Yesterday's Spy

by Len Deighton

'Deighton at his best' Evening Standard

Steve Champion - flamboyant businessman, former leader of an anti-Nazi network in the Second World War - is a man surrounded by mysteries. There are rumours he is still in the spying business. And suspicions that his fortune may be built on something nefarious; something he'd rather stayed secret. The Department are nervous, so Champion's oldest wartime ally is sent to the South of France to investigate. It's time to re-open the file on yesterday's spy, whatever the consequences.

'Tough, well-written and extremely readable' Daily Mail

A PATRICK ARMSTRONG NOVEL

Genres: Espionage, Fiction, Thriller, Spy Thriller, Adventure, Ebooks

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Deighton 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.

Reviews

[Alan (on December semi-hiatus) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Spy Who Betrayed Me
Review of the Penguin Modern Classics paperback edition (September, 2021) of the original Jonathan Cape hardcover (1975)

Writing books is like a spell on a battlefield. For the first two or three books you survive largely based on luck. After that the odds are against you, and you have to learn quickly and learn by narrow escapes. To construct Yesterday’s Spy I decided to use a second character and thus create a dual leading role. Conan Doyle had shown us how Dr Watson could be a useful tool for explaining facts and theories to the reader. I was right to believe that Yesterday’s Spy would benefit from assigning to ‘Harry Palmer’ a belligerent American boss, Schlegel, but I didn’t include in my calculations the intimacy that would come from sending Harry back to fraternize with his old friends from the Resistance. - excerpt from Len Deighton's 2012 Afterword, also included in the Yesterday's Spy 2021 reprint.

Penguin Modern Classics lists this as the third of four 'Patrick Armstrong' novels, preceded by An Expensive Place to Die (orig. 1967) & Spy Story (orig. 1972) and followed by Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (orig. 1976). Author Deighton hedges his bets in his 2012 Afterword and acknowledges that many of his readers have taken to naming his bespectacled, otherwise-nameless, spy protagonist as 'Harry Palmer,' after the name used in the Michael Caine films of the earlier books (The IPCRESS File, Funeral in Berlin, etc.), even though that name never appeared in the books themselves.

The later quartet of books doesn't have quite the charm of the earlier ones however. I think this is mostly due to them not having the banter between working-class 'Harry' and his former upper-class boss Dawlish. Yesterday's Spy has the otherwise nameless spy operating under his old World War II Resistance name of 'Monsieur Charles.' He is sent by his current boss, ex-Marine Col. Schlegel in 'The Department,' to resume acquaintance with Steve Champion, a former ally in a French underground resistance network during World War II. Champion now makes his living from arms dealing, and is suspected of selling to terrorists and governments in the Middle East. The concern is that his latest scheme involves nuclear weapons.

Yesterday's Spy has the usual sorts of betrayals and seemingly inexplicable plot turns of the other Deighton books, with all not being explained until the final chapter. It does lean towards several of the James Bond-like tropes of the Ian Fleming books and film adaptations. There is the somewhat charming evil villain. There are the several femme fatales. There is the villain's lair which is infiltrated by the hero. There is the somewhat absurd final confrontation of the single hero vs. the overwhelming forces of the bad guys. So it was more of an 'it was ok' sort of book, compared to earlier, more anti-James Bond, type of books.


Cover image from the original 1975 Jonathan Cape hardcover edition. Image sourced from Goodreads.

Yesterday's Spy is the 7th of my re-reads of the early Len Deightons (I first read almost all of them in the 60's/70's/80's) after having learned of the Penguin Modern Classics republication of all of his novels, which were published during 2021 as outlined in an online article Why Len Deighton's spy stories are set to thrill a new generation (Guardian/Observer May 2, 2021).

Trivia and No Link
Yesterday's Spy did not receive a movie adaptation, unlike several of the other early Deighton novels.

[Checkman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deighton's spy novels are very low-key affairs with muted details that might go by you until pointed out by the protagonist. Often events will occur that seem to have no relevancy until later. To me it seems that not much will happen until the last third, but in retrospect much is happening. It's just that you're forced to see things from the protagonist's viewpoint and that character (like all of us) is in a situation in which he is being forced to act without knowing all the facts. While many might find it frustrating there are times when I enjoy this slower paced approach. It forces me to think a bit more instead of just mindlessly going along for the ride.

