Publication Information
Author: Barry Letts
Cover artist: Chris Achilleos / Andrew Skilleter (1979) / Alister Pearson (1993) / Andrew Skilleter (HB) / Andrew Skilleter (Star Classics)
Illustrations: Alan Willow
Publishing date: October 1974 Episode Information
TV serial: The Daemons
Writer: Barry Letts & Robert Sloman (writing as Guy Leopold)
Transmission dates: 22nd May - 19th June 1971 (5 episodes) Fact and Findings
This was Barry Letts' only Target novelisation.
As well as co-writer, Letts was also the producer of the TV serial. This was his only Target novelisation but in 1994 he wrote Doctor Who - The Paradise of Death and, in 1995, Doctor Who - The Ghosts of N-Space. Both were based on his Radio 2 serials' scripts featuring Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier. Both books were published by Virgin Publishing (who had taken over Target books by the early nineties), Paradise under the Doctor Who Books label and Ghosts was one of their Missing Adventures series. Despite no symbol on the spine, Paradise actually claimed on the inside cover to be number 156 in the Target Doctor Who Library - but I don't think it really counts - anyone disagree?
First edition cover price - 30p
The novelisation also featured six illustrations by Alan Willow. The illustrations were retained in the Classics edition (see below).
Classic chapter title: The Appearance of the Beast
The Master's incantation on page 130 is as follows: '...DNAW ONSSA ETIHW SAWECE ELFSTIB! MALELT TILAD AHYRAM!', which when scanned backwards reads 'Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow and...'
Girton became Wilkins in the book, whose nephew was Stan Wilkins, a character Letts created for the book.
Sarah Hadley's Target Practice article which includes a detailed comparison of novelisation with TV version can be read here.
Later editions were numbered 15 in the Doctor Who library.
The original edition was published by Universal-Tandem (ISBN 0 426 10444 7). Reprinted in 1975 (Tandem Publishing Ltd, ISBN 0 426 11332 2, 40p), 1979 (Skilleter cover, W. H. Allen, ISBN 0 426 11332 2), 1982 (twice, £1.50), 1983 (£1.50, ISBN 0 426 11332 2) and 1993. The final edition, with a cover by Alister Pearson, was released on the 21st of October 1993. It was published by Virgin and re-titled Doctor Who - The Dæmons (ISBN 0 426 11332 2, £3.50).
A hardback edition was released, with the Skilleter cover, in January 1982, published by W. H. Allen. The hardback cover uses the same artwork as the 1980 paperback release, but the logo is the neon one. The title on the cover also reads Doctor Who - Doctor Who and the Dæmons.
For those wishing to read a more direct interpretation of the TV serial, Titan Books published Doctor Who - The Scripts - The Daemons (ISBN 1 85286 324 2, £4.99) in October 1992, edited by John McElroy, with background notes by Stephen James Walker. The cover was by Alister Pearson who went on to do the cover for the 1993 Target re-release. This was the only Pertwee-serial script book.
Voted second favourite novel in a 25th anniversary poll organised by 'Doctor Who Magazine'. The results were published in magazine number 150, July 1989. Doctor Who - Fury from the Deep came first, Doctor Who - Black Orchid third.
Paired with Doctor Who - The Time Monster for release as one of the Star Books' Doctor Who Classics series in March 1989. Cover Data
His 1979 version is one of Skilleter's all-time favourite covers. A larger version of Skilleter's artwork can be found in the Doctor Who book Blacklight - The Art of Andrew Skilleter (Virgin Publishing, 1995).
The hardback cover from 1982 uses the same Skilleter artwork as the 1979 paperback release, but the logo used is the neon one instead of the arched one. The title on the cover also reads Doctor Who - Doctor Who and the Dæmons.
The October 1993 edition uses the same artwork as the BBC Video release of The Daemons.
Azal scores three out of three on the covers, while Bok and the Doctor feature on two, with the Master - in truth Roger Delgado - managing only one. Foreign Editions
RIV published the novel in Holland as Doctor Who En De Demonen. It was translated by J.J. Van der Hulst-Brander, with cover artwork by Chris Achilleos and released in 1974.
Editorial Presença published the novel in Portugal as Doutor Who E Os Demonios. It was translated by Eduardo Nogueira and Conceiçã Jardim, and released in 1986. Reviews
"Deep in the heart of the English countryside, outside the mysterious sounding village of Devil's End, archaeologist Professor Horner is busy making final preparations for the opening of an ancient barrow. The local white witch is convinced that evil happenings will take place if the Professor goes ahead with the televised opening at midnight. For when the first chimes of the village clock ring out over the fields, the day will dawn for the greatest occult festival of the year - Beltane.
On seeing the prelude to the programme, Doctor Who leaps to his feet alarm bells ringing in his head. Devil's End, Beltane, The Prince of Evil, The Horned One? Suddenly as understanding flickers in his mind he grabs Jo Grant, his colleague on Earth and races to the door. "The white witch is right," he announces, "We've got to stop the Professor before it's too late."
So begins this superb Doctor Who tale adapted by Barry Letts from the original television series The Daemons. Set against an intriguing blend of cool science fact from the Doctor and hot-headed black magic from the locals of Devil's End, the Doctor meets his old enemy and one time school friend - the Master...
With events developing at such a fast pace, I found this book impossible to put down until the last breathless page. Barry Letts has added a lot of scaring detail to this tale and by doing so has created a lively and sometimes amusing story out of what was an excellent series on television."
- 'T.V. Sci-Fi Monthly' (number 7), 1976UK Editions
| YEAR | DATE | PUBLISHER | COVER ARTIST | LOGO | SPINE COLOUR | SPINE NUMBER | TARGET LOGO | ISBN | PRICE | NOTES | OWNED |
|---|
| 1974 | 17th October | Universal-Tandem | Achilleos | block | purple | none | colour | 0 426 10444 7 | 30p | first edition | Y |
| 1975 | - | Tandem | Achilleos | block | purple | none | colour | 0 426 10444 7 | 40p | - | Y |
| 1976 | January | Tandem | Achilleos | block | purple | - | colour | 0 426 10444 7 | 40p | - | - |
| 1980 | 24th January | W. H. Allen | Skilleter | green curve | white | none | colour | 0 426 11332 2 | 75p | "second impression" | Y |
| 1980 | - | W. H. Allen | Skilleter | green curve | white | - | colour | 0 426 11332 2 | 85p | - | - |
| 1982 | - | W. H. Allen | Skilleter | green curve | white | none | colour | 0 426 11332 2 | £1.50 | - | Y |
| 1982 | - | W. H. Allen | Skilleter | green curve | white | none | colour | 0 426 11332 2 | £1.50 | "twice" | Y |
| 1984 | - | W. H. Allen | Skilleter | green curve | white | - | colour | 0 426 11332 2 | £1.50 | - | - |
| 1984 | - | W. H. Allen | Skilleter | green curve | white | 15 | colour | 0 426 11332 2 | £1.50 | "twice" | Y |
| 1993 | 21st October | Virgin | Pearson | McCoy banner | dark blue | 15 | outline | 0 426 11332 2 | £3.50 | retitled Doctor Who - The Dæmons | Y |
Miscellaneous
Author
BARRY LETTS
Barry Letts was born in Loughborough and originally was an actor. He did rep. in York and worked for a local radio station in Leeds. He appeared in anumber of British films and TV series throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
He took up directing in 1967 and worked on Z-Cars and The Newcomers as well as Doctor Who. From 1969 he took over as producer of the show and remained in post for the duration of the Pertwee era, handing over to Philip Hinchcliffe in 1974.
As well as producing, he also directed and co-wrote some of the serials, including The Dæmons which he went on to adapt for the Target range.
Doctor Who and the Daemons
His colleague throughout that time was script editor Terrance Dicks. The pair went on to create short-lived BBC SF show Moonbase 3 in 1973.
