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A Dandy in Aspic
Alexander Eberlin is a small, faceless civil servant working for the Government at the height of the Cold War. As he nears middle age, he allows himself one luxury - to dress like a Dandy.
His superiors send him on a mission to hunt down and destroy a cold-blooded and vicious Russian assassin named Krasnevin, who is responsible for a number of British agents' deaths.
But Eberlin has a secret - he is Krasnevin. This is the story of what happens when Eberlin is sent to destroy himself.
This classic, gripping spy novel is back in print fifty years after it was written, and is entrancing a whole new generation of readers.
About the author
Derek Marlowe
24 books14 followersDerek William Mario Marlowe was an English playwright, novelist, screenwriter and painter. His father was Frederick William Marlowe (an electrician) and his mother Helene Alexandroupolos. He had early education at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Holland Park.
In 1959 Marlowe went to Queen Mary College of the University of London to study English literature. Marlowe calls his time spent there the unhappiest years of his life.He never finished his degree course – Alex Hamilton claims he was expelled for "satire and kindred villainies". Marlowe wrote and edited an article for the college magazine, a parody of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye which reflected what Marlowe called "the boredom of college seminars." However, the college had a particularly fine theatre (the former People's Palace in Mile End Road) and Marlowe became part of a core theatre group there. In 1960 the college group formed a semi-professional theatre company, the 60 Theatre Group, and took their production of Tennessee Williams' play Summer and Smoke to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Marlowe in the leading role opposite Audrey "Dickie" Gaskell.
At college, Marlowe was a contemporary of the poet Lee Harwood, and after leaving he shared a flat with fellow writers Tom Stoppard and Piers Paul Read.
He married Susan Rose "Suki" Phipps, in 1968; together they had a son, Ben, to add to Suki's two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage. He divorced in 1985 and in 1989 he moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote a number of scripts for television, including the award-winning Two Mrs. Grenvilles, Abduction of Innocence and an episode of Murder, She Wrote.
While working there, he contracted leukaemia, and died of a brain haemorrhage after a liver transplant. He was cremated in California, but his ashes were brought back to England by his sister, Alda. At the time of his death he was planning to return to England and complete a tenth novel, Black and White.
Summarised from Wikipedia
In 1959 Marlowe went to Queen Mary College of the University of London to study English literature. Marlowe calls his time spent there the unhappiest years of his life.He never finished his degree course – Alex Hamilton claims he was expelled for "satire and kindred villainies". Marlowe wrote and edited an article for the college magazine, a parody of J. D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye which reflected what Marlowe called "the boredom of college seminars." However, the college had a particularly fine theatre (the former People's Palace in Mile End Road) and Marlowe became part of a core theatre group there. In 1960 the college group formed a semi-professional theatre company, the 60 Theatre Group, and took their production of Tennessee Williams' play Summer and Smoke to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Marlowe in the leading role opposite Audrey "Dickie" Gaskell.
At college, Marlowe was a contemporary of the poet Lee Harwood, and after leaving he shared a flat with fellow writers Tom Stoppard and Piers Paul Read.
He married Susan Rose "Suki" Phipps, in 1968; together they had a son, Ben, to add to Suki's two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage. He divorced in 1985 and in 1989 he moved to Los Angeles, where he wrote a number of scripts for television, including the award-winning Two Mrs. Grenvilles, Abduction of Innocence and an episode of Murder, She Wrote.
While working there, he contracted leukaemia, and died of a brain haemorrhage after a liver transplant. He was cremated in California, but his ashes were brought back to England by his sister, Alda. At the time of his death he was planning to return to England and complete a tenth novel, Black and White.
