibility of writing an espionage novel. His synopsis for a new novel, titled The Wild Man, was delivered to his publishers on 24 August 1967. Set in Saqih, a fictional province of Borneo, it posed a compelling question: How can an elected government control its professional bureaucracy, especially those parts that normally operate in a clandestine manner?

Running Blind: The Hemisphere screenplay and the enigmatic Sol Reybvinnar

Discover more about the only screenplay for Running Blind filed with Bagley’s papers, Hemisphere Productions that produced it and the enigmatic Sol Reybvinnar who wrote it.

Caravan to Vaccarès: Nemesis of a Running Blind movie adaptation

Discover the history of film producers Geoffrey Reeve and Richard Morris-Adams’ ill-fated 1973 production of Desmond Bagley’s novel Running Blind, and its connection with Alistair MacLean’s Caravan to Vaccarès.

Tag: The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center

The Spoilers: Characters from the pages of history

The Desmond Bagley Collection at the Priaulx Library