Spy fiction facts for kids

Painting of a French spy captured during the Franco-Prussian War by Alphonse de Neuville, 1880

Spy fiction is a type of story, like books or movies, that is all about spies and secret missions. These stories became popular in the early 1900s when countries started having secret intelligence groups and there was a lot of competition between big nations. They grew even more popular during big historical events like World War II and the Cold War. Today, spy stories often feature spies dealing with international criminals, terrorists, or stopping secret plans that could harm countries. Spy fiction is a bit like adventure stories or thrillers, where there's lots of excitement and suspense.

History of Spy Stories

Some people say that one of the very first spy stories can be found in an ancient book called the Book of Joshua. It tells about spies sent into a city named Jericho to gather information.

Early Spy Stories (1800s)

Spy stories really started to become a genre in the 1800s. Early examples include The Spy (1821) and The Bravo (1831) by American writer James Fenimore Cooper. The Bravo showed a city-state where a powerful few secretly ruled.

In France during the late 1800s, a famous event called the Dreyfus Affair made people very interested in spies. It involved secret agents and important national secrets, and everyone read about it in the news. This event inspired many exciting spy stories.

The famous detective Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, also helped the British government as a spy hunter in some stories, even acting as a double agent before World War I. For example, in The Adventure of the Naval Treaty, Holmes finds a stolen secret treaty.

Spy Stories in the 1900s

Before World War I, spy stories often focused on rivalries between powerful European countries, the threat of war, and secret groups trying to change society.

Kim (1901) by Rudyard Kipling tells about a secret competition between the British and Russian empires for power in Central Asia. The Secret Agent (1907) by Joseph Conrad explores the minds of people involved in secret revolutionary groups. His next book, Under Western Eyes (1911), follows a spy trying to join a group of revolutionaries. G. K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday (1908) is a mystery about detectives joining a secret group.

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) by Baroness Orczy is about an English aristocrat who bravely rescues French nobles during the French Revolution.

The book The Riddle of the Sands (1903) by Erskine Childers really helped define what a "spy novel" was. It was about two friends who accidentally uncover a secret German plan. This book led to many similar stories about invasions, written by authors like William Le Queux and E. Phillips Oppenheim.

During World War I

During World War I, John Buchan became a top British spy novelist. His stories, like The Thirty-nine Steps (1915), featured heroes like Richard Hannay fighting against dangerous plots. In France, Gaston Leroux also wrote spy thrillers.

Between the World Wars

After the Russian Revolution (1917), spy stories often focused on fighting against the new communist threat, seen as a big danger to other countries.

British authors, many of whom had worked as real spies, wrote most of the spy fiction during this time. Books like Ashenden: Or the British Agent (1928) by W. Somerset Maugham showed what spying was really like. Later, famous spy writer John le Carré said Maugham's stories were a big influence on him because they showed spying in a more realistic way.

Other popular books included Leslie Charteris' Saint series, which began with Meet the Tiger (1928). Water on the Brain (1933) by Compton Mackenzie was one of the first successful funny spy stories.

In the region of Manchukuo, spy stories were used by the government to encourage people to be watchful for foreign spies. These stories often featured brave women who helped uncover spy rings, showing that everyone could play a part in protecting their country.

World War II Era

As World War II approached, with the rise of fascism in countries like Germany and Italy, more talented writers started writing spy fiction again.

British author Eric Ambler made spy fiction more realistic. His books, like The Mask of Dimitrios (1939), often featured ordinary people who accidentally got caught up in dangerous spy missions. He focused on their personal adventures rather than big political ideas.

Above Suspicion (1939) by Helen MacInnes was about a husband and wife spy team fighting against the Nazis. Manning Coles wrote Drink to Yesterday (1940), introducing the hero Thomas Elphinstone Hambledon. His later books were set during World War II.

The events leading up to and during World War II continue to inspire authors of spy fiction. Notable examples include Ken Follett's Eye of the Needle (1978) and Alan Furst's Night Soldiers (1988).

The Cold War Era (1945–1991)

After World War II, the Cold War between the Soviet Union and America began, which made spy novels even more popular. Atomsk (1949) by Paul Linebarger was one of the first spy novels of this new conflict.

The secret world of spies allowed writers to imagine all sorts of thrilling plots. Many spy novels from the Cold War were action-packed thrillers, sometimes very different from what real spies actually do. The city of Berlin was a major setting for many spy stories because it was divided and full of spies from different countries. A famous story set in Berlin is The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1963), where a British spy and his friend are shot while trying to cross the Berlin Wall.

