Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton (b: (18 February 1929) is a British author, best known for his spy novels, although he also writes in other genres, including history.
Before Deighton's success as a writer, he was a member of the RAF, and after attending the Royal College of Art, he designed a number of book jackets for other writers, including the original UK edition of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.
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Deighton's first novel was “The Ipcress File”, published in 1962. The book was a best-seller in the UK, France and the US; the novel sold more than 2.5 million copies in three years.
A subsequent screenplay for a film called “The Ipcress File” was developed in 1965, starring British actor, Michael Caine as the central character, ‘Harry Palmer’.
A TV series was also adapted from the book in 2022.
Deighton wrote a number of other fiction and non-fiction books.
He published two fictional novels retaining the character, ‘Harry Palmer’, namely: “Horse Under Water” (1963) and “Funeral in Berlin” (1964).
Deighton also published the following fictional books:
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“Billion-Dollar Brain” (1966);
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“An Expensive Place to Die” (1967);
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“Only When I Laugh” (1967)
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“Bomber” (1971)
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“Close-Up” (1972)
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“Spy Story” (1974)
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“Yesterday’s Spy” (1975)
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“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Spy / Catch a Falling Spy” (1976)
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“SS-GB” (1978)
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“XPD” (1981)
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“Goodbye, Mickey Mouse” (1982)
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“MAMista” (1991)
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“City of Gold” (1992)
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“Violent Ward” (1993)
Deighton wrote three connected trilogies:
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Berlin Game (1983), Mexico Set (1984) and London Match (1985);
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Spy Hook (1988), Spy Line (1989) and Spy Sinker (1990); and
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Faith (1994), Hope (1995) and Charity (1996); and
Winter (a Berlin Family), a companion novel (written in 1987).
The trilogies are centred on the character “Bernard Samson”, an MI6 intelligence officer.
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Deighton's novel, "Bomber" was listed for the prestigious Booker Prize in 2010.
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Len Deighton is one of Britain's most famous espionage writers, along with Ian Fleming and John Le Carré.
