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The Spy Quartet: An Expensive Place to Die, Spy Story, Yesterday’s Spy, Twinkle Twinkle Little Spy
Four classic spy novels, four unnamed spies - just like Britain’s uber-cool sixties spy, ‘Harry Palmer’ - together in one e-bundle for the first time.
When Len Deighton wrote THE IPCRESS FILE, he not only reinvented spy fiction, he created a style icon and literary legend: ‘Harry Palmer’. The nameless, working-class spy of the books found fame in three films starring Michael Caine, and the smart-talking, anti-establishment spy was suddenly cool.
Hollywood would create a host of similarly super-slick spies, such as Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin in The Man from Uncle. But ‘ Harry Palmer’ remains the best, and this quartet showcases the international exploits of someone who looks, sounds and acts like Harry.
AN EXPENSIVE PLACE TO DIE – Into the twilight world of Parisian decadence and hidden motives come the agents of four world powers.
SPY STORY – An attempted murder, the defection of a senior KGB official, and an explosive nuclear submarine chase beneath the Arctic Ocean are the sparks that ignite a brutal East-West power play.
YESTERDAY’S SPY – They thought that Steve Champion, flamboyant hero and leader of an anti-Nazi intelligence group was gone. Then rumours surface of Champion’s sinister Arab connections and weapons-smuggling, forcing his old friend to investigate.
TWINKLE, TWINKLE, LITTLE SPY – A Soviet space scientist defector, an English spy and an ex-CIA agent leave a blood-soaked killing trail across three continents, while overhead spy satellites watch all, twinkling like stars.
- GenresEspionage
913 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2015
74 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Len Deighton
222 books937 followersDeighton was born in Marylebone, London, in 1929. His father was a chauffeur and mechanic, and his mother was a part-time cook. After leaving school, Deighton worked as a railway clerk before performing his National Service, which he spent as a photographer for the Royal Air Force's Special Investigation Branch. After discharge from the RAF, he studied at St Martin's School of Art in London in 1949, and in 1952 won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, graduating in 1955.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He has not returned to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divide their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
Deighton worked as an airline steward with BOAC. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in New York and, in 1960, as an art director in a London advertising agency. He is credited with creating the first British cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own military history books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became The Observer's cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. In September 1967 he wrote an article in the Sunday Times Magazine about Operation Snowdrop - an SAS attack on Benghazi during World War II. The following year David Stirling would be awarded substantial damages in libel from the article.
He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of Playboy, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I Larf, Deighton and photographer Brian Duffy bought the film rights to Joan Littlewood and Theatre Workshop's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! He had his name removed from the credits of the film, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile." That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left England in 1969. He briefly resided in Blackrock, County Louth in Ireland. He has not returned to England apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on BBC Four. He and his wife Ysabele divide their time between homes in Portugal and Guernsey.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 19, 2017
Expensive Place To Die: definitely hitting his stride now. A good read, more thriller than spy.
Spy Story: another solid thriller. The cafe B&E with his girlfriend in tow was weird, though.
Yesterday's Spy: really enjoyed this, although I still find his endings have a vagueness about them.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Spy: spoiled by foreshadowing a thing which was not as dramatic as foretold.
Spy Story: another solid thriller. The cafe B&E with his girlfriend in tow was weird, though.
Yesterday's Spy: really enjoyed this, although I still find his endings have a vagueness about them.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Spy: spoiled by foreshadowing a thing which was not as dramatic as foretold.
Displaying 1 of 1 review