Wood Ernest

Christopher Wood (1935–2015) was an English author known for diverse literary output, including the highly successful "Confessions" series of humorous erotic novels and films, written under the pseudonym Timothy Lea. He also adapted two James Bond novels for screen, "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker," to which he contributed screenplay credits. Wood's literary career spanned several genres, encompassing semi-autobiographical fiction, historical novels, and adventure stories, often drawing inspiration from his personal experiences.

Educated at Cambridge, Wood served in the military in Cyprus, an experience that informed his second novel. His time working in advertising also provided material for his writing, including a planned but unwritten novel about the industry. Despite initial struggles with literary fiction, the immense popularity of the "Confessions" series allowed him to write full-time. His pseudonymous works also included the "Rosie Dixon" series and books under the name Frank Clegg. Wood's death in 2015 was not widely publicized until later that year.

Christopher Wood's extensive bibliography can be categorized into four main groups: introspective, semi-autobiographical literary fiction; historical fiction; adventure novels; and humorous erotic novels published under pseudonyms. His most commercially successful venture was the "Confessions" series, written as Timothy Lea, which spawned numerous books and film adaptations. These works, characterized by their humor and eroticism, were immensely popular despite receiving poor critical reviews. Wood himself acknowledged their success, stating that "success was its own currency" and that he "always did like smut." Each "Confessions" book typically took around five weeks to write. He also created the "Rosie Dixon" series, featuring a female protagonist, and wrote under the name Frank Clegg, focusing on themes like football hooliganism.

Beyond his prolific novel writing, Wood made significant contributions to screenwriting. He is credited with adapting two James Bond novels into films: "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) and "Moonraker" (1979), co-writing the former with Richard Maibaum. His novelizations of these films, which he was the first author to undertake for Bond movies, bore little resemblance to Ian Fleming's original novels, with Wood largely developing his own plots. "The Spy Who Loved Me" novelization was retitled to avoid confusion with Fleming's book, while "Moonraker" shared some elements with the original, notably the villain Hugo Drax. Bond enthusiasts generally regarded Wood's novelizations favorably. He also wrote the screenplay for the action film "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" (1985) and penned scripts for producer Roger Corman in the late 1990s.

Wood's life experiences significantly shaped his writing. Born in London, he was sent to boarding school to escape The Blitz, later attending King's College Junior School where he encountered difficult staff. His university education at Cambridge focused on economics and law, followed by mandatory military service in Cyprus, which provided the inspiration for his novel "Terrible Hard, Says Alice." This book received praise from novelist William Boyd, who considered it a rare convincing depiction of war. Wood's time in Africa also fueled his writing, leading to his first novel "Make it Happen to Me" and the adventure novel "A Dove Against Death" (1983). The latter was inspired by his work supervising a plebiscite in the Southern Cameroons and his research into German colonial history in Africa. His semi-autobiographical novel "California, Here I Am" (2004) explored the American film industry.

“The books, and later the films, got terrible reviews, but they were successful, and success was its own currency”

“They were funny then, and they are funny now. Then again, I always did like smut.”

“I just can't make up my mind about John Adam – Samurai – or, for that matter, its author, Christopher Wood. As a piece of sheer escapism, it's fantastic: it's got just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek cheekiness. My problem is — did he write it as a piece of cerebral fantasy to escape from the frustration of weekdays spent in a London advertising agency (in which case, bully for him); or does he want to be taken as a 'serious' author. To me, however, it's as if all the fantasies of this London advertising man [...] had, at the advanced age of 36, broken out into a cold sweat. Psychiatrists tell us we should shed our fantasies by the time we reach our mid-thirties, so perhaps Christopher Wood is doing just that. And yet, underlying it all, one feels that he has done his homework and knows his Samurai very well. And he really makes you think you are watching it all. Qualities like this are worth developing. His is the imagination which could come up with something really good.”