Summarised from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 49 reviews
December 2, 2022
the book is a smooth operator, just like its cool cat of a protagonist, the double agent known as Eberlin. pacing is casual, not in a hurry. the writing is proficient on a technical level, carefully descriptive, never effusive, steeped in irony and sometimes disdain, all shades of autumnal brown and wintry blue. but the book is not to be trusted. be careful of it, it has an agenda despite its studied nonchalance. the reader will find rapport with its beyond stylish, easily bored, yet surprisingly empathetic hero, perhaps glossing over the fact that he's also a Soviet assassin with at least two kills on his resume, probably many more. it's easy to sympathize with him, he's humane in his way, and he looks like a saint when comparing him to his psychopathic colleague, a sadistically misogynist James Bond type. you may forget that your sympathies shouldn't lie with a duplicitous killer, but the book hasn't. man that ending, how deflating. I respected the book but didn't love it, not at all. like with most smooth operators, I appreciated the technique, the finesse, the subtlety. but also like most smooth operators, it kinda gave me the creeps and it definitely left me cold.
May 5, 2018
It’s the mid-1960s and Eberlin is a 36-year-old desk-jockey in British Intelligence, a gatherer and analyzer of facts. He’s also a loner who dresses very well and collects porcelain. Recently, a couple of the Ministry’s operatives have been killed by an unknown Soviet agent and Eberlin is recruited by his superiors to try to learn the hit-man’s whereabouts. It turns out they even have a name: Krasnevin. This is a problem for Eberlin. He’s Krasnevin, a Russian mole who has been in England since he was eighteen, and who is a very skilled assassin. Essentially, he’s being told to find, identify, and kill himself. And off he goes to divided Berlin without a clue as to what he can do or how. There’s a great deal in this engrossing novel (the author’s first) that will remind the reader of Le Carré, especially the way the characters take on shape and color very gradually and the way in which the author requires the reader to work at following the plot. Don’t think you know how it’s all going to end, though, not even as you read the last chapter, because the final four pages will come up and smack you right in the face.
December 2, 2022
Alexander Eberlin is an employee of the UK intelligence community. He is single, reclusive, a dandy in dress and habit, and very much OCD. His employers have decided to task him to hunt down a Russian agent named Krasnevin who has assassinated at least two, possibly three, British agents. Krasnevin must be found and eliminated and strangely, desk-bound Eberlin is chosen to do it. This is very inconvenient and awkward for Eberlin because he is, himself, Krasnevin.
There are two ways to play this plot. One is the Inspector Clouseau route with Eberlin playing in a farce. This would be highly amusing, even entertaining, but as Marlowe wrote the book in 1965 at the height of the Cold War, it would come off as gauche, if not seditious. The other route was taken by John Le Carré and others – dead serious. Indeed, Marlowe actually helps to create a new literary genre, the spy thriller, full of keenly polite liars, all in defense of the Motherland, whichever country is considered the motherland.
Marlowe’s book is loaded with classic spy ambiance – secret meetings in former Victorian (or earlier) mansions, rat-infested brothels, classic but degenerate European cities, too much wine and whiskey, death around every corner and, of course, betrayal of trust in so many ways. The plot moves rapidly and the reader is always drawn to the next chapter like a starving man to bread. I read it on a trip which was exactly the right place and time. A good, fast read!
There are two ways to play this plot. One is the Inspector Clouseau route with Eberlin playing in a farce. This would be highly amusing, even entertaining, but as Marlowe wrote the book in 1965 at the height of the Cold War, it would come off as gauche, if not seditious. The other route was taken by John Le Carré and others – dead serious. Indeed, Marlowe actually helps to create a new literary genre, the spy thriller, full of keenly polite liars, all in defense of the Motherland, whichever country is considered the motherland.
Marlowe’s book is loaded with classic spy ambiance – secret meetings in former Victorian (or earlier) mansions, rat-infested brothels, classic but degenerate European cities, too much wine and whiskey, death around every corner and, of course, betrayal of trust in so many ways. The plot moves rapidly and the reader is always drawn to the next chapter like a starving man to bread. I read it on a trip which was exactly the right place and time. A good, fast read!
Want to read
May 13, 2009Half Price Books had this very copy you see in the photo (I uploaded it) and touching it and flipping the pages was like time warping back to 1967: the pages are bright and crisp and the colors sharp, including the blue paint edging and the feel is uncracked and stiff like new. The idea of a spy novel in which a double agent is assigned to kill himself(!) is pretty damned intriguing, but I have to say the main reason I forked over the modest $2 was because the look and feel of this like-new artifact in my hand made me feel like a kid again.
