Len Deighton (born 18 February 1929) is an English author known for his novels, works of military history, screenplays and cookery writing. He has had a varied career, including as a pastry cook, waiter, co-editor of a magazine, teacher and air steward before writing his first novel in 1962: The IPCRESS File . [1] [2] He continued to produce what his biographer John Reilly considers "stylish, witty, well-crafted novels" in spy fiction, [3] including three trilogies and a prequel featuring Bernard Samson. [4] [a]
Deighton has authored two television scripts, the first of which was Long Past Glory in 1963; he also wrote a film script, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). His long-held interest in cooking—his mother had been a professional chef and instilled a love for cuisine in her son—led to an illustrated cookery column in the Sunday newspaper, The Observer , for two years. The work was collected into two later books, Len Deighton's Action Cook Book and Où est le garlic (both 1965); he subsequently wrote several other cookery books. [5] Deighton has produced several other works of non-fiction, including a study of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a history of the airship, Second World War military history and a short e-book about James Bond. [6] [7]
Title [1] [8] [9] | Year of first publication | First edition publisher (All London) |
---|---|---|
The IPCRESS File | 1962 | Hodder & Stoughton |
Horse Under Water | 1963 | Jonathan Cape |
Funeral in Berlin | 1964 | Jonathan Cape |
Billion-Dollar Brain | 1966 | Jonathan Cape |
An Expensive Place to Die [b] | 1967 | Jonathan Cape |
Only When I Larf | 1967 | Privately printed [c] |
Bomber | 1970 | Jonathan Cape |
Close-Up | 1972 | Jonathan Cape |
Spy Story | 1974 | Jonathan Cape |
Yesterday's Spy | 1975 | Jonathan Cape |
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy | 1976 | Jonathan Cape |
SS-GB | 1978 | Jonathan Cape |
XPD | 1981 | Hutchinson |
Goodbye, Mickey Mouse | 1982 | Hutchinson |
Berlin Game | 1983 | Hutchinson |
Mexico Set | 1984 | Hutchinson |
London Match | 1985 | Hutchinson |
Winter | 1987 | Hutchinson |
Spy Hook | 1988 | Hutchinson |
Spy Line | 1989 | Hutchinson |
Spy Sinker | 1990 | Hutchinson |
MAMista | 1991 | Random House |
City of Gold | 1991 | Random House |
Violent Ward | 1993 | HarperCollins |
Faith | 1994 | HarperCollins |
Hope | 1995 | HarperCollins |
Charity | 1996 | HarperCollins |
Several of Deighton's works have been adapted for screen: the films The Ipcress File (1965), [12] Funeral in Berlin (1966), [13] Billion Dollar Brain (1967) [14] and Spy Film (1976). [15] In 1988 Granada Television produced the miniseries Game, Set and Match based on his trilogy of the same name. [16]
Title [17] [18] | Year of first publication | First edition publisher (London, unless otherwise stated) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Long Past Glory | 1963 | – | Television script [19] |
Len Deighton's Cookstrips | 1963–1965 | The Observer | Weekly cookery strip [20] [21] |
Drinkmanship | 1964 | Haymarket Press | As editor |
Oh! What a Lovely War | 1969 | – | Film script; Deighton requested that he not be given screen credit for his work. [22] |
Declarations of War | 1971 | Jonathan Cape | Short stories |
How to be a Pregnant Father | 1977 | Macmillan Publishers | Book by Peter Mayle; Deighton provided the chapter "The Pregnant Father's Cookbook" |
It Must Have Been Two Other Fellows | 1977 | – | Television script [3] |
Tactical Genius in Battle | 1979 | Phaidon Press | Book by Simon Goodenough; Deighton acted as editor and provided the introduction |
The Adventure of the Priory School | 1985 | Santa Teresa Press, Santa Barbara, CA | Introduction only; original work by Arthur Conan Doyle. This edition was published for copyright purposes; limited to 25 copies |
Pests | 1994 | Chris Martin, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts | A limited edition of 226 copies |
Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Swindle | 2006 | Crippen & Landru, Norfolk, VA | A short story included in The Detection Club anthology The Verdict of Us All, edited by Peter Lovesey [23] |
Title [1] [8] [9] | Year of first publication | First edition publisher (London, unless otherwise stated) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Len Deighton's Action Cook Book | 1965 | Jonathan Cape | |
Où est le garlic | 1965 | Penguin Books | |
The Assassination of President Kennedy | 1967 | Jonathan Cape | Co-written with M Rand and H Lockston |
Len Deighton's London Dossier | 1967 | Jonathan Cape | |
Continental Dossier | 1968 | Michael Joseph | |
Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain | 1977 | Jonathan Cape | |
Airshipwreck | 1978 | Jonathan Cape | with Arnold Schwartzman |
Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk | 1979 | Jonathan Cape | |
Basic French Cooking | 1979 | Jonathan Cape | |
Battle of Britain | 1980 | Jonathan Cape | |
The Orient Flight | 1980 | Germany Philatelic Society, Chesterfield, MO | As "Cyril Deighton"; with Fred Blau |
The Egypt Flight | 1981 | Germany Philatelic Society, Chesterfield, MO | As "Cyril Deighton"; with Fred Blau |
ABC of French Food | 1989 | Century | |
Basic French Cookery Course | 1990 | Century | |
Blood, Tears and Folly | 1993 | Jonathan Cape | |
James Bond: My Long and Eventful Search for His Father | 2012 | Amazon Kindle | In e-book format only [7] |
The IPCRESS File is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing and includes scenes in Lebanon and on an atoll for a United States atomic weapon test, as well as information about Joe One, the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb. The story was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman, directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine; and a 2022 TV series, starring Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton and Tom Hollander.