"Yesterday's Spy" isn't a bad read. It's set in the mid-seventies (when it was written), but the plot is connected to the French Resistance movement in WWII and how enemies and friends have changed over the past thirty years. The clarity of the war years is gone and that generation is now middle-aged and dealing with a much murkier situation. As a result old loyalties have changed (though there is a possibility that things weren't what they seemed during the war either) and the results won't be as satisfying.

The climax is exciting, but there is also a twist to the slam-bang ending. Once again things aren't what they seem and ultimately the heroes of the past might just turn out to be self-serving bastards who help nobody but themselves.

"Yesterday's Spy" is a satisfying read. Somewhat like a John le Carré novel only not as dense. I breezed through it in a couple of day with most of it being completed within a few hours.

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story tends to wander a bit, but it is still a quality effort on Len Deighton's part. I am beginning to think that other spy and adventure writers influence him much more than I originally thought. I've already mentioned in regard to Twinkle Twinkle Little Spy how that novel seemed reminiscent of parts of Hammond Innes' The Strange Land. Well, parts of Yesterday's Spy, with its wandering about a labyrinth also reminded me of Innes' tendency to indulge in those scenarios as well. Too, the atmosphere of this book has the flavor of many an Erick Ambler work, particularly Epitaph for a Spy, with the setting in southern France and along the coast. All that is not to say this work is derivative. It's not. It contains all the uniqueness of Deighton's style, wit, and wry humor. But just to add a dash of the contemporary, the climax will also appeal to the lovers of James Bond in its depiction of a nefarious mastermind plotting mass destruction--or is he?

[Ches Torrants · Rating 4 out of 5]

This intrigued me from the start. Is Steve a hero gone bad, or is he still a hero? The story is set in the nineteen-seventies. Friendships from WW2 are strong, but perhaps people can change. The first-person narrator steers a dangerous path between the underworld and the Secret Service. At times, I think he is pushing his luck too far, but he unravels one deception after another. Perhaps some of the plot constructs seem cliched now, but he was one of the first to use them. I was unable to visualise the geometry of the final chase, but I enjoyed the confrontation. This writer was one of the greats.

[Trevor Seigler · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, a few notes: I ordered this online, in the Penguin Modern Classics edition, and it got lost in the mail. No harm, no foul, these things happen, and it wouldn't surprise me if it turned up months later (as I had a similar lost-in-the-mail experience with "Tom Jones" a few years back, and it eventually turned up and ended up being one of my new favorite books). So on a book-shopping trip with my sister on New Year's Eve, I saw this mass-market paperback edition and snatched it up. Was it worth the wait? Yep.

"Yesterday's Spy" is another Len Deighton page-turner, with a laconic narrator (here identified as Charlie, whether it's his real name or a code name), who has to uncover just what his old wartime friend Steve Champion (great name) is up to in early Seventies France. You see, Steve was a spy during WW2, and he got picked up by the Germans during the war and tortured, so he has no love for his former bosses in British intelligence. Charlie, who was a young agent back then, is older, wiser, and more inclined to his friend than he is to his new bosses, but he gradually realizes that Champion is not on the up-and-up. With a cover story in place, he joins Champion's little escapade, trying to uncover a plot that involves the volatile situation in the Middle East, nukes, and former colleagues from their old spy network who may not be who they seem.

I think the Modern Classics edition posited this as "a Patrick Armstrong novel," much like "Spy Story" and "An Expensive Place to Die," but having this edition makes me skeptical. For one thing, the protagonist in "Spy Story" feels a lot younger than Charlie here, and even if "Charlie" is a code name, I still don't think he's the same guy as the one in "Spy Story" (and I have my doubts about "Expensive Place" being the same guy as "Story"). It's a small matter, though, and it doesn't detract from the book in the slightest; Deighton is such a master at crafting voices that you don't really care what the narrator calls himself. I've read a couple of Deightons with omniscient narrators ("Winter," "Spy Sinker," and "City of Gold"), and while I liked those alright, give me the bitter, world-weary first-person narrators any day. That's Deighton's strong suit as a writer. And Charlie is as world-weary as they come, even if he's not "Patrick Armstrong" or even "Harry Palmer." He is a strong voice for the story, and ultimately a worthy addition to Deighton's cabinet of characters.

"Yesterday's Spy" took a while to get ahold of, but it was totally worth it. If you're a fan of spy fiction, and especially Len Deighton, this is a close *almost* masterpiece to add to your TBR list.