June 19, 2020
This book had some brilliant observations. And the quotes at the beginning of each chapter, most from the main character but not included in the main text, added a nice air of mystery, as if the main character was a spy and a pithy philosopher who wrote philosophy on the side. I would have given it 5 stars, but I didn't like the ending. There were great scenery descriptions throughout. The interplay of the Russian and British spies was brutal but humorous at the same time.
March 2, 2020
A Dandy in Aspic is an entertaining spy thriller from the Cold War era. It features some good action worthy of the genre, as well as psychological puzzles that keep the reader guessing until the end.
Alexander Eberlin works at a desk job for the British spy agency MI6. The 36-year-old Eberlin takes good care of himself. He selects only the best clothes, surrounds himself with good books, collects valuable old porcelains, and drives a Maserati Mistrale. He admires and emulates Beau Brummell, the famous dandy from England's Regency period who had, in Eberlin's ironic view, "that noble selflessness of a man who cares for no one but himself."
But is Eberlin's cynical self-regard his true character or a pose? The reader learns early on that in reality, Eberlin is a Soviet operative who specializes in assassinations. He has grown tired of his double life and wants to return to Russia. This desire becomes especially urgent when his superiors at MI6 give him a new assignment: to kill a Russian agent they know as Krasnevin. The problem is, Eberlin himself is Krasnevin. So he must demonstrate to the British that he is tracking down Krasnevin while, in fact, he is trying to get back to Russia.
A strength of the book for me was that, despite being a Westerner who was opposed to the ideology of the Soviet Union and despite having little sympathy for some of Eberlin's attitudes (including his rampant yet typical misogyny), I found myself rooting for him to succeed against the British. I think that's a mark of the author's skill at creating a strong protagonist.
One of my Dad's friends gave me a copy of A Dandy in Aspic soon after it was published, but I never got around to reading it. When I saw that it was now available in a Kindle edition, I thought I'd give it a go and see what I'd missed 50 years ago. I'm glad that I finally read it.
Alexander Eberlin works at a desk job for the British spy agency MI6. The 36-year-old Eberlin takes good care of himself. He selects only the best clothes, surrounds himself with good books, collects valuable old porcelains, and drives a Maserati Mistrale. He admires and emulates Beau Brummell, the famous dandy from England's Regency period who had, in Eberlin's ironic view, "that noble selflessness of a man who cares for no one but himself."
But is Eberlin's cynical self-regard his true character or a pose? The reader learns early on that in reality, Eberlin is a Soviet operative who specializes in assassinations. He has grown tired of his double life and wants to return to Russia. This desire becomes especially urgent when his superiors at MI6 give him a new assignment: to kill a Russian agent they know as Krasnevin. The problem is, Eberlin himself is Krasnevin. So he must demonstrate to the British that he is tracking down Krasnevin while, in fact, he is trying to get back to Russia.
A strength of the book for me was that, despite being a Westerner who was opposed to the ideology of the Soviet Union and despite having little sympathy for some of Eberlin's attitudes (including his rampant yet typical misogyny), I found myself rooting for him to succeed against the British. I think that's a mark of the author's skill at creating a strong protagonist.
One of my Dad's friends gave me a copy of A Dandy in Aspic soon after it was published, but I never got around to reading it. When I saw that it was now available in a Kindle edition, I thought I'd give it a go and see what I'd missed 50 years ago. I'm glad that I finally read it.
September 10, 2019
I don't know how to write a review of this book. Having lived in West Berlin for 3 years, I especially liked the part that took place in West Berlin and all the references to places I knew well. But mostly I found it a very gray book - lots of rain, sad characters. There was a little bit of gaiety but of a frenetic sort. And the ending? Oh my, not what I expected! There were a lot of references I didn't understand, possibly very British. I felt very sorry for our poor hero.
