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The Duke De Richleau is a fictional character created by Dennis Wheatley who appeared in eleven novels published between 1933 and 1970. Dennis Wheatley originally created the character for a murder mystery ''Three Inquisitive People'', written and set in 1931 but which was not published until 1939.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 280-283 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 The character first appeared in the novel ''The Forbidden Territory'' (1933), along with his friends, Simon Aron, Richard Eaton and Rex Van Ryn, whom Wheatley dubbed ‘the modern musketeers’.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 42-43 and 280 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 The friends were reunited in Wheatley’s best-selling novel of the occult, ''The Devil Rides Out'' (1934). He was played by actor Christopher Lee in ''The Devil Rides Out'', a 1968 film adaptation of the second published novel in the series. A film adaptation of the Forbidden Territory had previously been made in 1934, but replaced de Richleau with a character named Sir Charles Farringdon, played by Ronald Squire.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher= The Dennis Wheatley Website ); Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 291 and 560-561 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 ==Appearances== The novels revolving around de Richleau's exploits ranged from occult stories such as ''The Devil Rides Out'', ''Strange Conflict'' and ''Gateway to Hell'', to more straightforward thrillers based around non-supernatural intrigue. The Duke de Richleau (1875-1960) was an aristocrat, adventurer and occultist. Wheatley described him as follows: “The Duke was a slim, delicate-looking man, somewhat above middle height, with slender fragile hands. … His hair was dark and slightly wavy, his forehead broad, his face oval with a rather thin but well moulded mouth, and a pointed chin that showed great determination. His nose was aquiline, his eyes grey, flecked with tiny spots of yellow; at times they could flash with piercing brilliance, and above them a pair of ‘devil’s eyebrows’ tapered up towards his temples.”〔Dennis Wheatley, 1972, ''Strange Conflict'', London: Heron Books: p. 1; Dennis Wheatley, 1963, ''Vendetta in Spain'', London: Arrow Books: p. 10.〕 He was born in Russia the only child of the exiled French nobleman and a Russian princess. In 1894, against the wishes of his father, he joined the French army, but, as recounted in ''The Prisoner in the Mask'' (1957), his military career was brought to an end as a result of his involvement in a plot to overthrow the French Republic and place Francois de Vendôme on the throne of France.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: p. 509 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 This resulted in his becoming a wanted man in France and he sought asylum in Britain, where he married Angela Syveton. The novel ''Vendetta in Spain'' (1961) tells of his undercover work to investigate the Spanish anarchists responsible for Angela’s murder in 1906 during an assassination attempt upon the Spanish king. The novel ''The Second Seal'' (1950) recounts how, in 1914, the Duke was recruited by the British government to obtain intelligence on the build-up to war in Vienna and Belgrade. During this time the Duke fell in love with the Austrian Archduchess Ilona Theresa. Their relationship is resolved at the novel's end.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 462-463 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 By the early 1930s, when he met ‘those modern musketeers’ in ''Three Inquisitive People''() (written 1931, published 1939), he was living in London at Errol House, Curzon Street, Mayfair. (He also owned a villa in Italy and a castle in Austria and for his retirement he built a villa in Corfu.)〔Dennis Wheatley, 1972, ''The Forbidden Territory'', London: Heron Books: p. 3; Dennis Wheatley, 1965, ''Three Inquisitive People'', London: Arrow Books: pp. 14 and 135; Dennis Wheatley, 1958, ''The Second Seal'', London: Arrow Books: p. 179; Dennis Wheatley, 1961, ''Codeword – Golden Fleece'', London: Arrow Books, p. 9; Dennis Wheatley, 1967, ''Dangerous Inheritance'', London: Arrow Books: p. 9.