Christopher Frayling – författare

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and remains one of Sherlock Holmes's greatest and most popular adventures. Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. And, immersed in another case, he sends Dr Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and observe the suspects at close hand. With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal.This edition contains a full chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle's life and works, an introduction by renowned horror scholar Professor Christopher Frayling discussing the background to the novel and the legends and events that inspired the story, with further reading and explanatory notes.'Arthur Conan Doyle is unique ... Personally, I would walk a mile in tight boots to read him to the milkman'Stephen Fry

Between the worldwide box-office success of his Dollars films - A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For A Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966) - and his untimely death in 1989 at the age of 60, Sergio Leone gave interviews to selected film journalists. He also wrote a series of thoughtful essays about his cinematic influences - and loves - such as Charlie Chaplin, Federico Fellini, Henry Fonda, Robert Aldrich and, of course, John Ford. To accompany his final film Once Upon a Time in America (1984) - 15 years in gestation - he published several articles about his obsessive quest to make the film, and how it eventually happened. Most of these interviews/writings have never before appeared in the English language, and as a collection they have never before appeared anywhere. SERGIO LEONE by Himself, compiled by Leone's acclaimed biographer Christopher Frayling, gathers together all his significant interviews, essays and articles, to create a director's eye view of a body of work which over the past half century has had a decisive influence on world cinema, especially action cinema. The book is profusely illustrated with previously unseen photographs from the Leone family collection and the Angelo Novi archive, both now housed in the Cineteca in Bologna. It also includes previously unpublished commentary from Leone's long-suffering producers. Much has been written by commentators about the films of Sergio Leone - some of it good, some bad and some ugly. Here at last it is the turn of the man himself - larger-than-life, short-fused, astonishingly cine-literate, and a born storyteller. SERGIO LEONE by Himself will be published in autumn 2024, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of the Italian release of A Fistful of Dollars.

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and remains one of Sherlock Holmes's greatest and most popular adventures. Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. And, immersed in another case, he sends Dr Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and observe the suspects at close hand. With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal.This edition contains a full chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle's life and works, an introduction by renowned horror scholar Professor Christopher Frayling discussing the background to the novel and the legends and events that inspired the story, with further reading and explanatory notes.'Arthur Conan Doyle is unique ... Personally, I would walk a mile in tight boots to read him to the milkman'Stephen Fry

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised and remains one of Sherlock Holmes's greatest and most popular adventures. Could the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound that is said to have haunted his family for generations? Arch-rationalist Sherlock Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. And, immersed in another case, he sends Dr Watson to Devon to protect the Baskerville heir and observe the suspects at close hand. With its atmospheric setting on the ancient, wild moorland and its savage apparition, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the greatest crime novels ever written. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil as Sherlock Holmes sets out to defeat a foe almost his equal.This edition contains a full chronology of Arthur Conan Doyle's life and works, an introduction by renowned horror scholar Professor Christopher Frayling discussing the background to the novel and the legends and events that inspired the story, with further reading and explanatory notes.'Arthur Conan Doyle is unique ... Personally, I would walk a mile in tight boots to read him to the milkman'Stephen Fry

A comprehensive anthology of vampires in literature, from Dracula to Twilight. Christopher Frayling has spent 50 years exploring the history of one of the most enduring figures in the history of mass culture – the vampire. Vampyres is a comprehensive illustrated history of vampires in literature, from the folklore of Eastern Europe to the Romantics and beyond. Frayling recounts the most significant moments in Gothic history, while extracts from a huge range of sources – including Bram Stoker’s detailed research notes for Dracula, penny-dreadfuls and Angela Carter’s The Lady of the House of Love, are contextualized and analysed. This revised and expanded edition brings Vampyres up to date with 21st-century vampire literature, including new text extracts, commentary and a revised introduction. Christopher Frayling also explores the development of the vampire in the visual arts, with illustrations ranging from 17th-century prints to 21st-century film stills, demonstrating the enduring appeal of the vampire from popular press to fine art and, finally, to film.

