Jerry Cornelius

The name of Jerry Cornelius, like many other characters in Murcock, begins with the initials “JC”. According to one interpretation, this is a hint of Jesus Christ, who in the novel “Behold the Man” (1969) is also declared an incarnation of the Eternal Warrior; according to other interpretations, these initials are associated either with the youthful pseudonym of Murcock - James Colvin , or with the name of his co-author - Jim Cawthorne

Initially, Jeremiah Cornelius was conceived as a parody of another character - Elric from Melnibone : dark hair (in the first novel) instead of blond, buffoonery instead of a melancholy lifestyle - all this creates the image of “anti-Elric” (just as Elric himself was partly a parody to another famous fantasy hero - Conan the Barbarian ). But in later novels of the cycle, the image of Jerry is complicated: now he is not just joking, but by his jesting he is changing the world around him.

The Final Program, 1967.

In this novel, Jerry Cornelius takes a seizure of his family estate, captured by Frank with the help of Nazi soldiers. Frank keeps their captive sister, Catherine Cornelius , and a precious microfilm on the estate, which his brother's allies, representatives of the oligarchy, are hunting for. As a result, Katherine dies, and Frank manages to escape. Jerry pursues him, eventually overtakes and kills. Then he, along with his beloved Miss Brunner, takes part in an experiment to create a superman , and merges with her into one bisexual creature, which subjugates the whole world. The novel is a direct parody of Elric’s early tales: taking the family estate resembles Elric’s assault on the Dreaming City , searching for a testament of some astronaut — Elric’s search for the Book of the Dead Gods , and the final transformation into a superhuman essence is the fusion of Elric’s soul with the essence of his Sword .

“The Final Program” is currently the only film adaptation of Murcock's film (1975, Director Robert Fust, the author of the script, starring John Finch; in the American box office, “The Last Days of Man on Earth”, 1973; duration 81 minutes , in the American full version - 89 minutes.

The Cure for Cancer, 1971

In this novel, events take place in a reality alternative to the first novel (as evidenced by changes in the appearance of Jerry Cornelius: in the first novel he is a brunette, in the second - a blonde). Here Jerry is looking for his brother Frank (a scientist ) to help him revive the long-dead Katherine. Frank fulfills Jerry's request, after which he dies himself; and soon after that, Katherine dies again of cancer .

Later works

Later works of the cycle, beginning with the novel The English Killer (1972) and up to the last story The Arson of the Cathedral (2002) , usually lack a coherent plot - they are written in the spirit of surrealism and the theater of the absurd . The randomness of what is happening in The Chronicles of Cornelius, according to Murcock, should convey the absurdity and inconsistency of our life itself, and the buffoonery of the protagonist should more clearly reveal this inconsistency.

Jerry Cornelius' appearances in the various novels of the cycle are not interconnected; moreover, they often contradict each other (becoming a hermaphrodite in the finale of the first novel, he reappears in the second as a man; and having died in the second, as if nothing had happened in the third). This can be explained by the fact that the actions of different novels take place in several alternative realities , or simply by a post - modern game of the mind, which does not require verification by logic . In addition, Jerry Cornelius is the only character in Murcock (not counting Elric), whose novels and tales continue to be published to this day, as in the cycle about him no final is provided.

• Frank Cornelius - Jerry's brother and constant enemy

• Katherine Cornelius - Jerry's sister and lover, his constant companion

• Mrs. Una Persson