The Bellamy Saga

by John George Pearson

Richard Bellamy brings his bride Lady Marjorie to their new home, 165 Eaton Place, and then it flashes back to how exactly they got together. Richard must struggle with Marjorie's family because he comes from, in their minds, an inferior class.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

John Pearson was a writer best associated with James Bond creator Ian Fleming. He was Fleming's assistant at the London Sunday Times and would go on to write the first biography of Ian Fleming, 1966's The Life of Ian Fleming. Pearson also wrote "true-crime" biographies, such as The Profession of Violence: an East End gang story about the rise and fall of the Kray twins.

Pearson would also become the third official James Bond author of the adult-Bond series, writing in 1973 James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007, a first-person biography of the fictional agent James Bond. Although the canonical nature of this book has been debated by Bond fans since it was published, it was officially authorized by Glidrose Publications, the official publisher of the James Bond chronicles. Glidrose reportedly considered commissioning Pearson to write a new series of Bond novels in the 1970s, but nothing came of this.

Pearson was commissioned by Donald Campbell to chronicle his successful attempt on the Land Speed Record in 1964 in Bluebird CN7, resulting in the book Bluebird and the Dead Lake.

Pearson wrote the non-fiction book, The Gamblers, an account about the group of gamblers who made up, what was known as the Clermont Set, which included John Aspinall, James Goldsmith and Lord Lucan. The film rights to the book were purchased by Warner Bros. in 2006. He also wrote Façades, the first full-scale biography of the literary Sitwell siblings, Edith, Osbert and Sacheverell, published in 1978.

Pearson also wrote five novels:

Gone To Timbuctoo (1962) - winner of the Author's Club First Novel Award

James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (1973)

The Bellamy Saga (1976)

Biggles: The Authorized Biography (1978)

The Kindness of Dr. Avicenna (1982).

Pearson passed away on November 13, 2021. He was ninety one at the time of his death.

Reviews

[Josue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a great fan of the television show on which it's based, but I should rate it as a stand alone piece first, I suppose. As such, it is a solid effort, but not especially engaging. The writing is facile and accessible but not touching or memorable. It's hard not to be colored by being a fan of the show, which is probably the best audience for this book. If you want an epic family-based historical drama - even specifically Edwardian - there are much better books to spend time on.

Essentially the story is told from the point of view of Richard Bellamy. As RB was probably one of the drier and, to me, least interesting characters on the show, I applaud the author for trying to give him some flavor and paint him as a complex, quiet hero of sorts. Not sure I buy it, but it was interesting. Unfortunately it seems to come at the cost of relegating Marjorie Bellamy - one of my favorite characters, maybe most to do with her nuanced portrayal by the actress - to a second tier, sort of bland state. She didn't have much depth and seemed only to exist in the story as either catalyst or foil for Richard's changing emotional states.

In fact, Marjorie's portrayal is part of a bigger issue I had with the book as a whole. I didn't much care for the slightly, and sometimes not so slight, misogynistic tone to the characterization of the female characters. All cues were taken from the television series to be sure, and he didn't drastically change anybody but his alterations bugged me. Marjorie is extremely shallow here, oftentimes conniving and shown as being less intelligent than Richard. That doesn't jibe with my take on her at all from the show, since she always seemed to know more than everyone even if she hid it behind a cool front and diplomatic manner. Her mother is a drunken monster of operatic proportion. Hudson is referred to more than once as a "genius" and while he may have been it was demonstrated in the book by his being so much more astute than (and, frankly, superior to) Rose and Mrs Bridges who are always on the inevitably "wrong" side of the argument because they are guided only by their emotions. Even doofy Edward is given the privilege of being smarter than both of them. Hazel is, of course, ennobled a bit because she puts up with her husband's maltreatment. But even she doesn't escape censure when it is suggested that her unhappiness with her terrible (I say abusive) marriage and her inability to control her temper made her miscarriage her own fault. Hazel's mother is domineering, James' sweetheart Diana is described as an "arch-bitch" and even Elizabeth loses her shine in Richard's eyes when he visits her in NYC because she seems to dominate her husband. Only when he realizes she has met her match and her husband can keep her in her place a bit does he relax. Worst of all, in my opinion, is Prudence, a personal favorite of mine onscreen. She could be catty on the show (sometimes hilariously so) but here she is downright despicable a lot of the time. A harpy who is described as trying to prey on Richard's troubles and moods so she can steal him away for her own spouse. There was so much great material to mine with the ladies of the show and he turns them all into cardboard cliches.

The second half of the book covers the entirety of the events of the television series. It seems unneeded - especially considering there exist novelizations of the series - and, worse, begins to simply feel like a catalog of events. I liked that the author tried to write in between the elliptical gaps in the show's chronology. So instead of simply recounting all the events already known to fans, he showed linking moments in their lives, and other perspectives. It was nice, also, to get a few more scenes with Elizabeth, however brief, which was impossible on the show. In the end though, it all feels very thin. It took me about twice as long to read the second half of the book as the first. I feel like a novel of this sort could have solely concentrated on their lives leading up to the start of the show's timeline. So many cool tidbits of personal history were dropped in the characters' dialogue onscreen that were here either brushed over or only just fleshed out.

Overall, the book seems to drop the ball in a lot of ways. Unlike the promises of the cover blurb, we get no real atmosphere from the Parisian bits or Eaton Place either. We get name dropping of figures from the political and art world of the time, but no real use is made of them or the climate. I felt like the strongest imagery came from Southwold, which was a nice touch but since most of the action never occurred there it would have been nice to feel the other places exist in the same manner. Although it claims to chronicle the story of the servants as extended family, they are much lesser players and we learn nothing new about them. In fact, aside from maybe Hudson, had I not known them from the show already I might have forgotten them instantly so little depth did they have. There isn't much in the way of “romance” either, so even if one wanted that, it's tepid at best. I'm glad to have it as a keepsake of a show I love, and it was definitely nice to revisit characters I hadn't been with in years, but I can't recommend it to people who are looking for more than that.

[Aylin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For those who like period drama, a thoroughly enjoyable book.

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel's purpose is to extend the Upstairs, Downstairs story in order to tell us how the Bellamys met and fell in love, and how the house at 165 Eaton Place took shape. Unfortunately, those chapters are over far too early in this paperback's 392 pages.

It would seem clear to me that the vast majority of readers picking THE BELLAMY SAGA up for a read would be very familiar with the iconic television series on which it is based. I certainly am. That being the case, wouldn't it make sense to stay true to the storylines where they are touched upon in text? Those of us who have seen the episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs many times over know how certain events unfolded, and it's downright silly to change the story in the novel, if you're going to write it at all. It would have been wiser to stick to things that never appeared on the television show, in order to give us the background, rather than altering and/or eliminating things that UPDOWN fans know by heart.

Then there's the blatant use of a deus ex machina for a chapter involving Richard's political stance on Ireland. I'm no scholar, so if I could see it coming from a mile away, I'm assuming most other readers can, too.

Taken as a whole, THE BELLAMY SAGA is a terribly disappointing read. The first chapters are such fun, as we see Richard and Marjorie falling in love, and Richard navigating through the choppy Southwold waters. Even watching Mr. Hudson and Mrs. Bridges settling into 165 is great fun. Sticking to that would have served the novelist much better than to try to alter the story that already existed.

[Joni · Rating 3 out of 5]

very similar to the "Forsyte Saga" in tone and setting. Victorian society gives way to Edwardian values and on to the roaring 20'S. Interesting famiy and story.