Christopher Wood (novelist)

Christopher Wood (novelist) was a prolific British author and screenwriter, best known for his humorous novels and his work within the James Bond franchise. His career spanned several decades, producing a diverse body of work that included original fiction, film novelizations, and successful screenplays for both cinema and television. Wood's writing, particularly his ''Confessions'' series adaptations, captured a specific vein of British popular culture during the 1970s.

Biography

Christopher Wood was born in 1935 in London, England. He was educated at St Paul's School before attending Merton College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History. After completing his national service as an officer in the British Army, he initially pursued a career in advertising, working for the renowned agency J. Walter Thompson. This commercial background later informed the satirical edge found in much of his fiction. He was married to the actress and writer Prunella Scales, with whom he had two sons, including the actor Samuel West. Wood died in 2015.

Literary career

Wood's literary career began with the publication of his first novel, Make It Happen to Me, in 1967. He quickly established a reputation for witty, commercially successful fiction, often exploring themes of sex, social climbing, and satire of the advertising world, as seen in works like The Rock Cried Out. His most significant contribution to popular literature came from his novelizations of screenplays. He was commissioned by Eon Productions to write the official novelizations for two James Bond films, The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979), crafting original prose narratives from the scripts. Concurrently, he adapted the screenplays for the risqué ''Confessions'' film series into a bestselling series of novels, beginning with Confessions of a Window Cleaner.

Film adaptations

Several of Christopher Wood's own original novels were adapted for the screen, blurring the lines between his literary and cinematic work. His novel The Big Apple was adapted into the 1973 film The Love Ban, starring Nicky Henson and Nanette Newman. His satirical book A Dove Against the Sword was filmed as The Black Windmill (1974), a thriller directed by Don Siegel and featuring Michael Caine. Furthermore, Wood directly contributed screenplays for film and television, including episodes for the ITV drama series The Professionals and the 1980 film The Mirror Crack'd, an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel starring Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple.

Bibliography

Wood's bibliography is extensive and varied. His notable original novels include Make It Happen to Me (1967), The Rock Cried Out (1968), A Dove Against the Sword (1972), and The Big Apple (1972). His celebrated novelizations comprise the two James Bond books and the series for the ''Confessions'' films, such as Confessions of a Window Cleaner (1974), Confessions of a Pop Performer (1975), and Confessions of a Driving Instructor (1976). He also authored the thriller Dead Centre (1985) and the memoir The Man Who Saved Britain, a personal and cultural history of the James Bond phenomenon.

Legacy and influence

Christopher Wood is remembered as a skilled and adaptable writer who adeptly navigated the intersecting worlds of literature, film, and popular culture. His James Bond novelizations are considered among the best in that specialized genre, appreciated by fans for their faithful yet inventive expansions of the films. The ''Confessions'' novels remain iconic artifacts of 1970s British comedy and social history. His work continues to be studied for its insights into the mechanics of adaptation and its reflection of changing social mores and humor in late-20th century Britain.

Category:British novelists Category:English screenwriters Category:1935 births Category:2015 deaths