Len Deighton

Len Deighton (18 February 1929 - ) is a British spy writer, who appears to have retired.

His most famous series, beginning with The Ipcress File, features a No Name Given spy (who was named Harry Palmer when three of the novels were adapted into films starring Michael Caine).

His seminal work is considered to be Bomber, a meticulously researched and detailed account of a fictional British air raid during World War II and the devastation it causes.

Another well known series of his is the Bernard Samson Series, best described as a Trilogy of Trilogies with an epic thrown in for good measure. It's set around Berlin near the end of the Cold War. Famously, this series popularized the story of JFK accidentally saying he was a jelly doughnut, although since the protagonist is an Unreliable Narrator, it should be taken with more than a grain of salt.

In His SS-GB is "Alternate History" books. Hitler has invaded England and defeated the British. The book also features Mayhew, one of the most subtle and formidable Chessmasters in literature of any kind.

Deighton's also written some non-fiction works.


 * Bernard Samson Series


 * Alternate History: SS-GB
 * Chessmaster: Mayhew in SS-GB
 * Conveniently Unverifiable Cover Story: In SS-GB the hero finds a fake ID on a member of La Résistance, listing as his birthplace a town that had its records office destroyed in the war. The hero notes that lots of fake IDs use that town.
 * No Name Given: The narrator-protagonist of The Ipcress File and sequels never gives a name, pointing out that as a secret agent he changes names frequently and none of them are his real name anyway.