[David]

Another in a long line of totally consistent Deighton novels. I do wonder if his first-person narrator is always the same person, no matter what character name he may bear (if any). Doubling, tripling, and the weight of the world (war) weave throughout this story of the past being thoroughly reconfigured.

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog here in June 2004.

The plots of a fair proportion of the novels Deighton has set contemporary to the date of writing involve something left over from the Second World War. There is an obvious reason why this happens, other than that the Cold War itself could be viewed as arising from the Second World War; many of the spies and spy masters of the seventies were still people who had had their greatest successes at that time. Deighton also does this kind of plot superbly; it lends itself to the kind of questioning cynicism which is the trademark of his novels. (The particular question which lies in the background of Yesterday's Spy is: are those who fought side by side thirty years earlier still comrades in arms?)

Steve Champion was a wartime hero, a British agent who organised a resistance cell in the south of France, though he was eventually captured and tortured by the Germans. After the war, he had made the most of his contacts to become a very rich, but decidedly shady businessman, used occasionally by British intelligence. But now he has some scheme of his own in mind, and growing closeness to the Egyptian government (more radical in the mid seventies than since) has made him a dangerous man to know.

The narrator was Champion's second in command during the war, and has continued to work for "the Department" ever since. So he seems the obvious person to use to infiltrate Champion's scheme, though he is not keen to do it and the fact that he is the obvious choice makes it harder for him to convince Champion of his sincerity. (And, once he has done so, to ensure that his employers still believe he is on their side.) Generally this is familiar Len Deighton territory; the narrator's character is little different from that of the narrator of Spy Story. (He actually has the same boss, though he doesn't seem to work in the same branch of intelligence at all.)

This familiarity is something of a problem with Yesterday's Spy. It is basically Deighton by numbers, more like the product of a good imitator than of Deighton himself - lacking in truly original inspiration. It has interesting ideas - the involvement of Champion's young son, part of a subplot in which the boy is kidnapped from his mother after a divorce, for example, but not enough is made from them.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mid-period Deighton, still using an anonymous spy as his protagonist (although here going by his wartime cover of Charlie), Yesterday's Spy is a solid espionage novel, by turns melancholy, bitter and action-packed.

Charlie is tasked with investigating his old comrade, the splendidly named Steve Champion, wartime hero of the resistance who now appears to be working for the Arabs. Dawlish, from Deighton's classic sixties novels appears briefly, but it is the brash American Schlegel (last seen in Spy Story) who is Charlie's boss and main contact as he goes undercover to try and get the dirt on his old friend. The chapter where Charlie appears to go off the rails as he establishes deep cover is reminiscent of LeCarre's Alec Leamas's descent into purgatory. It's very effective although perhaps Champion is too quick to welcome his old friend into his inner circle.

The plot twists and turns nicely with Charlie reconnecting with the remnants of his wartime network as he works for Champion in France. There's a subplot about Champion's ex-wife and his son (who he kidnaps at one point), which doesn't really get fully developed. But Charlie is an interesting protagonist. A middle-aged, bespectacled career spy who really doesn't want to be doing the task at hand. The double bluff around stolen French nukes and Champion's motives is well done, but this feels a bit like Deighton by numbers. Indeed Champion ends up like a pastiche of a Bond villain, complete with secret lair and an improbable plan to wreak destruction.

So Yesterday's Spy is a good, solid read, enjoyable at the time, but probably not one to return to. It's certainly not up to the standard of Ipcress or Funeral.

[John Hellinikakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a pacier novel than some of Deighton's previous books and the storyline is compelling, if not to the same level as Funeral in Berlin and The Ipcress File. The characters are both interesting and flawed.

The main protagonist, in common with Deighton's previous novels, appears to be writing from his own perspective.

Having read the Deighton's previous spy books some time ago, I am not sure if the main character, downtrodden by his superiors, is the same who debuted in The Ipcress File and known as Harry Palmer in the films, with the same sardonic humour, resourcefulness, quick-wittedness being the overall superior spy.

[David Charnick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"‘Let’s just drink to Marius,’ I said."

Marius, the French priest and resistance man tortured to death by the Nazis, is the leitmotif linking the past to the novel’s present. His betrayal embodies the question of trust at the heart of a good spy story. For the first few chapters we’re presented with different potential interpretations of what’s going on. options for where to place our trust, and there’s always room to wonder whether we’re wrong as the story develops.