Ever since the dawn of the sound era, Hollywood has made a series of elaborate feature films about the lives of the great visual artists: including (among many others) Charles Laughton as Rembrandt; George Sanders as Gauguin; Jose Ferrer as Toulouse-Lautrec; Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh; Charlton Heston as Michelangelo-and, more recently on a smaller scale, Jeffrey Wright as Jean-Michel Basquiat; Derek Jacobi as Francis Bacon; Ed Harris as Jackson Pollock; Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo (at last a female artist!); and many others, pitched at more niche audiences. These films have represented the lives of artists in ways that 'chime' with public expectations and public attitudes-with stories that take audiences on a journey from garret to gallery to glamour to gutter to grave. So, although they are often dismissed out of hand by art historians and curators, the films can tell us a great deal about how art and artists have entered the cultural bloodstream of modern Western societies. What can they reveal about the changing public image of the visual artist? What assumptions did Hollywood screenwriters and filmmakers make about awareness of the history of art in society at large? And what assumptions did they reflect/ promote about the artists' private lives-as well as their gender and ethnicity? What was the background to the making of these films? And what impact have they had on the real art world - its exhibitions, auctions, collections, and artists? There has never before been a full-length book devoted to the fascinating story of THE HOLLYWOOD HISTORY OF ART, in all its glory. This generously illustrated volume will fill this surprising gap. It is based on many years of archive research, as well as on interviews with participants and the author's long experience of teaching art history. It will appeal to museum and gallery-goers, readers interested in the history of art and of film, film buffs, collectors, viewers of TV miniseries and films about artists-and of course those with fond memories of Jose Ferrer wandering the streets of Montmartre on his knees, Kirk Douglas gritting his teeth and being attacked by crows, Charlton Heston swallowing a mouthful of paint as he frescoes the ceiling of a 70mm Sistine Chapel, Ed Harris in a T-shirt dripping brushfuls of paint onto a huge canvas and Salma Hayek being transported at speed in a four-poster bed to a contemporary art gallery in Mexico City...

The French New Wave is one of the most important movements in the history of film. Its fresh energy and vision changed the cinematic landscape and it has had a seminal impact on pop culture. The poster artists tasked with selling these Nouvelle Vague films to the masses were at the forefront of a revolution in art, graphic design and photography. This volume is a visual celebration of their explosive and ground-breaking poster art.

Leading cultural historian and broadcaster Christopher Frayling reflects on gothic themes in literature, art and popular culture, through the lens of his friendship and correspondence with Angela Carter during her formative ‘Bath years’, during which she wrote most of her key works; The Bloody Chamber, The Sadeian Woman, The Passion of New Eve.Inside the Bloody Chamber collects Frayling’s articles, essays and lectures written since then on various aspects of the Gothic—several in hard-to-find places, many never published before, but all revised for this new book. The subjects match Angela’s interests, are mirrored in the stories within The Bloody Chamber—and mesh with his memories of their time together in Bath in the 1970s.

Leading cultural historian and broadcaster Christopher Frayling reflects on gothic themes in literature, art and popular culture, through the lens of his friendship and correspondence with Angela Carter during her formative ‘Bath years’, during which she wrote most of her key works; The Bloody Chamber, The Sadeian Woman, The Passion of New Eve.Inside the Bloody Chamber collects Frayling’s articles, essays and lectures written since then on various aspects of the Gothic—several in hard-to-find places, many never published before, but all revised for this new book. The subjects match Angela’s interests, are mirrored in the stories within The Bloody Chamber—and mesh with his memories of their time together in Bath in the 1970s.

Jack Clayton''s gothic masterpiece The Innocents, though not a commercial success on its release in 1961, has been hailed as one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time. Dividing reviewers with its ambiguous depiction of ghosts, the film ignited a debate about the aesthetics of horror which still rages today.In this stimulating introduction to The Innocents, Sir Christopher Frayling traces the film from its genesis in the original novel The Turn of The Screw by Henry James, via contemporary critical contexts and William Archibald''s 1950 stage adaptation of the same name, to the screenplay by William Archibald, Truman Capote and John Mortimer. Drawing on unpublished material from Jack Clayton''s archive – including Capote''s handwritten drafts for the film – and interviews with Deborah Kerr, Freddie Francis, and John Mortimer, Frayling explores how this classic ghost story came to life on screen. This special edition features original cover artwork by Matthew Young.

