Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligence agencies. It was given new impetus by the development of fascism and communism in the lead-up to World War II, continued to develop during the Cold War, and received a fresh impetus from the emergence of rogue states, international criminal organizations, global terrorist networks, maritime piracy and technological sabotage and espionage as potent threats to Western societies. As a genre, spy fiction is thematically related to the novel of adventure, the thriller and the politico-military thriller.
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels.
Rachel Ames, née Stainer was a British novelist and journalist who wrote under the pseudonym Sarah Gainham. She is perhaps best known for her 1967 novel Night Falls on the City, the first of a trilogy about life in Vienna under Nazi rule.
Len Deighton is an English author known for his novels, works of military history, screenplays and cookery writing. He 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. He continued to produce what his biographer John Reilly considers "stylish, witty, well-crafted novels" in spy fiction, including three trilogies and a prequel featuring Bernard Samson.
The Three Couriers is a 1929 comedy thriller novel by the British writer Compton Mackenzie. It was inspired by his own experiences working for British intelligence during the First World War. It set in Southeastern Europe, and features the fictional British spy Roger Waterson who had previously appeared in Extremes Meet. Thriller writer Eric Ambler was an admirer of the novel.
Panther's Moon is a 1948 spy thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was his second post-war novel, following The Chasm, as he had largely been taken a break from writing during his wartime service.
Time Right Deadly is a 1956 thriller novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham. Her debut novel, it was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger Award, losing out to Edward Grierson's The Second Man. Like many of her novels it takes place in post-war Austria, where she lived.
The Stone Roses is a 1959 spy thriller novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham. It is set in Prague shortly after the Communist coup in Czechoslovakia.
The Cold Dark Night is a 1957 spy thriller novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham. Her second novel, it is set at the height of the Cold War when the 1954 Berlin Conference saw the Big Four foreign ministers arrive in the divided city. Gainham had worked in Berlin as a journalist at the time of the Conference.
The Mythmaker is a 1957 spy thriller novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham, her third published novel. At with many of her works it takes place in Vienna, where she settled in the post-war era. It was released in the United States in 1958 under the alternative title Appointment in Vienna.
Night Falls on the City is a 1967 novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham. A commercial and critical success, it was the first of her Vienna trilogy followed by A Place in the Country (1969) and Private Worlds (1971). Marking a change from the series of spy thrillers she produced in the 1950s, it remains her best-known work
A Place in the Country is a 1969 novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham. It was the second in her Vienna trilogy following on from the popular first novel Night Falls on the City.
Private Worlds is a 1971 novel by the British writer Sarah Gainham. It was the third in her Vienna trilogy following the popular first novel Night Falls on the City.
A Forest of Eyes is a 1950 spy thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. Stylistically it owed a debt to Canning's friend, the writer Eric Ambler.
The Chasm is a 1947 thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. It was his first novel since the Second World War during which he had served in the Royal Artillery and was largely absent from the writing world. Later he increasingly turned to espionage and crime novels. It takes place in Italy where Canning had served during the Italian campaign.
Doubled in Diamonds is a 1966 spy thriller novel by the British Victor Canning. It is the second in a series of four novels about Rex Carver, a private detective drawn back into his old profession of espionage.
The Python Project is a 1967 spy thriller novel by the British Victor Canning. It is the third in a series of four novels about Rex Carver, a private detective drawn back into his old profession of espionage. A complex plot which involves a jewel robbery and the exchange of prisoners between the British and Soviet intelligence services takes place in a variety of locations including London, Paris, Libya and the Balearic Islands.
The Melting Man is a 1968 thriller novel by the British Victor Canning. It is the fourth and final entry in a series novels about Rex Carver, a private detective drawn back into his old profession of espionage. It features the French secret agent Aristide de la Dole, who had previously appeared in Doubled in Diamonds.
Firecrest is a 1971 spy thriller novel by the British writer Victor Canning. A stand-alone novel, it introduced a more modern, darker and naturalistic style compared to Canning's previous novels. It marked the first appearance of "The Department", a shadowy dirty tricks agency working for the British government which featured in subsequent novels.
The Secret Vanguard is a 1940 thriller novel by the British writer Michael Innes. It is the fifth in his series featuring John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police. The novel takes place in the early stages of the Second World War, and functions closer to a mystery spy novel than the traditional detective novel.