Even the drink enjoyed by two old comrades in White’s club which opens the narrative is undercut by who’s fooling whom. But whether trust is merited in the present is informed by the past. The seemingly nostalgic get-together between Charlie and Champion is the beginning of a general opening of old wounds as members of the wartime Guernica network become caught up in a new narrative. Their reactions, and particularly those of the narrator Charlie, are determined by what they think happened in the war.

It could be argued that the juxtaposition between the Forties and the Seventies is too contrived, but it does give the narrative more body, I think. After all, why does Champion need Charlie? Schlegel is right – Charlie isn’t needed. There’s a very real sense that it’s the comradeship of the past that underlies Champion taking him on, an emotional vulnerability similar to Champion’s need to have his son with him.

Moving on to the structure, it’s a taughtly-written work. You have to keep up with the narrative; there’s no slack. The chapters are short and easily digestible. But this doesn’t mean they’re lightweight. Enough detail is given to keep the reader engaged. Occasionally you have to fill in some gaps in the narrative flow between chapters, but this is just to maintain the pace.

The guesswork continues through the story, with deception coming on deception. And of course the ending is, in different ways, both climax and anticlimax. As with the best spy stories success is mingled with failure, and this results in the question of what ultimately has been achieved? Loose ends are tied up of course, but in a satisfactory way. The narrative works on a very human level, and the reader can respond to that quite happily.

It’s an enjoyable read. Despite its shortness I didn’t have time to read it in one sitting, but I did take every opportunity to pick it up and carry on when I could, even in odd moments. And that’s got to be worth something.

[Becky Motew · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

Let’s say you were a hotshot British agent in World War II France, part of a close network of couriers, radio operators, resistance fighters and musclemen, some of whom you knew and some you did not. Real names were not usually shared. The war was eventually won in no small part because of the heroic struggles of you and your confreres. But now it's done and dusted and we've come to the 1970s. You are well into middle age and that’s being kind. You haven’t seen your war buddies in many years.

You still work for the British secret service but now your boss is an American. He is suspicious of one of your old comrades and sends you looking for him. It seems crazy to you, but it’s thought that this guy is now working for the Egyptians and trying to get deadly weapons for them, possibly nukes.

You would be Charlie, LD’s main character. And is it really crazy?

I’ve been a fan of LD for many years. His Bernie Samson series is a brilliant gem and not to be missed for anyone who loves the espionage genre. In other books I often skip descriptive passages, but not with Deighton. His sentences are penetrating, incisive, witty, and sometimes very funny. I don’t want to miss any.

Concerning some leftover bread crumbs on the windowsill:

“ I suppose no pigeon fancied them, when just a short flight away, the tourists would be throwing them croissants, and they could sit down and eat with a view of Saint James Park.”

Of a schoolyard:

"Swarms of children made random patterns as they sang, swung, jumped in puddles, and punched each other with the same motive, less exuberance that organized becomes war.”

Charlie tracks his onetime mentor, Steve Champion (great name!) to find out what he is really doing. Champion uses many of the same subterfuges that Charlie remembers so well from the war but just knowing it is being done is not the same as figuring it out. A young woman is murdered and the stakes get higher.

This book is of its time. Published in 1975 It reads like the kind of TV show my parents would’ve watched in those days: shoot-em-up, lots of guns, etc. I’d have to say that the genre has become more suspenseful now, perhaps more subtle and maybe sharper in some ways, but not better. As Graham Greene and Ian Fleming once gave way to newer and more sophisticated authors such as LD and LeCarre, they now themselves pave the way for Charles Cumming, Olen Steinhauer, Ben McIntyre and others.

[Ethan Hulbert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a good book. Boring as shit.

I like slow and plodding spy stories if they're well-written, if they've got some craft and motivation and suspense.

This had nothing. It was an anonymous protagonist who flitted from dialogue exchange sequence A to dialogue exchange sequence B to dialogue exchange sequence C etc. There was very little action or excitement. So many characters were introduced so quickly and constantly with so little development, and SO MANY references to their shared backstories which got completely tangled up with each other so fast. And then you start to realize that sometimes each chapter takes place in vastly different locations and apparently with long gaps in time, and with some of the actions and revelations apparently taking place in those gaps? And you only learn that because all of a sudden they're referring to these things in the past tense and you're like, wait, what? Wasn't she just alive? She died off-screen and everyone found out off-screen too? Wait, what??

This book wasn't offensively bad or anything, it's not going on my "least favorites" shelf, it was just nothing. Just a bore, a whole jumble of words with nothing to do. Hard pass on this book, unless you need help getting to sleep.

