XPD

Last updated
XPD
XPD (Len Deighton novel - front cover).jpg
First edition hardbound cover image
Author Len Deighton
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreSpy, historical fiction
Published Hutchinson (UK)
Knopf (US)
Publication date
1981
Media typeBook
Pages339
ISBN 9780394512587
OCLC 7177002

XPD is a spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1981, and set in 1979, roughly contemporaneous with the time it was written. [1]

It concerns a plan by a group of former SS officers to seize power in West Germany, in which they intend to publish some wartime documents about a (fictional) secret meeting between Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler in June 1940, and the efforts of a British agent, Boyd Stuart, to prevent the documents becoming public.

The title is the code used by the Secret Intelligence Service in the novel to refer to assassinations it carries out, short for "expedient demise".

The novel was dramatised in eight parts by Michael Bakewell for BBC radio in 1985.

Related Research Articles

<i>The IPCRESS File</i> Spy novel

The IPCRESS File is Len Deighton's first spy novel, published in 1962. The story involves Cold War brainwashing, 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.

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.

Harry Palmer Fictional secret agent

Harry Palmer is the protagonist of a number of films based on the unnamed main character in the spy novels written by Len Deighton. Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in three of the four films based on the four published novels featuring this character. Caine also starred as this character in two other films not directly based on Deighton's novels.

<i>Billion-Dollar Brain</i>

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 the author's novels, the plot of Billion Dollar Brain (1967) is intricate, with many dead ends.

<i>Goodbye, Mickey Mouse</i>

Goodbye, Mickey Mouse is a historical novel by Len Deighton published on 12 October 1982. Set in Britain in early 1944 it tells the story of the 220th Fighter Group of the US Eighth Air Force in the lead up to the Allied invasion of Europe. The Group is based at a fictional airfield in Norfolk named Steeple Thaxted.

<i>Horse Under Water</i> Book by Len Deighton

Horse Under Water is the second of four Len Deighton spy novels featuring an unnamed British agent protagonist. It was preceded by The IPCRESS File and followed by Funeral in Berlin.

<i>Len Deightons London Dossier</i>

Len Deighton's London Dossier is a guide book to London, edited by British author Len Deighton and published in 1967. It consists of a "collection of personal guides to the hidden gems and sites of London by a range of writers and raconteurs, many of them Len Deighton’s friends." Deighton himself contributes two of the 14 essays.

XPD can mean multiple things:

<i>Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk</i>

Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk is a 1979 military history book by Len Deighton. Unlike most of Deighton's other work the book is entirely non-fiction.

<i>London Match</i>

London Match is a 1985 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the concluding novel in the first of three trilogies about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). London Match is part of the Game, Set and Match trilogy, being preceded by Berlin Game and Mexico Set. This trilogy is 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.

<i>Spy Hook</i>

Spy Hook is a 1988 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the first 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 Hook is part of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, being succeeded by Spy Line and Spy Sinker. 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.

<i>Spy Line</i>

Spy Line is a 1989 spy novel written by British writer Len Deighton. It is the second 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 Line is part of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, being preceded by Spy Hook and followed Spy Sinker. 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.

<i>Spy Sinker</i>

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.

<i>The Key to Rebecca</i> 1980 novel by Ken Follett

The Key to Rebecca is a novel by the British author Ken Follett. Published in 1980 by Pan Books (ISBN 0792715381), it was a best-seller that achieved popularity in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The code mentioned in the title is an intended throwback from Follett to Daphne du Maurier's famed suspense novel Rebecca.

<i>Faith</i> (novel) 1994 novel by Len Deighton

Faith is a 1994 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the first novel in the final trilogy of three about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Faith is part of the Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy, being followed by Hope and Charity. This trilogy is preceded by the Game, Set and Match and the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogies. 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.

<i>Charity</i> (novel) 1996 novel by Len Deighton

Charity is a 1996 spy novel by Len Deighton. It is the final novel in the final trilogy about Bernard Samson, a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). Charity is part of the Faith, Hope and Charity trilogy, being preceded by Faith and Hope. This trilogy is preceded by the Game, Set and Match and the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogies. 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.

Cookstrip

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."

Merkers Adventure Mines

Merkers Adventure Mines are a visitor attraction in Krayenberggemeinde in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany, owned and operated by K+S AG of Kassel. They lie near the village of Merkers. The mines have a long history of salt extraction, and hold the record for concealing large amounts of Nazi gold during World War II. A hundred tons of gold and many works of art presumed to be stolen were discovered by the liberating United States Army in 1945.

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.

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.

References