Blonde Genius is a one-off mass market paperback novel written by J. T. Edson and Peter Clawson. Published in 1973 by Transworld Publishers Ltd. via their Corgi Books line, it features a blonde wielding two guns, both simultaneously spitting lead. (This scene is depicted in the novel). The book is dedicated to Peter’s wife, Doreen Clawson.
The artwork is unsigned; the heroine is modeled after actress Aimi MacDonald, though I’m personally not sure why she was chosen for the cover art inspiration.
A book review appearing in the Belfast Telegraph called this a “silly book, owing its basic theme to The Belle’s of St. Trinian’s,” a movie that debuted in 1954. And there would be 3 more St. Trinian films released before Blonde Genius was published. St. Trinian’s was originally the creation of famous British comic strip artist Ronald Searle, which was created in 1941 during World War Two. Returning to the newspaper review, in all fairness, Blonde Genius is far from being a silly book; it’s clearly more like an homage.
Peter Clawson was a newspaper reporter and sports editor for the Grantham Journal. And he’s still very much active in Grantham as part of the literary writing group, for which he was one of their founding members. According to Peter, his first novel saw a print run of 30,000 copies and sold out. Reportedly the first few chapters were incorporated into the 1980 film The Wildcats of St. Trinian’s, and Border Films paid £1,000 for those rights. I’ve not seen the film so can’t personally comment on the similarities, etc.
Blonde Genius was featured on Esther Rantzen‘s television programme (I’m assuming it was That’s Life!) and Peter has permitted me the use of photos from that show, featured below.
Peter has also released in 2024 his second novel, a comedy titled Smash and Grab, available for sale on Amazon.com.
Peter Clawson married Doreen Baker in 1963, in the Grantham district. If they had children, there are 3 possibles, each born about a 30-minute drive from central Grantham.
- Julie A. Clawson (born Q4 1964 in Nottingham)
- Stephen John Clawson (born Q1 1968 in Sleaford)
- Paul Andrew Clawson (born Q3 1971 in Melton Mowbray)
Lisa Geary, Chairman of the Grantham Writers Group, kindly acted as intermediary between myself and Peter Clawson, supplying the trio of black and white photos and additional informational. Lisa has likewise contributed an article concerning Peter’s recent novel, Smash and Grab, to the GWG page. I heartily recommend you visit her article as Peter reveals additional information about his first novel, which I won’t repeat here for the sake of redundancy.
J. T. Edson, the credited co-author for Blonde Genius, should not be a new name to anyone reading vintage Westerns. Even here in America I’ve heard of Edson, but confess I’ve never read a single one of his works. I’ve got some of his Bunduki jungle adventure novels on the shelf, but only the first three titles.
This paperback does have a rear cover blurb. Always a good starting point.
Benkinsop’s Academy for the Daughters of Gentlefolk prided itself that any girl coming from its hallowed portals was a valuable and talented member of society – underground society that is. For although the Prospectus included Wise Shopping, Household Hints and Folk Dancing classes, had you investigated behind the basement doors and red warning lights, you would have found girls practising the gentle arts of shoplifting, safe-cracking and striptease.
But the Academy was in deadly peril from a rival organization. As the Champion of the Lower Grebe Approved School for Girls held the drugged Head Girl of Benkinsop’s in a strangle-hold during the Inter-Schools ‘Debate’, a member of the Mediterranean Syndicate was lifting the contents of the Head’s safe containing ancestral diamonds and £10,000 ‘Petty Cash’…
Good grief; what have I signed up for this time?
The head of the Mediterranean Syndicate has hired one of the world’s premier cat-burglar’s (Saunders) to steal from Benkinsop’s Academy the afore-blurbed jewels and cash. The head is being escorted about the premises by Miss Benkinsop, a lovely blonde from a long legacy of Benkinsop dames who have run the organization. Picture a bunch of elitist young ladies, from wealthy backgrounds, all residing in a mansion-like setting, but being the polar opposite of The Kingsmen. These girls aren’t out to save the world. They are being trained in all manners of feminine wiles and trades to rob the English, etc. While the school holds a debate (physical combat in a boxing ring) Saunders climbs the outer wall, slips in the window, pops the safe and steals the cash and jewels. He can’t believe it to be so easy. No alarms tripped. No safeguards.