The release of ''Things to Come'' in 1936 was one of the key moments in the history of science fiction in the cinema. The film was the brainchild of H. G. Wells, whose worldwide reputation as a thinker had persuaded its producer, Alexander Korda, to offer him a contract giving him virtually total control over the project. Korda drafted a dazzling array of talents to render into pictures Wells''s ideas of the future a hundred years hence. His brother, Vincent Korda, a distinguished painter, was employed as art director, and the Bauhaus artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy contributed ideas for futuristic sets. As director, Korda hired William Cameron Menzies, who had practically invented the profession of Hollywood art director through his work with Douglas Fairbanks on ''The Thief of Baghdad ''and Rudolf Valentino on ''Son of the Sheik,'' and whose career would climax with ''Gone With the WInd.'' The result was a landmark in cinematic design. Christopher Frayling shows, with a wealth of illustrations, how the boldness and brilliance of the sets and costumes mark out ''Things to Come ''as British cinema''s greatest contribution to the science fiction genre, amply justifying his judgement that ''''Things to Come ''is to modernism as ''Blade Runner'' is to postmodernism.''

The release of ''Things to Come'' in 1936 was one of the key moments in the history of science fiction in the cinema. The film was the brainchild of H. G. Wells, whose worldwide reputation as a thinker had persuaded its producer, Alexander Korda, to offer him a contract giving him virtually total control over the project. Korda drafted a dazzling array of talents to render into pictures Wells''s ideas of the future a hundred years hence. His brother, Vincent Korda, a distinguished painter, was employed as art director, and the Bauhaus artist Laszlo Moholy-Nagy contributed ideas for futuristic sets. As director, Korda hired William Cameron Menzies, who had practically invented the profession of Hollywood art director through his work with Douglas Fairbanks on ''The Thief of Baghdad ''and Rudolf Valentino on ''Son of the Sheik,'' and whose career would climax with ''Gone With the WInd.'' The result was a landmark in cinematic design. Christopher Frayling shows, with a wealth of illustrations, how the boldness and brilliance of the sets and costumes mark out ''Things to Come ''as British cinema''s greatest contribution to the science fiction genre, amply justifying his judgement that ''''Things to Come ''is to modernism as ''Blade Runner'' is to postmodernism.''

Jack Clayton's gothic masterpiece The Innocents, though not a commercial success on its release in 1961, has been hailed as one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time. Dividing reviewers with its ambiguous depiction of ghosts, the film ignited a debate about the aesthetics of horror which still rages today.In this stimulating introduction to The Innocents, Sir Christopher Frayling traces the film from its genesis in the original novel The Turn of The Screw by Henry James, via contemporary critical contexts and William Archibald's 1950 stage adaptation of the same name, to the screenplay by William Archibald, Truman Capote and John Mortimer. Drawing on unpublished material from Jack Clayton's archive – including Capote's handwritten drafts for the film – and interviews with Deborah Kerr, Freddie Francis, and John Mortimer, Frayling explores how this classic ghost story came to life on screen. This special edition features original cover artwork by Matthew Young.

Jack Clayton''s gothic masterpiece The Innocents, though not a commercial success on its release in 1961, has been hailed as one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time. Dividing reviewers with its ambiguous depiction of ghosts, the film ignited a debate about the aesthetics of horror which still rages today.In this stimulating introduction to The Innocents, Sir Christopher Frayling traces the film from its genesis in the original novel The Turn of The Screw by Henry James, via contemporary critical contexts and William Archibald''s 1950 stage adaptation of the same name, to the screenplay by William Archibald, Truman Capote and John Mortimer. Drawing on unpublished material from Jack Clayton''s archive – including Capote''s handwritten drafts for the film – and interviews with Deborah Kerr, Freddie Francis, and John Mortimer, Frayling explores how this classic ghost story came to life on screen. This special edition features original cover artwork by Matthew Young.