British Spy Novels

In 1951, Desmond Cory introduced Johnny Fedora, a secret agent with a "licence to kill." Then, Ian Fleming, who had worked in naval intelligence, created the famous James Bond, Agent 007. Bond was a mix of a secret agent, a fighter, and a charming adventurer. He first appeared in Casino Royale (1953). The Bond novels became very popular and inspired a hugely successful series of films starting in 1962.

However, John le Carré, who was also a former spy, created more realistic spy characters. His heroes often struggled with difficult choices and lived in a morally grey world where lies and betrayal were common. In his famous novel The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, the hero Alec Leamas sees spying as a tough, small-scale war where people's lives are often wasted. Le Carré's character George Smiley is a middle-aged spy who tries to be unnoticed, which helps him observe people very carefully.

Another former British Intelligence officer, Graham Greene, also explored the moral side of spying in books like Our Man in Havana (1959). This book is about a vacuum cleaner salesman in Cuba who pretends to be a spy and sends fake reports to his British bosses. MI6, the British intelligence agency, was not happy with this book because they thought it made them look bad.

Len Deighton's spy novels, starting with The IPCRESS File (1962), featured a working-class spy who had a negative view of the powerful "Establishment."

Other important British spy writers from this time include James Mitchell (writing as James Munro), Trevor Dudley-Smith (writing as Adam Hall), and William Garner. Later, authors like Frederick Forsyth with The Day of the Jackal (1971) and Ken Follett with Eye of the Needle (1978) wrote exciting stories that mixed fictional characters with real historical events. Craig Thomas started the "techno-thriller" genre with Firefox (1977), about stealing a secret Soviet jet.

American Spy Novels

During World War II, E. Howard Hunt wrote his first spy novel. He later joined the CIA and continued writing spy fiction. In the 1950s, many American spy stories featured FBI agents who caught Soviet spies. In 1955, Edward S. Aarons began his Sam Durell CIA "Assignment" series. Donald Hamilton started the Matt Helm series in 1960, featuring a CIA agent.

Major General Edward Lansdale, a real intelligence officer, inspired several fictional characters, including Colonel Edwin Barnum in The Ugly American (1958). This book showed how understanding local people could help defeat communist groups.

The Nick Carter-Killmaster series, which started in 1964, featured American, Soviet, and Chinese spies fighting each other in over 260 books. There were also spy series with female protagonists, like The Baroness, which featured a strong female superspy.

The Scarlatti Inheritance (1971) by Robert Ludlum is considered one of the first modern American spy thrillers, balancing action and thinking. In the 1970s, former CIA agent Charles McCarry began the Paul Christopher series, which were well-written and had believable spy techniques. William F. Buckley also wrote the Blackford Oakes novels, featuring a CIA agent who was like an "American James Bond."

The first American techno-thriller was The Hunt for Red October (1984) by Tom Clancy. It introduced Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who becomes a field agent.

Soviet Spy Novels

In the Soviet Union, spy novels traditionally showed foreign spies as villains. Before the 1960s, there were no novels with Soviet spies as heroes, as spying was seen as a bad activity. Instead, stories featured heroic Red Army scouts who went on dangerous missions during World War II.

In 1961, Vladimir Semichastny, the head of the KGB (the Soviet secret police), wanted to improve the image of Soviet spies. He encouraged the publication of novels featuring heroic Soviet agents. These books were inspired by the popularity of James Bond, but the Soviet heroes were more modest and didn't have Bond's lifestyle.

In 1966, Soviet writer Yulian Semyonov published a novel about a Cheka agent named Maxim Maximovich Isaуev. Its sequel, Semnadtsat' mgnoveniy vesny ("Seventeen Moments of Spring"), became incredibly popular. It was about Isayev, who used the alias Max Otto von Stierlitz, going undercover in Nazi Germany during the last days of World War II. This story was made into a very popular TV mini-series in 1973, and the Isayev character became a cultural icon in Russia, much like James Bond in Britain.

Later Cold War Themes

The Six-Day War in 1967, between Israel and its neighbors, brought new themes to spy fiction, like the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and the growing use of terrorism.

After the Cold War (1991–Present)

When the Cold War ended in 1991, some wondered if spy novels would still be popular since the Soviet Union was no longer a main enemy. However, publishers continued to release spy novels by popular authors.

New American authors like Joseph Finder (Moscow Club, 1991) and Gayle Lynds (Masquerade, 1996) kept the spy novel alive. Other important American authors include David Baldacci and Vince Flynn, known for his Mitch Rapp series about counter-terrorism.

In the UK, Robert Harris wrote Enigma (1995). Other British authors like Hugh Laurie (The Gun Seller, 1996) and Andy McNab also became active in the genre.

