Master antecedent

[altariel]

Browsing the market on Tuesday, I found a children's adventure story called The Master, by T.H. White (he of The Sword and the Stone). It's set on Rockall, so I bought it in the hope that there would be puffins (there are). Anyway, leaving that aside, this is fascinating, from the blurb:

"[...] a sinister being being known as 'The Master' is weaving his appalling plans to rule the world. He is able to subjugate the men who work for him by controlling their minds..."

It was published in 1957. I'd love to know if Bob Holmes, Terrance Dicks, or Barry Letts had read it (the Master's first story, Terror of the Autons was transmitted in 1971).

ETA: Dammit, there's a character going by the name of "the Doctor" in it too.

Comments

[altariel.livejournal.com]

OMG is true!

[communicator.livejournal.com]

There's a Woody Allen short story where he infiltrates Madam Bovary to try and get off with her, and all the readers are amazed to see this little Jewish-American bloke in the story, that they didn't remember from last time they read it. It woudl be great if the Master started appearing in random works of great literature, and the doctor had to come into the story too and chase him away.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

In fact, there's a Doctor Who novel a bit like that: Mad Dogs and Englishmen, by Paul Magrs. It's sort of a Tolkien tribute: the Doctor discovers that a well-loved fantasy book by an Oxford don is being rewritten so that it doesn't involve elves and dwarves, but now stars poodles. It's a bit daft, but some of the Tolkien in-jokes are funny.

BTW, you have thousands of Master icons now - is that you, or him infiltrating your journal?!

[communicator.livejournal.com]

Hopefully the latter