“Christopher Frayling’s Spaghetti Westerns is a particularly entertaining and enjoyably readable book. Frayling is obviously both a film buff and film critic, so he is able to appreciate Spaghetti Westerns as popular entertainments, to celebrate their cinematic stylishness, while simultaneously knowledgeably exploring their many social and political dimensions.” – Gary Crowdus, Cineaste“Unquestionably the single best book written about the Western.” – Journal of Popular Film and Television

'Craftsmanship has again become fashionable in high places, just as it did in the last few recessions.'The concept of craftsmanship has never been as relevant and timely as it is today. Assailed on all sides by – among many other tendencies - flexible working, short-termism, portfolio careers, quick-fix training and the cult of celebrity, it has recently re-entered public debate with a new sense of urgency. Why?A bestseller in hardback, this series of linked essays by the man who ran the Royal College of Art for many years is now available in paperback, and explores the crafts in education, in history and literature, in the contemporary arts landscape, in the language, in the digital age, taking an unsentimental, hard-headed look at craftsmanship today. Only when the romantic cobwebs have been blown away, it argues, can the key importance of the crafts be fully understood.

Since its origin cinema has had an uneasy relationship with science and technology: scientists are almost always impossibly mad or impossibly saintly, and technology is nearly always very bad for you. In Mad, Bad and Dangerous?, Christopher Frayling explores the genealogy of the film scientist in films made in Western Europe, and especially in Hollywood after the 1930s, showing how in film the scientist has often been used to represent the prevailing phobias of the time.In the 1950s, for example, films were dominated by the fear of botched atomic research, and were a showcase of mutated, outsized creatures and radioactive zombies. Since Hitchcock’s The Birds, however, the role of the scientist has been less straightforward, and by the 1970s damage to the environment and the spread of diseases were the predominant consequences of science gone wrong. Scientists - and the corporations that controlled them - became the ‘baddies’.The author also examines in parallel the portrayal of real-life scientists in the movies, noting how they are in the main depicted as misfits, immersed in their work, sacrificing any normal life to the interests of science, yet distrusted by the scientific establishment. Interestingly, the cinematic portrayal of fictional and real-life scientists follow very similar dramatic conventions, and Frayling concludes that the mad scientist and the saintly one are two sides of the same Hollywood coin.

Design and Popular Entertainment offers a selection of nine essays that examine the range of design for popular entertainment, from theatre and film, to television and radio. Investigating entertainment design from the late nineteenth century to the 1960s, the book is divided into two sections. The first addresses the ‘hardware’ of popular entertainment, in other words the objects through which images, sound and performance are transmitted. The second explores the construction of cinematic and televisual imagery and the design of objects for the screen, the ‘software’ of entertainment. In so doing it offers important insights into this little explored aspect of design.Topics covered by the collection include the design of theatrical lighting and stage sets, cinema and radio design, the representation of designers within film, and the relationship between design and television. The book’s concentration on the 1950s and 1960s reflects the profound changes in modes of entertainment that took place during that period, in particular the spread of television, which not only attracted a huge popular audience but also stimulated experimental designing approaches and thinking. With particular focus on the way that both the objects and the construction of entertainment have altered audience’s experience, the essays present a novel approach to the subject. This book will be of particular interest to students and teachers working in design and cultural history as well as film and theatre studies.

This book will trace the journey of Shelley's Frankenstein from limited edition literature to the bloodstream of contemporary culture. It includes new research on the novel's origins, with a reprint of the earliest-known version of the creation scene; visual material on adaptations for the stage, in magazines, on playbills, in prints and in book publications of the nineteenth century; series of visual essays on many of the film versions and their inspirations in the history of art; and Frankenstein in popular culture on posters, advertisements, packaging, in comics and graphic novels.