After 9/11

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and the following "War on Terror," brought new interest in spy stories. Older authors like John le Carré and Frederick Forsyth returned, and many new authors emerged.

New American writers include Brad Thor (The Lions of Lucerne, 2002) and Alex Berenson (The Faithful Spy, 2006). Stieg Larsson, a Swedish author who passed away in 2004, became incredibly popular posthumously with his Millennium series, featuring Lisbeth Salander.

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) organization was created in 2004 to support thriller writers, including those who write spy fiction.

Insider Spy Fiction

Many spy fiction authors have actually worked as intelligence officers for agencies like MI5 or MI6 in Britain, or the OSS or CIA in America. These "insider" spy stories often feel very real because the authors have firsthand experience.

Early examples of insider fiction came after World War I from British intelligence officers like W. Somerset Maugham and Compton Mackenzie. This tradition continued with Helen MacInnes and Manning Coles during World War II.

Famous British examples from the Cold War and later include Ian Fleming, John le Carré, Graham Greene, and Andy McNab. American examples include Charles McCarry and William F. Buckley Jr..

Many novels written after 9/11 are also by insiders. At the CIA, the number of books submitted for review by former agents doubled between 1998 and 2005. Examples include A Clean Kill in Tokyo (2002) by Barry Eisler and Red Sparrow (2013) by Jason Matthews.

British examples include The Code Snatch (2001) by Alan Stripp, who was a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, and books by Dame Stella Rimington, who was the Director General of MI5.

Spy Stories in Movies and TV

Movies

Many spy novels have been made into exciting spy films. These range from the fantastical James Bond series to more realistic movies like The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965).

Popular English-language spy films from the 2000s include The Bourne Identity (2002), Munich (2005), and The Constant Gardener (2005).

There are also many funny spy movies, like Spies Like Us (1985) and the Austin Powers film series.

Television

Spy stories have also been popular on TV. Early shows included the drama Danger Man (1960–68) and the funnier The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964–68). Some shows, like Get Smart (1965–70), were full of comedy and parody.

In 1973, the Soviet novel Seventeen Moments of Spring was made into a popular TV mini-series about a Soviet spy in Nazi Germany. Later, The Sandbaggers (1978–80) showed the more serious and bureaucratic side of spying.

In the 1980s, American TV shows like Airwolf (1984–87) and MacGyver (1985–92) featured spy heroes who often worked independently from the government.

More recent TV spy shows from the late 1990s to the 2010s include La Femme Nikita (1997–2001), Alias (2001–2006), 24 (2001–2010), and Homeland. In 2015, the German series Deutschland 83 told the story of a young East German spy sent to the West.

Spy Stories for Kids and Teens

Books and Novels

Spy thrillers introduce children and teenagers to the world of secret agents and missions. These stories can be action-packed adventures, like Chris Ryan's Alpha Force series, or historical spy dramas by Y. S. Lee. Some series, like Ally Carter's Gallagher Girls, focus on girl spies.

Other popular examples include the Alex Rider adventure novels by Anthony Horowitz and the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore. Young authors like Ben Allsop also write spy fiction.

Films and Shows

Spy-related films for younger audiences include the Spy Kids series and The Spy Next Door.

TV shows in this category include a part of Phineas and Ferb where Perry the Platypus is a secret agent trying to stop Dr. Doofenshmirtz. The Cartoon Network show Codename: Kids Next Door is all about child spies who fight against adult and teenage villains, who represent things kids often dislike, like homework or going to the dentist. Another example is Disney's Kim Possible, where the main character fights supervillains like James Bond, while also dealing with everyday teenage life.

Spy Stories in Video Games and More

In video games, players can become virtual spies, as in Team Fortress 2 and the Metal Gear series. Games like No One Lives Forever humorously combine spying with a 1960s style. Evil Genius lets players be the villain in a spy-themed world.

The Deus Ex series, especially Deus Ex: Human Revolution, also features spy elements, where the main character, Adam Jensen, uses stealth to get secret information.

Top Secret (1980) and James Bond 007 (1983) are tabletop role-playing games where you can pretend to be a spy.

Activision published Spycraft: The Great Game (1996), which was special because it involved real former CIA and KGB directors. Namco Bandai's Time Crisis series of arcade games features agents who stop terrorists, similar to Mission: Impossible movies.

There was even a spy-themed amusement park called Spyland in Spain, which opened in 2012.

Types of Spy Stories (Subgenres)

Spy comedy: These stories make fun of the common ideas and funny parts of spy stories.
Spy horror: These combine spy fiction with scary elements.
Spy-fi: These are spy stories that include elements of science fiction.
Spy thriller: This is the most common type, full of suspense and excitement.