September 3, 2019
This is incredibly clever and when one considers it was actually written in 1967, its satirical punch and dry British humor have certainly held up well. Eberlin is a misanthrope dandy who pushes pencils as a deskjob analyst for British intelligence and collects porcelain figurines. Now he is assigned to track down and get rid of a Soviet assassin that has has already killed three of the Brits' best agents. The problem? Eberlin is a double agent, actually a superbly trained Russian, and that assasin is he! And besides, he is so tired of the weary world of espionage and just wants to retire.
The details of social behavior and xonversation are so spot on, not only for English based encounters but also for the second half of the book when the setting switches to dvided Berlin. I remember Berlin and really loved the way that world was evoked, the sense of tone and detail, too. Extra points for superb vocabulary and the provocative use of memorable epigrams--many of them attributed to Eberlin himself.
I am surprised I never heard anything about this book before but very happy that I stumbled upon it!
The details of social behavior and xonversation are so spot on, not only for English based encounters but also for the second half of the book when the setting switches to dvided Berlin. I remember Berlin and really loved the way that world was evoked, the sense of tone and detail, too. Extra points for superb vocabulary and the provocative use of memorable epigrams--many of them attributed to Eberlin himself.
I am surprised I never heard anything about this book before but very happy that I stumbled upon it!
April 26, 2016
I'm surprised how few people have rated or reviewed this book, which came out originally in 1967. It's an ingenious spy story. The epigrams of Alexander Eberlein (protagonist) are worth writing down and remembering, some of them. I respect the author's skills but found all the characters, all of them, so sad, loveless, heartless that I could not like this book the way I like Graham Green or Eric Ambler or John Le Carre. Casablanca this is not. Those authors can pull the chair out from under you at a book's end, but at least somebody loved somebody in it.
This is definitely a well written twists and turnser; don't look for sentiment or attachment.
This is definitely a well written twists and turnser; don't look for sentiment or attachment.
August 28, 2019
An interesting and intriguing story
It's not always smooth sailing when you represent both sides of the coin . It gets especially dangerous and somewhat unusual when you are requested to hunt and kill the traitor by one side who are unaware that you are the hunted and the hunter.
It's not always smooth sailing when you represent both sides of the coin . It gets especially dangerous and somewhat unusual when you are requested to hunt and kill the traitor by one side who are unaware that you are the hunted and the hunter.
September 17, 2019
Excellent Cold War spy novel
This is as good as anything by Deighton and LeCarre if not better. If you love cold war espionage novels this is as good as it gets. A deep cover Russian assassin masquerading as an MI6 analyst is sent to West Germany to kill the Russian assassin who has killed 3 MI6 agents. Himself.
This is as good as anything by Deighton and LeCarre if not better. If you love cold war espionage novels this is as good as it gets. A deep cover Russian assassin masquerading as an MI6 analyst is sent to West Germany to kill the Russian assassin who has killed 3 MI6 agents. Himself.
October 27, 2019
1.5 stars rounded up for a decent plot idea but severely limited by poor writing. A freebie worth what I paid!
March 19, 2023
It's a very good cold-war era spy novel which I don't think was intended as such. The protagonist, Eberlin, is a foppish, cold, unlikable & unsympathetic hero who we find out about 30 pages into the book is not only a Russian communist spy but is also an assassin who has killed at least 3 Brits. Despite that the reader finds himself identifying w/this character as he try's to give up the game and defect back to Russia but is denied his attempts by his masters while at the same time trying to keep deep undercover so the Brits won't find out just who he is and kill him themselves.
It was about 2/3's of the way through the book when one Eberlin's attempts to defect back to the Russians in Berlin is foiled by the Brits at a gathering of half-naked homosexuals at a mansion's swimming pool party that it occurred to me that the author, Marlowe, was really writing a work of absurdist fiction w/black comedic overtones. In a way I found the book more enjoyable at that point. Up until then, not being to fully identify w/the Russian spy, Eberlin, I had been enjoying it purely for it's setting in mid-60's summertime England then Berlin. Still it is a page-turner and it's too bad that Marlowe didn't write more spy fiction, he was good at it. I've read on wikipedia that the ending for the American version is different than the British version, whatever the case is, the ending for the old brittle Yank copy I read is somehow satisfying and makes perfect sense.
