"The Poet of the Spy Story": The Novels of Len Deighton

Len Deighton is considered one of the top three spy novelists of his time (along with Ian Fleming and John le Carré). In addition he is a highly acclaimed military historian, cookery writer, and graphic artist. The IPCRESS File (1962), his first novel, was an instant bestseller and broke the mold of thriller writing. His cynical, cheeky , working class protagonists who were contemptuous of the system they worked in made Deighton seem the Angry Young Man, The John Osborne Of Thriller Writing. As Deighton grew older, his heroes became more world weary, but never quite lost their edge of defiance and controversy. The Sunday Times called him "the poet of the spy story". Deighton's first protagonist – a nameless spy christened Harry Palmer in the films – was made famous worldwide in 1960s films starring Michael Caine.