Chapter two of By Royal Command, "It is Only When We Are Close to Death That We Feel Fully Alive" describes the background and death of a character called Graf von Schlick and his mistress. These characters and the denouement are based on a story Fleming made up while staying in Tennerhof in 1937.
See The Life of Ian Fleming by John Pearson, ch 4, page 39 (in the 1966 Jonathan Cape first edition:
"He [Fleming] invented an endless story about Graf Schlick, the local lord of the manor who lived in the big castle at the end of the valley, and had him committing the mostterrible crimes and perpetuating unspeakable tortures. At the end of one of these stories, when the Graf had performed mulitple villainies upon some unprotesting virgin, retribution caught up with him."
The death of Schlink in Fleming's version is different (The character contracts leprosy from the unprotesting virgin) but certainly Higson's character is a tribute to this early Fleming creation.
According to Andrew Lycett's 1995 biography of Ian Fleming, Count Schlick was based on an actual Czech adventurer who called himself by that name, started the first ski club in Kitzbuhel. "As later often happened with his books, Ian found some of his best material closest to hand. He was fascinated by the exploits of the local aristocrats, the von Lambergs. The Graf (or Count) Max von Lamberg had a formidable reputation for drinking and womanizing. While his wife and three children lived in the family castle, a sugary Gothic confection called the Schloss Kaps, Graf Max camped out in a nearby chalet with a blonde mistress who worked in the photographer's shop and who was consequently known as the Photo-Grafin. Count Max's exotic sister, Paula, was a close neighbour in the Schloss Lebenberg. She was an artist and sportswoman, widely known as the best female ski-jumper in the world. She married a Czech adventurer who adopted the name 'Count Schlick' and who started the first ski club in Kitzbuhel. Schlick ran through her money, but not before introducing her to motor racing which led to her death. She was competing with her husband in a race in Salzburg, when she mysteriously fell out of the carand was killed. Local gossip had it that she was pushed by Schlick who, having inherited her castle and land, methodically sold it off piece by piece. Ian liked to concoct stories about the evils perpetuated by Schlick, including graphic details of tortures the Count devised."
So from this extract it is apparent that Higson has combined aspects of Max von Lamberg with Fleming's Schlick.
I consider the integration of this early Fleming "character" into By Royal Command a stroke of genius on Higson's part. Well done CH.
Edited by Craig Arthur, 17 September 2008 - 10:58 AM.