[Jay Rothermel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another droll, spark-plug of a novel about spy versus spy in post-war Europe.

Deighton's series protagonist, here going by his old French Resistance name, Charles Bonnard, is sent to investigate an old comrade now too suspect for his own good.

The fun (I leave aside the expertly drawn tragedy) of Yesterday's Spy is the conflict today between Charles and his Ugly American boss, Colonel Schlegel, US Marine Corps (Air Wing), Retired.

[....] Schlegel sat hunched forward in his seat, while the rain beat down upon our plastic bubble. ‘They must be on the Autobahn to Cologne by now,’ he said finally. He reached for the pilot’s map and opened it on his knees. ‘If they are going to Bonn, they will turn off the Autobahn at that big clover-leaf there – Autobahnkreuz Köln West – and follow the circular road as far as the next cloverleaf.’ He stabbed the place on the map. ‘From there, it’s only a lousy twenty kilometres to Bonn.’ He looked at me and then at the pilot. ‘When those trucks get half way between Cologne and Bonn – we stop them, and screw the diplomatic ruckus.’
‘You want me to radio for permission?’ the pilot asked.
Schlegel looked at him unenthusiastically. ‘I’m giving the orders, Baron von Richthofen! You just pull the levers! Let’s go!’

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to pick up Len Deighton's books as I stumble across them in charity shops ..this being one I recently stumbled upon.
I understand this is his un named spy..though saying that if course he has a alias within this book as no name would render confusion.
Anyhow it's a book less of the cold war though communism does feature and more set against the backdrop of the Israeli/Arab conflict and the machinations of nations with parts to play in this.
It has a kind of James Bond type subterranean base type ending which although a little out of place didn't spoil the book which alike others by this author is very readable.
A decent spy thriller which is not overtly complex nor too sensational .

[Derek Nudd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of a short sequence of Deighton's mid-career books in which the common thread is the 'Department' and its puppeteers in the background, not the books' protagonists. They read as though Deighton had one eye on a possible screenplay - plenty of action and rapid changes of location.
This is not his best but by no means his worst. A couple of minor grumbles: there is one Deus ex Machina - a gun not mentioned before plays a key part in the narrative - and the final shootout lacks plausibility. But when did that ever matter?

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.5

Overall I enjoyed this LD thriller just not quite enough to push it up to a 4 rating.
I’m sure I have read this in the past but couldn’t remember anything about it hence this re read.

As with the majority of LD books it was an easy read, the story was twisty at times and involving. Remembering who all the characters were and their relationships took some work tbh, due to the changing loyalties from WW2 to current day, but didn’t interfere with the reading experience.

Definite recommendation for readers of thrillers or someone who hasn’t read LD novels before

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I'm becoming more devious in my older age, but while I didn't figure this out before the ending, I was able to follow the twists, turns and shenanigans along the way.
I loved the Ipcress File when I first saw it because there was a spy with glasses....finally.
Yesterday's Spy can never be as good as that first love, but it was good to revisit that era.

[Nancy Thormann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ipcress File was the first Len Deighton book that I ever read. I didn't like it too much. I was hesitant about reading Yesterday's Spy because of this. I decided to give Len Deighton another chance and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed this one.

[Tiina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a concentrated effort to get into the story, and everything was so clever that I'm not sure I understood all of it. So much was not told directly. As far as spy stories go, Deighton is a master.

[John Tallett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done. No fluff.

[Sonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classy espionage tale in the vein of Berlin Game, starts at an average pace then becomes increasingly explosive. Intriguing cat and mouse story with vintage style and substance.

[Erik Tanouye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got this at Book Off.

[Daryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too convoluted at times--I had difficulty sorting out who was who and what was what at times--but an engrossing, fast-moving tale.

[Sue Garwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but not as good as others by this author.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haven't read a Deighton since the 80s. It's quite dated in subject and timeframe but even so, I didn't work this one out. Had me guessing to the end.

[Christopher Hachet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. I loved this. One of his better writes IMHO.

[Sherzod Muminov · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Deighton novel, I was not disappointed. The plot is complicated and required a lot of explaining, which Deighton incorporated into the plot itself. Cleverly organized and well written.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muy entretenida trama de espionaje, con personajes que enganchan y un ambiente logrado. Su resolución, no obstante, se enreversa innecesariamente.

[Marc Tiefenthal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een typische Deighton, spannend, tragisch.

[Wayne Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars