Sir Cathal Goodenough was a British aristocrat, father of Mark and Amy Goodenough, and former Admiral of the Royal Navy. The character appeared in Charlie Higson's 2006 Young Bond novel, Blood Fever.
Biography[]
A former Royal Navy officer, Cathal Goodenough joined the navy at sixteen and served under Admiral Sir John Jellicoe at the Battle of Jutland (31 May – 1 June 1916), before being made an admiral himself in 1917. He had been knighted for his services in the First World War, protecting convoys from submarine attack in the Atlantic. Around the end of the war his eldest son Mark had been born, followed by a younger daughter, Amy. When his wife died of scarlet fever in 1931 he had left the navy. He had a deep affinity for sailing and owned three yachts: the Calypso, which was moored in the West Indies; his racing yacht, the Circe, which was kept in Portsmouth; and his most prized vessel, the Siren, which overwintered in Nice. Each year he made an annual spring cruise around the Greek islands.
It was on such a cruise in late May 1933[1] that his ship was boarded by pirates whilst moored in the Cyclades. Led by Zoltan the Magyar and aided by intelligence provided by one of Mark's Eton College masters, Peter Haight, the marauders stole a priceless bronze siren statuette created by Donato di Betto Bardi, Commonly known as Donatello. Having belonged to his late wife, Sir Cathal tried to wrest her artefact from the Magyar and was shot during the attempt. The raiders subsequently sunk the boat, took Amy and her tutor captive and slaughtered all the men. A fisherman from Rhodes discovered the wreckage and Sir Cathal's floating corpse.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Higson, Charlie (5 January 2006). "Prologue: The Magyar", Blood Fever, Young Bond (in En-UK). London: Puffin Books. ISBN 0141318600.