After producing Who, Letts returned to directing (handling Doctor Who - The Android Invasion and BBC Classic serial The Prince and the Pauper). He then succeeded John McCrae as producer on the Classic Serials, where again he was joined by Dicks. Productions included Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1978), The Mill on the Floss (1979), The Old Curiosity Shop (1980), The History of Mr Polly (1980), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1982, starring Tom Baker as Sherlock Holmes), Beau Geste (1983, directed by Douglas Camfield), The Invisible Man (1984), and Sense and Sensibility (1985).
Letts returned to Doctor Who in 1980 when he was appointed as Executive Producer to oversee first-time producer John Nathan-Turner on season 18.
He contributed to the 30th anniversary (very) short story collection Drabble Who?, with A Sort Of Elegy. The book was edited by David Howe and David Wake, and illustrated by Colin Howard. Proceeds from the publication were donated to the RNIB Talking Book Fund.
In 1994 he wrote Doctor Who - The Paradise of Death and, in 1995, Doctor Who - The Ghosts of N-Space. Both were based on his Radio 2 serials' scripts featuring Jon Pertwee, Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith and Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier. Both books were published by Virgin Publishing (who had taken over Target books by the early nineties), Paradise under the Doctor Who Books label and Ghosts was one of their Missing Adventures series. Despite no symbol on the spine, Paradise actually claimed on the inside cover to be number 156 in the Target Doctor Who Library. In 2003 he collaborated with Terrance Dicks on the BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure Deadly Reunion, published to coincide with the show's 40th anniversary. His latest novel, for the Third Doctor and Sarah Jane, Island of Death, was released in July 2005.
He also wrote two radio plays based on Blake's 7 - The Sevenfold Crown and The Syndeton Experiment (Radio 4, 1998), and in 2003 he wrote The Tao Connection, a Big Finish audio adventure for the Sarah Jane Smith range.
Letts continues his association with Doctor Who, providing commentaries for a number of DVD releases and submitting more ideas for the BBC Books range.
Illustrations
The novelisation featured six illustrations by Alan Willow. The illustrations were retained in the Star Classics edition.
Star
Doctor Who and The Dæmons was paired with Doctor Who - The Time Monster for release as one of the Star Books' Doctor Who Classics series in March 1989. The ISBN was 0 352 32382 5 and the book cost £2.95. It was published simply by gluing the two individual books together with a new cover and opening page.
Cover artist: Andrew Skilleter
1989 Star Classics edition
Countries
Netherlands
DOCTOR WHO maakt zich ernstig bezorgd over het plan van professor Horner om een oude grafheuvel in de buurt van het vredige Devil's End open te leggen; juffrouw Hawthorne is al even bezorgd, zij is de plaatselijke witte heks, die een grote ramp voorspelt, als hij zijn plan ten uitvoer brengt. Mr. Magister, de nieuwe dominee (maar in feite de MASTER) is era lles aan gelegen dat professor Horner doorzet.
Zijn geheime bijeenkomsten hebben tot doel uit de grafheuvel een afschrikwekkend, machtig wezen op te roepen dat afkomstig is van een verre planeet... De generaal en Jo Grant helpen de Doctor bij zijn lugubere confontatie met de machten van de zwarte magie!
RIV published the novel in Holland as Doctor Who En De Demonen. It was translated by Wim Hohage, with cover artwork by Chris Achilleos and released in 1974, ISBN 90-269-8109-0, f 3,95/Bfr. 66. This was the last in a run of 8 Dutch translations. All of the books had an Achilleos portrait of the Fourth Doctor on the back cover.
Cover artist: Chris Achilleos
1974 Unieboek B.V. Bussum edition
Portugal
Editorial Presença published the novel in Portugal as Doutor Who E Os Demónios. It was translated by Eduardo Nogueira and Conceiçã Jardim, and released in 1983. The complete wrap-around cover was by Rui Ligeiro and the book contained the Alan Willow illustrations. It was released as book number 3 in the Portuguese series, with book four being
The Doomsday Weapon.
Cover Artist: Rui Ligeiro
1983 Editorial Presença edition