The school “swot” (a what? a person who studies assiduously) is Amanda Tweedle, an innocent-looking blonde girl with a perfect body and an ace mind. She can crack numbers and figures without any thought involved. Invent devices. Invent medicines (she created one to cure the common cold, but the school had it pulled to avoid complications with the pharmaceutical community), etc. In other words, Amanda is nothing short of a genius. She even teaches courses at the school, despite being a student! She’s also physically inclined or capable of inflicting violence, etc.
For those that are Marvel Cinematic Universe inclined, imagine combining the physical and beauty elements of the Black Widow along with the intellectual know-how of Tony Stark. A dangerous combination.
Swiping the goods, Saunders descends and hands the goods over to a minion of the Mediterranean Syndicate, who places them in a box, seals it, and instructs Saunders to take and deliver the box. Too, do not attempt to open the box, as it is wired to explode. Saunders is to catch a plane out of the area with the box, and he’s only glad to do so given he overheard Miss Bekinsop assign a person to assassinate him for “grassing” on another. (Had to look up that term: means basically to snitch to the police).
At the debate, Fiorello (the head of the Med. Synd.) places a 10,000 Pounds wager and Miss Benkinsop accepts it after Amanda confirms that they have that in the school’s petty cash. (Well, they did, until Saunders swiped it). Saunders meanwhile wonders why he swiped the cash and not just the jewels. The reader can now see that the Academy would be monetarily in debt to Fiorello, who wishes to acquire the school. This simply can’t and won’t do, as the reader knows the school has functioned as thus for generations without outside interference and they will not accept students of parents that are Communists, Socialists, left wingers, etc.
Aboard a plane, Saunders is strapped into his seat when suddenly the pilot depresses a button and the top of the plane peels back and Saunders is ejected. He’ll land somewhere in the water, dead.
The debate ends after Fiorello shoots a non-lethal toxin into Penelope, rendering her useless. Her combatant handily takes her down without any resistance. Faced with the abysmal loss, Miss Benkinsop leads Fiorello (and his two goons) back to her office and opens the safe. She finds the jewels and cash missing, but everything else undisturbed. She’s not a dumb woman and yet, she can’t outright accuse the head of the Mediterranean Syndicate of arranging the theft and the bet.
In walks Amanda. The goons make to draw their concealed guns but hesitate when the angelic blonde beauty enters. She visually is not a threat, yet, they refuse to budge. In uncharacteristic manner, she continues her walk into the room straight toward the head mistress and squeezes her body through the goons, pressing her breasts against both men. They are entirely disarmed by the maneuver and worse, they find themselves literally without guns. Amanda used her feminine charms to distract the pair.
Hence the scene that transpires on the front cover of the book. To demonstrate to the goons she is fully aware of the make, model, caliber, weight, etc. of the guns, she handily discharges both guns until the mags are empty. With the goons weaponless and Fiorello at their mercy, Miss Benkinsop and Amanda point out that there are certain terms that all syndicates must agree upon. Amanda drafts the contract in English and Italian, a seven-days clause allowing the academy time to research the theft, etc. If they can not reobtain the stolen loot and make good on the 10,000 Pound bet, Miss Benkinsop agrees to hand over the academy. The syndicate depart.
Amanda, being a tall girl, walks outside and scales the wall and enters via the window, much to Miss Benkinsop’s disdain. Amanda is now certain that only one person could have scaled the outer wall, due to the height restraints that she herself faced. This makes Amanda’s assignment quite difficult, tracking Saunders, given he was executed in flight.
How Amanda goes about her assorted assignments make for fun reading. As this paperback novel is available for sale, I won’t reveal the second half of the novel nor any of Amanda’s further exploits. No sense spouting off spoilers.