William Garner (born 1920, in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England - 2005) was an English thriller writer. [1]
Garner graduated from the University of Birmingham in 1941 with a BSc (with honors). He served with the Royal Air Force from 1941 to 1946, rising to the rank of flight lieutenant. [2]
He married Gwen Owen in 1944 while she was in the WAAF. [1] Their daughter Lesley Garner is the Daily Telegraph's self-help columnist. [1]
He was public relations director for Monsanto Company, London, from 1949 to 1964, and for Massey Ferguson Ltd. (London office) from 1964 to 1966. He became a full-time writer in 1967. [2]
His early novels feature British spy Michael Jagger, a high-living, self-hating, risk-loving ex-agent (in disgrace).
Marghanita Laski writing in The Listener, called Garner "Our cleverest thriller writer". [3] The Observer believed Garner was "A novelist of stature who leaves his own distinctive imprint on the le Carré scene." [4] The Crime Writers' Association short-listed Rat's Alley for their Gold Dagger award. [5]
When asked to describe himself, Garner replied "Strongly motivated. Views on almost everything that matters. Views on what matters might differ from those of many." [2]
He is also the author of the article "Spies and sex make a puzzling mix", first published in The Observer in 1987.
Arthritis increasingly crippled Garner's hands later in life, preventing him from writing. [1]
Cecil Louis Troughton Smith, known by his pen name Cecil Scott "C. S." Forester, was an English novelist known for writing tales of naval warfare, such as the 12-book Horatio Hornblower series depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic Wars.
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.
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Elleston Trevor was a British novelist and playwright who wrote under several pseudonyms. Born Trevor Dudley-Smith, he eventually changed his name to Elleston Trevor. Trevor worked in many genres, but is principally remembered for his 1964 adventure story The Flight of the Phoenix, written as Elleston Trevor, and for a series of Cold War thrillers featuring the British secret agent Quiller, written under the pseudonym Adam Hall.
They Came to Baghdad is an adventure novel by Agatha Christie, first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 5 March 1951 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at eight shillings and sixpence (8/6) and the US edition at $2.50.
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The Rat Patrol is an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers – three Americans and one British – who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II. Their mission: "to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps".
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