It was about 2/3's of the way through the book when one Eberlin's attempts to defect back to the Russians in Berlin is foiled by the Brits at a gathering of half-naked homosexuals at a mansion's swimming pool party that it occurred to me that the author, Marlowe, was really writing a work of absurdist fiction w/black comedic overtones. In a way I found the book more enjoyable at that point. Up until then, not being to fully identify w/the Russian spy, Eberlin, I had been enjoying it purely for it's setting in mid-60's summertime England then Berlin. Still it is a page-turner and it's too bad that Marlowe didn't write more spy fiction, he was good at it. I've read on wikipedia that the ending for the American version is different than the British version, whatever the case is, the ending for the old brittle Yank copy I read is somehow satisfying and makes perfect sense.
October 18, 2019
I vaguely remember hearing about this book long ago - when I was a young teen, and probably too young for it. The author was a near contemporary of the amazing John Le Carre, but his career failed to reach the same heights, and not having read any of his other books, I can't judge if that was justified or not. But when it popped up as a Kindle deal I decided to check it out, and I enjoyed it. It was skillfully plotted, and quite clever in places but I don't think I'll be tempted to re-read it, as have several of LeCarre's books. But if you like the Cold War British spy novel, this one is definitely above average.
October 9, 2019
My reading of this book was chopped because I lost my kindle for over a month. I found I was able to slip right back into the story without much of a problem. What a surprise it was to find myself on the side of the Russian double agent.The British agents were not shown in a very good light. They were either boring chatterboxes or beastly unfeeling narcissists.
The story had enough twists and moments of tension to keep me reading with interest. The little gems of knowledge that Alexander dropped in our laps at the beginning of the chapters were also entertaining.
The one negative was the frequent use of foreign languages without an immediate translation available. That's the reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5. All in all, the book was a good read for me.
The story had enough twists and moments of tension to keep me reading with interest. The little gems of knowledge that Alexander dropped in our laps at the beginning of the chapters were also entertaining.
The one negative was the frequent use of foreign languages without an immediate translation available. That's the reason I gave it a 4 instead of a 5. All in all, the book was a good read for me.
October 13, 2025
Eberlin is a Russian double agent, spying for both his mother country and England. His British bosses assign him to kill an assassin...which turns out to be him, under his real name. This is one of those 60s spy novels where it's practically impossible to determine each spy's real allegiances--their motivation seems to be enjoying the danger and intrigue of it all. Because of this, it's difficult to emphathize with any but the most hateful characters (of which there are a few). Lean and tightly written, this is an impressive but icily cold tale.
May 13, 2021
A classic that is probably closer to true than most
This take about a double agent in London is likely much closer to what most clandestine work is like than we read in the books by Ludlum and other high action writers in this genre. Because the life is likely slow and plodding, the story moves slowly as well. Take the time to understand Eberlin and his mental state; that makes the story very interesting.
This take about a double agent in London is likely much closer to what most clandestine work is like than we read in the books by Ludlum and other high action writers in this genre. Because the life is likely slow and plodding, the story moves slowly as well. Take the time to understand Eberlin and his mental state; that makes the story very interesting.
August 25, 2019
A very well done spy thriller from the 1960's. Terrifically well written and witty, at times amusing. The start is somewhat confusing and there are always new elements added that you don't understand at first, but will always be explained in short order. Fast, highly enjoyable read that takes you back to the cold war. Highly articulate author, very descriptive. Enjoy.
November 19, 2020
It was after I started reading this that I realised it was written in the sixties. Having said that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this “ Cold War “ spy thriller.
Yes it was a bit slow to start , but then some books are. That didn’t stop my enjoyment of it. It reminded me of the tv series “ Spooks”.
Thoroughly recommend this.
Yes it was a bit slow to start , but then some books are. That didn’t stop my enjoyment of it. It reminded me of the tv series “ Spooks”.
Thoroughly recommend this.
September 8, 2019
Alexander Eberlin is the protagonist but a thoroughly rude asshat. I was torn the whole way through between wanting him to prevail and wanting to see him get what he deserves. Marlowe keeps it a secret to the very end.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 49 reviews