〕 These 'modern musketeers' came together in an attempt to prove Richard Eaton innocent of the murder of his mother. In ''The Forbidden Territory'' (1933) the Duke, Richard Eaton and Simon Aron entered the Soviet Union to rescue Rex Van Ryn, who had been arrested. In the course of this adventure they also rescued Princess Marie-Louise, who later married Richard. Wheatley stated that he deliberately based the characters invented for TIP on the four friends of Alexander Dumas' novel ''The Three Musketeers''. Athos = Duc de Richleau, Porthos = Rex van Ryn, Aramis = Simon Aron and D'Artagnan = Richard Eaton. 〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 283-286 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 In the story ''The Devil Rides Out'' (1934), the Duke, Rex and Richard rescue Simon Aron who had joined a Satanic cult headed by the sinister Damien Mocata.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 326-335 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 The Duke returned to Spain in ''The Golden Spaniard'' (1938), with Richard Eaton, during the Civil War, to remove a vast bullion cache from seizure by the Republican government.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: p. 372 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 In ''Codeword – Golden Fleece'' (1946) the Duke and his friends attempted to cripple the German war effort by business intrigues involving oil barges in neutral States among the Danube. In ''Strange Conflict'' (1941) the Duke was instrumental in foiling the activities of a Nazi occultist, based in a location to be discovered, which were threatening the Atlantic convoys.〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 405-407 and 434 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 After the Second World War, the Duke and his friends travelled to South America to foil another Satanic cult this time targeting Rex Van Ryn in the tale ''Gateway to Hell'' (1970).〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: pp. 571-574 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 In his final years the Duke left England to live on the island of Corfu, leaving there for a final adventure in Sri Lanka, in ''Dangerous Inheritance'' (1965).〔Phil Baker, 2009, ''The Devil is a Gentleman: The life and times of Dennis Wheatley'', Sawtry, Cambridgeshire: Dedalus: p. 545 ISBN 978-1-903517-75-8.〕 The eleven books starring the character, with the dates when first published, and the period covered by the plot of each book, are as follows: * ''The Forbidden Territory'' (3 January 1933) covers 24 January 1933 - March 1933〔A reference to the First Five-Year Plan being still underway made in a conversation between Simon Aron and the Duke indicates that the story is set before 1933, since the first plan was completed in December 1932; Dennis Wheatley, 1972, ''The Forbidden Territory'', London: Heron Books: p. 11. It is likely that the story takes place in 1930, as stated in the novel ''The Golden Spaniard'', which refers to the “first night (Eaton and Marie Lou ) had spent together, six years before, in Vienna”; the latter novel is set in 1936; Dennis Wheatley, 1962, ''The Golden Spaniard'', London: Arrow Books: p. 364. However, the novel ''Three Inquisitive People'', which takes place before the Russian adventure, is set in 1931. Taking account of these discrepancies, a date of 1932 for adventures described ''The Forbidden Territory'' seems a reasonable compromise.〕 * ''The Devil Rides Out'' (12 December 1934) covers 29 April 1935 - 4 May 1935 * ''The Golden Spaniard'' (6 August 1938) covers 2 July 1936 - 7 December 1936 * ''Three Inquisitive People'' (12 December 1939 as part of anthology; 1 February 1940 as stand-alone volume) covers 22 November 1931 - June 1932〔Although the story is clearly set in 1931, in another book, ''Codeword – Golden Fleece'', set in 1939, Dennis Wheatley wrote that Simon Aron had “first met” the Duke “six years before”; that is, in 1933 not 1931; see Dennis Wheatley, 1961, ''Codeword – Golden Fleece'', London: Arrow Books, p. 10; and Dennis Wheatley, 1965, ''Three Inquisitive People'', London: Arrow Books: p. 85.〕 * ''Strange Conflict'' (21 April 1941) covers October 1940 - 1941 * ''Codeword – Golden Fleece'' (30 May 1946) covers 28 July 1939 - October 1939 * ''The Second Seal'' (9 November 1950) covers April 1914 - 18 September 1914 * ''The Prisoner In The Mask'' (9 September 1957) covers January 1894 - October 1903〔The story of ''The Prisoner in the Mask'' concludes in November 1904, the date of the Affaire des Fiches, not October 1903.〕 * ''Vendetta In Spain'' (21 August 1961) covers 31 May 1906 - 14 Sep 1909 * ''Dangerous Inheritance'' (23 August 1965) covers 18 Apr 1958 - Nov 1960 * ''Gateway To Hell'' (17 August 1970) covers 31 December 1953 - February 1954〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher= The Dennis Wheatley Website )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Duke de Richleau」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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