Len Deighton facts for kids

Leonard Cyril Deighton (born 18 February 1929) is a famous British author. He is best known for his exciting spy novels. He has also written popular cookery books and works about history.

After serving in the Royal Air Force, Deighton studied at art schools in London. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1955. Before becoming a writer, he worked as an illustrator for books and magazines. He even designed the cover for Jack Kerouac's book On the Road.

While on holiday in France, he wrote his first novel, The IPCRESS File. It was published in 1962 and became a huge success. He then wrote several more spy novels. These books featured the same main character, an unnamed spy who was tough and clever.

From 1962 to 1966, Deighton was a food writer for The Observer newspaper. He created unique "cookstrips," which were black and white cartoon recipes. He later collected these into a book called Len Deighton's Action Cook Book. He wrote five cookery books in total.

Many of Deighton's books have been bestsellers. His writing is known for its detailed research and complex stories. Several of his works have been made into films and radio shows. These include The Ipcress File (1965) and Funeral in Berlin (1966).

About Len Deighton's Life and Career

Early Life and First Jobs: 1929–1961

Len Deighton was born in Marylebone, London, on 18 February 1929. His father worked as a chauffeur and mechanic. His mother was a part-time cook. When he was eleven, Deighton saw a woman arrested as a spy. This event later inspired him to write his first spy story.

Deighton went to St Marylebone Grammar School. During World War II, he attended an emergency school for a while. After school, he worked as a railway clerk. At 17, he joined the Royal Air Force for national service. There, he trained as a photographer. He often took pictures at crime scenes as part of his duties.

After two and a half years, Deighton left the RAF. He used a grant to study at the Saint Martin's School of Art. He then won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, finishing his studies in 1955. From 1956 to 1962, he worked as a flight attendant for BOAC (now British Airways). Later, he became a full-time illustrator. He worked for advertising agencies in New York and London. He also illustrated magazines and over 200 book covers. One famous cover was for Jack Kerouac's On the Road.

Becoming a Writer: 1961–Present

A Cookstrip showing how to make boeuf bourguignon.

While working, Deighton often sketched steps for cooking dishes. This gave him the idea for "cookstrips." These were full recipes drawn in a cartoon style. After one cookstrip appeared in the Daily Express in 1961, The Observer asked him to create a weekly series. He did this from 1962 to 1966.

In 1962, Deighton's first novel, The IPCRESS File, was published. He wrote it in 1960 while in France. The book quickly became a bestseller in the UK, France, and the US. It sold over 2.5 million copies in just three years. The story was told by a tough, unnamed spy. Deighton chose not to name the character. He felt he could finish the book without giving him a name.

Deighton said his spy was a "romantic, incorruptible figure." He wanted to show a working-class spy among the more educated members of the secret service. He felt his book was about a "grammar school boy" facing challenges among "public school boys."

He wrote more novels with his unnamed spy. These included Horse Under Water (1963) and Funeral in Berlin (1964). Funeral in Berlin stayed on The New York Times bestseller list for twenty weeks. In 1965, he published two cookbooks. One was Len Deighton's Action Cook Book, a collection of his cookstrips. The other was Où est le garlic, a book of French recipes.

Deighton continued his spy series with Billion-Dollar Brain (1966) and An Expensive Place to Die (1967). He then wrote his first history book, The Assassination of President Kennedy (1967). He also edited Len Deighton's London Dossier, a London guidebook.

In 1968, Deighton was the producer for the film Only When I Larf. This movie was based on his novel. He also wrote and co-produced Oh! What a Lovely War in 1969. However, he did not enjoy making films. He even had his name removed from the movie's credits.

In 1970, Deighton wrote Bomber. This novel tells a fictional story about an RAF Bomber Command raid that goes wrong. It is believed to be one of the first novels written using a word processor.

Deighton wrote Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain in 1977. The historian A. J. P. Taylor encouraged him to write it. The book was very popular with readers and critics. It included interviews with German participants, which was new for the time.

His next novel was SS-GB (1978). The idea came from his friend Ray Hawkey. They wondered what would happen if Germany had won World War II. Deighton then wrote Blitzkrieg (1979). This book is about the rise of the Nazis and the fall of France. His last history book, Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II (1993), looked at the early events of World War II.

