Len Deighton RIP
It was sad, but not entirely unexpected to see the passing of Len Deighton, one of my favorite espionage writers at 97. Compared to many authors, Deighton kept a low profile, avoiding interviews, content with letting the work speak for itself, which it absolutely did.
He published 27 novels as well as several non-fiction military histories, numerous cook books and a collection of short stories over a 34 year career.
I remember reading the Bernard Samson trilogy (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match) in the mid-1980s and being absolutely stunned by the quality of the writing and the strange juxtaposition of office politics, romance and family problems in an espionage book. I was hooked and went back and read his early 1960s titles starting with The Ipcress file.
Deighton’s books did away with the high-gloss espionage fiction of Ian Fleming and his imitators. Deighton was working class and he brought that perspective into his work. If you want to understand where Mick Herron’s Slow Horses comes from, pick up an early Deighton. You can draw a straight line from the Ipcress File to Slough House.
Although his later non-espionage works didn’t always measure up, it was disappointing to see Deighton fade from the spotlight. When he stopped publishing in 1996, many of his books went out of print.
There was a brief resurgence with the TV adaptations of SS-GB and The Ipcress File. And every now and then there are rumors of additional film adaptations. We know Deighton didn’t stop writing. So I hope his sons will find a way to get some of his unpublished works into print or on TV.
If you’re new to his work, here are some recommendations:
Funeral in Berlin- perhaps the best of the Harry Palmer novels with a brilliant film adaptation featuring Michael Caine.
Berlin Game- the start of the first Bernard Samson trilogy. It’s a great standalone novel, but it’ll leave you wanting to read the next two in the series.
SS-GB - one of the first alternate histories written — what if the Germans won the war?
You can still pickup first editions of Deighton’s work on eBay for pretty reasonable prices.
