James Leasor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
James Leasor
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 20 December 1923 Erith, Kent, England |
| Died | 10 September 2007 (aged 83) Wiltshire, England |
| Pen name | James Leasor; Andrew MacAllan |
| Occupation | Author |
| Period | 1946–1997 |
| Genre | Fiction, History |
James Leasor (born December 20, 1923 – died September 10, 2007) was a British author. He wrote many books, including exciting historical stories and thrilling spy novels. Some of James Leasor's books were even turned into movies! For example, his 1978 book Boarding Party, which was about a secret event from World War II, became the movie The Sea Wolves (1980). This film starred famous actors like Gregory Peck, Roger Moore, and David Niven.
Contents
About James Leasor
James Leasor was born in Erith, Kent, England, on December 20, 1923. He went to school at the City of London School. After finishing school, he worked as a reporter for the Kent Messenger newspaper.
His Time in the Army
When James Leasor was old enough, he joined the army. He served in Burma during World War II. While there, he was part of the Lincolnshire Regiment.
During the war, his troopship, the El Madina, was attacked by a torpedo. This happened on March 16, 1944. Many lives were lost, and James Leasor spent 18 hours floating in the Indian Ocean. He was also injured in battle on May 8, 1944.
Later, in November 1944, Leasor became a sub-editor for a newspaper called Contact. This paper was for the armed forces in India and Southeast Asia. He also worked as an Army Observer in Rangoon, Burma. He traveled a lot during this time, visiting many towns by plane and jeep. He wrote over 300 news stories about the Burma campaign. He also contributed to the BBC and other newspapers. His novel, NTR: Nothing to Report (1955), was based on his own experiences in India and Burma during the war.
After the War and His Career
After the war, James Leasor went to Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied English. He also edited The Isis magazine. After university, he joined the Daily Express newspaper. He worked as a foreign correspondent, reporting from different countries.
His Published Books
James Leasor wrote his first book, Not Such a Bad Day (1946), while he was still in the jungles of Burma. He wrote it by hand on special paper that was sent to England. His mother typed the book, and it was published. It sold 28,000 copies!
He became well-known for his historical books. These included:
- The Red Fort (1956): This book told the story of the Indian Mutiny.
- The One That Got Away (1956): This was about Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war to escape from Allied territory during World War II. It was later made into a film.
- The Plague and the Fire (1961): This book was about the terrible Great Plague of London and the Great Fire of London in the 1600s.
- The Millionth Chance (1957): This told the story of the R101 airship, which crashed.
- Singapore: The Battle that Changed the World (1968): This was about the Battle of Singapore in 1942.
James Leasor became a full-time author in the 1960s. This was after his novel Passport to Oblivion (1964) became very popular. It was a spy thriller featuring a character named Dr Jason Love. This book was one of the best-selling books of that time. It was also made into a movie called Where the Spies Are (1965), starring David Niven. An audio version of Passport to Oblivion was released in 2019.
Leasor wrote nine more thrillers about Jason Love. He also continued to write historical books. Some of his later historical titles include:
- Green Beach (1975): This was about the Dieppe Raid in 1942 and a secret mission to capture German radar equipment.
- Boarding Party (1978): This book was based on the real events of Operation Creek in 1943. It was filmed as The Sea Wolves (1980).
- The Unknown Warrior (1980): This was about a secret agent involved in the plans for D-Day.
- Who Killed Sir Harry Oakes? (1983): This book was made into a TV mini-series.
- Rhodes and Barnato (1997): His final history book, which looked at the lives of Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato, who were important figures in South Africa's history.
James Leasor also wrote six books using a different name, Andrew MacAllan. He also helped other people write their 'autobiographies', including actors Kenneth More and Jack Hawkins.
His Personal Life
James Leasor loved cars. He owned some older, special cars, like a rare Cord roadster and an SS Jaguar 100. These cars even appeared in some of his Jason Love novels.
He married Joan Bevan, who was a lawyer, on December 1, 1951. They had three sons. For the last 40 years of his life, he lived at Swallowcliffe Manor in Wiltshire, England.
James Leasor passed away in Salisbury on September 10, 2007, when he was 83 years old. He is buried in the churchyard of St. Peter's Church in Swallowcliffe.
The Andrew MacAllan Story
Later in his career, James Leasor found it harder to get publishers interested in his new book ideas. They liked to publish his popular books, like the Jason Love thrillers, but they didn't print many copies of new ones. Publishers sometimes said there wasn't enough public interest for more copies.
Leasor and his literary agent, Gillon Aitken, came up with a clever plan. They decided to create a fake author named Andrew MacAllan. The idea was that MacAllan was a successful businessman who traveled a lot in the Far East. This would explain why he couldn't meet publishers in person. All contact would be through the agent.
Leasor wrote the first few chapters of a big historical story. It was loosely based on how famous trading companies in Hong Kong started. Gillon Aitken took the story and the idea of MacAllan to different publishers in London. A new and ambitious company called Headline Publishing Group quickly bought the book, offering a good amount of money.
To make the story believable, 'MacAllan' used hotel writing paper from different places around the world to write to the publisher. They even opened a bank account in London under the name Andrew MacAllan so that royalty payments could be made without anyone suspecting.
The first book, Succession, was 700 pages long and came out in 1989. It sold very well! The first print run of 50,000 copies quickly sold out, and more copies had to be printed. It became Headline's best-selling book that year. A second book, Generation, came out the next year and also sold very well.
Publishers became very curious about this unknown writer who could write bestsellers so easily. Many meetings were planned but then canceled because of MacAllan's busy travel schedule. Eventually, Aitken and Leasor realized they couldn't keep the secret forever. They finally told the publishers the truth. Even after the truth came out, Headline published four more bestsellers under the Andrew MacAllan name: Diamond Hard, Fanfare, Speculator, and Traders.
See also
- Calcutta Light Horse
- List of films based on war books