Starting in 1983, Deighton wrote three connected series of spy novels. These were:

• Berlin Game (1983), Mexico Set (1984), and London Match (1985)
• Spy Hook (1988), Spy Line (1989), and Spy Sinker (1990)
• Faith (1994), Hope (1995), and Charity (1996)

These trilogies feature Bernard Samson, another tough and clever MI6 officer. Winter (1987) is a companion novel. It tells the story of a German family from 1899 to 1945. This book also gives background for some characters in the trilogies.

Personal Life

Deighton married Shirley Thompson, an illustrator, in 1960. They divorced in 1976. Since 1969, he has lived outside Britain. He has lived in Ireland, Austria, France, the US, and Portugal. In February 1980, he married Ysabele de Ranitz in Ireland. She is the daughter of a Dutch diplomat. They have two sons.

Deighton does not like giving interviews. He also avoids appearing at book events. He once said that the best part of writing books is telling people you're a writer. The worst part is actually sitting down and writing. After finishing his last trilogy in 1996, he took a year off. He then decided he didn't miss writing and retired by 2016.

Len Deighton's Works

Deighton follows in the same literary tradition of British espionage writers as W. Somerset Maugham (left) and Graham Greene (right).

Len Deighton is considered one of the most important British spy writers. He is often compared to authors like W. Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene. His books have an "energetic style" and complex story structures. Deighton loved doing research for his books. He once said he liked the research more than the actual writing. In 1969, he became a member of the Detection Club, a group of mystery writers.

His Novels

The IPCRESS File and John le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold changed spy fiction. They brought a more realistic and cynical style to spy stories. Deighton's novels use extra notes and details. This makes the stories feel very real. Critics describe his novels as "stylish, witty, and well-crafted." They show a believable picture of the spy world. They also explore the right and wrong sides of espionage. Deighton writes his fiction like a "spy procedural." This means he focuses on the detailed steps of spy work.

After Funeral in Berlin was published in 1964, Deighton became a top spy writer. He joined the ranks of Graham Greene and Ian Fleming. His later books became even more subtle. They also had deeper character development. The crime writer Julian Symons said Deighton's dialogue "crackles." He called Deighton a "poet of the spy story."

Deighton is seen as the "angry young man" of spy novels. His main characters, like the unnamed spy and Bernard Samson, are working-class. They are cynical and street-smart. This is different from the upper-class spies often seen in other books. For example, James Bond is an upper-class character. Deighton's heroes stand out because they are from a different background.

Book to Screen Adaptations

Many of Deighton's novels have been made into films. These include The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966), Billion Dollar Brain (1967), and Spy Story (1976). The unnamed spy in the books was given the name "Harry Palmer" for the films. The actor Michael Caine played Harry Palmer in most of these movies. Deighton's own hands were used in a scene in The Ipcress File where Palmer breaks eggs. In March 2022, a TV series based on The Ipcress File was broadcast in the UK.

Deighton's first Bernard Samson trilogy was made into a TV series. Game, Set and Match was a thirteen-part show by Granada Television in 1988. The famous director Quentin Tarantino was interested in adapting the trilogy, but it didn't happen.

In 2017, the BBC adapted Deighton's novel SS-GB into a five-part TV series. Sam Riley played the main role. In 1995, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a special dramatization of Bomber. It was broadcast in "real time" over four two-hour segments.

Legacy and Influence

Len Deighton's work has inspired many other writers. The thriller writer Jeremy Duns has said Deighton influenced his own books. Aung San Suu Kyi, a politician, mentioned reading Deighton's books. She read them while she was under house arrest. She said she loved his spy novels, along with those of Sherlock Holmes and John le Carré.

The writer V. S. Naipaul also credited Deighton. Deighton helped Naipaul discover his love for Indian art. He even recommended a good art dealer.

Deighton's 1970 novel Bomber was listed as one of the 99 best English novels since 1939. This was in Anthony Burgess's 1984 book Ninety-Nine Novels. The rock band Motörhead named their third album Bomber after the novel. The band's singer, Lemmy, was reading the book while they recorded the album.

Images for kids

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  W. Somerset Maugham

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  Graham Greene

Category:English male novelists Category:English male short story writers Category:English male non-fiction writers Category:English male screenwriters Category:English male illustratorsCategory:Alumni of the Royal College of Art Category:Alumni of Central Saint Martins Category:People educated at St Marylebone Grammar School Category:British male spy novelists Category:British male historical novelists Category:British male cookery writers Category:British male military historians Category:Members of the Detection Club

This category has articles on people who were born in the year 1929.
See also: 1929 deaths.

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Category:People from Marylebone

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