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service.
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British author. His publications have included cookery books and works on history, but he is best known for his spy novels.
Harry Palmer is the name given to the anti-hero protagonist of several films based on spy novels written by Len Deighton, in which the main character is an unnamed intelligence officer. For convenience, the novels are also often referred to as the "Harry Palmer" novels.
Funeral in Berlin is a 1964 spy novel by Len Deighton set between Saturday 5 October and Sunday 10 November 1963. It was the third of Deighton's novels about an unnamed British agent. It was preceded by The IPCRESS File (1962) and Horse Under Water (1963), and followed by Billion-Dollar Brain (1966).
Billion-Dollar Brain is a 1966 Cold War spy novel by Len Deighton. It was the fourth to feature an unnamed secret agent working for the British WOOC(P) intelligence agency. It follows The IPCRESS File (1962), Horse Under Water (1963), and Funeral in Berlin (1964). As in most of Deighton's novels, the plot of Billion Dollar Brain (1967) is intricate, with many dead ends.
Horse Under Water (1963) is the second of several Len Deighton spy novels featuring an unnamed British intelligence officer. It was preceded by The IPCRESS File and followed by Funeral in Berlin.
Tío Pepe is a brand of Sherry. It is best known for its fino style of dry sherry made from the palomino grape. The Tío Pepe brand is owned by the González Byass Sherry house.
Berlin Game is a 1983 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the first novel in the first of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Berlin Game is part of the Game, Set and Match trilogy, being succeeded by Mexico Set and London Match, and followed by the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy and the final Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy. Deighton's novel Winter (1987) is a prequel to the nine novels, covering the years 1900-1945 and providing the backstory to some of the characters.
Spy Sinker is a 1990 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the final novel in the second of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Spy Sinker is part of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, being preceded by Spy Hook and Spy Line. This trilogy is preceded by the Game, Set and Match trilogy and followed by the final Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy. Deighton's novel Winter (1987) is a prequel to the nine novels, covering the years 1900-1945 and providing the backstory to some of the characters.
The Ipcress File may refer to:
The Ipcress File is a 1965 British spy film directed by Sidney J. Furie, from a screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran, based on Len Deighton's 1962 novel The IPCRESS File. It stars Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, an agent for the Ministry of Defence investigating the disappearances of high-level scientists.
Raymond John Hawkey was an English graphic designer and author, based in London.
Bullet to Beijing is a 1995 made-for-television film that continues the adventures of the fictional spy Harry Palmer, who appeared in the 1960s films The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain, based on books by author Len Deighton. Though an alternative title is Len Deighton's Bullet to Beijing, Deighton was not associated with the film.
Spy Story is a 1974 spy novel by Len Deighton, which features minor characters from his earlier novels The IPCRESS File, Funeral in Berlin, Horse Under Water, and Billion Dollar Brain.
Colonel H. L. Ross is a fictional character from the series of novels by Len Deighton variously described as the "Secret File" or "Unnamed hero" novels. His first names are not revealed.
Cookstrips are recipes drawn as black and white graphics with short instructions. They were invented by Len Deighton while studying at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s. Deighton, who is a keen cook, originally drew the cookstrips as instructions to himself in order to keep his expensive cookbooks from becoming dirty in his kitchen.
I'm very messy, and didn't want to take them into the kitchen. So I wrote out the recipes on paper, and it was easier for me to draw three eggs than write "three eggs". So I drew three eggs, then put in an arrow. For me it was a natural way to work.
Len Deighton's Action Cook Book is a 1965 collection of cookery strips originally published in the Observer newspaper, with additional information and notes. Aimed at "an audience of men unskilled at knowing their way around the kitchen", the book has been described as a cult classic from the period and helped pave the transition from cooking being only for women, into being a sophisticated expectation of a modern man.
The Ipcress File is a British cold war spy thriller television series loosely based on the 1962 novel The IPCRESS File by Len Deighton. Written by John Hodge and directed by James Watkins, it stars Joe Cole, Lucy Boynton and Tom Hollander. It was first broadcast at 9pm from Sunday 6 March to 10 April 2022 on ITV. The entire series was available for streaming, with commercials, on ITV Hub after episode 1 was broadcast. Within a week the full series was also available, commercial-free, on BritBox in the UK.