Jerry Cornelius

From Freepedia

One of Michael Moorcock's most popular fictional creations was Jerry Cornelius, a kind of hip secret agent of ambiguous and occasionally polymorphous sexuality; the same characters featured in each of several Cornelius books, but the individual books had little connection with one another, as a variation of the multiverse theme. The first Jerry Cornelius book, The Final Programme was made into a feature film starring Jon Finch and Jenny Runacre.

The series draws plot elements from Moorcock's Elric series, as well as the Commedia dell'arte. Moorcock hints in many places that Cornelius may be an aspect of the Eternal Champion. Characters from the Cornelius novels show up in much of Moorcock's other fiction: for example, Moorcock's Dancers at the End of Time series has a character called Jherek Carnelian; Una Persson appears in the Dancers series, the Oswald Bastable books, and possibly as Oona in the latest Elric books; and Colonel Pyat has his own non-SF series of books by Moorcock, beginning with Byzantium Endures. The location of Notting Hill in London features promimently.

Moorcock encouraged other authors and artists to create works about Jerry Cornelius, in a sort of early open source attempt at open brand sharing. One example is Norman Spinrad's The Last Hurrah of the Golden Horde; another is Mœbius's The Airtight Garage. The Nature of the Catastrophe, a collection of Jerry Cornelius stories, was published in 1971. It includes works by Moorcock himself, James Sallis, Brian Aldiss, Langdon Jones, M. John Harrison, Alex Krislov and Maxim Jakubowski.

Contents

Notable characters

  • Jerry Cornelius - secret agent, superhero, adventurer, all things to all men (and women). A figure of almost complete anarchy. Typically destroys repressive authority. Later exposed as a false Harlequin, a tragic Pierrot at heart, or simply an adolescent fantasy.
  • Miss Brunner - Jerry's opposite. Representing stifling authority.
  • Bishop Beesley - Endlessly corrupt gluttonous villain. Thirsts for power, money, pleasure.
  • Una Persson - A female version of Jerry, even to the extent of being Catherine's lover. In The Condition of Muzak she is revealed to be a true Harlequin.
  • Catherine Cornelius - Jerry's sister and incestuous lover. Usually dies tragically. Often pregnant by Jerry. In some stories, a masochistic figure.
  • Major Nye - a retired British Army officer, participant in secret missions, and Una Persson's sometime lover.
  • Colonel Pyat - a Russian emigre officer, also a sometime lover of Una Persson.
  • Professor Hira
  • Frank Cornelius - Jerry's scheming brother, Cain to Jerry's Abel. Usually killed by Jerry, but always returns.
  • Mrs. Cornelius - Fat, libidinous, foul-mouthed mother to Frank, Jerry and Catherine. The quintessential urban survivor, a modern Mother Courage.

Bibliography

Novels

  • The Final Programme
  • A Cure for Cancer
  • The English Assassin
  • The Condition of Muzak

Other books

  • The Lives and Times of Jerry Cornelius
  • The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the Twentieth Century
  • The Entropy Tango
  • The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (a.k.a. Gold Diggers of '77)
  • The Alchemist's Question (novella)
  • Firing the Cathedral (novella)

Shorter fiction

  • "The Peking Junction"
  • "The Delhi Division"
  • "The Tank Trapeze"
  • "The Adventures of Jerry Cornelius" (vt "The English Assassin")
  • "The Nature of the Catastrophe"
  • "The Swastika Set-up"
  • "The Sunset Perspective"
  • "Sea Wolves"
  • "Voortrekker"
  • "Dead Singers" (not to be confused with the non-Jerry Cornelius story of the same title)
  • "The Longford Cup"
  • "The Entropy Circuit"
  • "The Entropy Tango"
  • "The Murderer's Song"
  • "The Gangrene Collection"
  • "The Roumanian Question"
  • "The Dodgem Decision" (vt "The Dodgem Division", "The Dodgem Arrangement")
  • "All the Way Round Again" (vt "The Enigma Windows")
  • "Cheering for the Rockets" [1]
  • "The Spencer Inheritance" [2]

Adaptations

Musical Adaptations

  • "Needle Gun" by Hawkwind (The Chronicle Of The Black Sword, 1985)
  • "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" by Blue Öyster Cult (Heavy Metal: Music From The Motion Picture, 1981)

See also

External links

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