“In 1970, he published Bomber, the fictional account of a Second World War raid by RAF Bomber Command …For my money, it is one of the best and most insightful books, fiction or non-fiction, about the Second World War.” I absolutely agree. I still imagine the horrors of some of the scenes from the book 50 odd years after first reading it. Something about the fictionalising of the events, giving them a case of identifiable characters, makes it so much more gut-wrenching than any academic history does. For me, HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean has the same effect. My father, who served in the RN as a DEMS gunner on various convoys during WWII but rarely spoke of his experiences (which did include at least one torpedoing and one sinking, but also sailings to Sydney, Cape Town and New York) did comment after reading this story of the Arctic convoys that he was very glad that he was never assigned to the Russian runs.
Perfect comparison. I read HMS Ulysses as a teenager and was gutted by its tragic ending and all the death. It was still just about young enough to curse the book for not turning out as I wanted.
Thanks for the memories, I was also an early “adopter” of Len Deighton right alongside LeCarre- a combination that was great preparation for their 21st Century literary reincarnation as Mick Herron. I still have a number of Len Deighton’s histories on my shelves as well.
I like Len. I never got the Ipcress file the film, it turned my brain inside out, but Len's quick wit and honesty in his writing is very appealing. His French cookery book is a gem also, which could turn civilize the most incompetent in the kitchen and at the dining table.
Lovely, thank you. I remember seeing somewhere and association with Bertrand Russell and anti-war activism, unless I made that up. Have only read one novel by him but looking forward to more!
Deighton and Russell talked about a Paul McCartney-initiated anti-Vietnam War project in the late 1960s, but I don’t think anything substantive came of it. Mad that Russell’s grandfather first became Prime Minister in 1846 (and was first elected to Parliament in 1813).
Excellent post. I'll be covering Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) soon- August seems a most appropriate month. I'm trying to understand exactly why LD refused to have his name credited as a scriptwriter?- it's a superb film, imo. From memory, in that Desert Island Discs interview, something about it being 'too sentimental'? Have I got this right? Assume he's referring to the ending, with the crosses planted on the Sussex Downs, which, I think, has to be the one of the most moving sequences in British 60s cinema. Anyway. Much to say re Alan Clark and The Donkeys. Historically, things have moved on... But LD very much reflecting the mood of the time, I think... All fascinating.
Agreed. LeCarre seemed to look down hus nose at LD apparently. Don't know why. It's not as if LeCarre lost book sales to LD. I've read and enjoyed both. Different styles & presentation.
Well done and hopefully part of the shadow effort to bring broader contemporary recognition to a writer who used genre to plumb themes of social class and modern identity.
I read the Samson ennealogy a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, although I don’t normally read spy fiction. I’m still really annoyed that I read somewhere on the Internet about the plot twist before I had got to that bit in the books. Would I have seen it coming? I will never know.
I have just written a couple of comments about my reaction to the books, but I’ve decided not to press send as I don’t want to give any hints as to the plot to anyone who hasn’t read them.
There is one aspect of the Samson series I will mention, though. I find it baffling. This is a story about British spies that is written in American English. Not just the narration, but the dialogue too. I’m not referring to the sort of Americanisms that have entered everyday British speech. I’m talking about Americanisms that no British person of the time would have used. A British married couple in the 1980s talking about their estate car would not have referred to it as a “station wagon“ (Berlin Game). There are many other examples. It just makes me wince and makes the suspension of disbelief more difficult. Apparently, Len Deighton was living in the US at the time he wrote the books. This is the only explanation I can think of, but it still seems remarkable that a British author would do this and that it survived the editorial process. Was he ever asked about this? Surely I can’t be the only person to have noticed it?
I read the Samson ennealogy a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, although I don’t normally read spy fiction. I’m still really annoyed that I read somewhere on the Internet about the twist in Spy Hook before I had finished reading the first trilogy. I will never have the experience of discovering the twist for myself. Would I have seen it coming? I will never know.
Part of me feels that the twist revealed in Spy Hook, even though essential to the ennealogy, retrospectively spoils Berlin Game. The story you think you’re reading in Berlin Game is actually a good tale in itself.
There is one aspect of the Samson series I find baffling. This is a story about British spies that is written in American English. Not just the narration, but the dialogue too. I’m not referring to the sort of Americanisms that have entered everyday British speech. I’m talking about Americanisms that no British person of the time would have used. No British married couple in the 1980s talking about their estate car would have referred to it as a “station wagon“ (Berlin Game). There are many other examples. It just makes me wince and makes the suspension of disbelief more difficult. Apparently, Len Deighton was living in the US at the time he wrote the books. This is the only explanation I can think of, but it still seems remarkable that a British author would do this and that it survived the editorial process. Has he ever been asked about this? Surely I can’t be the only person to have noticed it?
Spy books have always been my great weakness, from the true quality like Le Carre all the way down to the most garbage airport Cold War novel, you give me the KGB, CIA, MI6, Berlin, Moscow or similar then I’m in, totally shamelessly all in. The true utter no saving grace garbage I’ve read in my time because it had a KGB v CIA storyline is either hilarious or pathetic, I’m not sure which but give me spies and I’m all in
This is marvellous: thank you. I began reading Deighton only a few years ago, and it was a revelation, for all the reasons you outline. I enjoyed, too, the 1988 TV adaptation with Ian Holm as Samson: an odd casting, but Holm is such a good actor that he seemed to carry it, somehow. Some odd fearures to the whole series, but it was compelling, too, with other great actors of the time, too.
“In 1970, he published Bomber, the fictional account of a Second World War raid by RAF Bomber Command …For my money, it is one of the best and most insightful books, fiction or non-fiction, about the Second World War.” I absolutely agree. I still imagine the horrors of some of the scenes from the book 50 odd years after first reading it. Something about the fictionalising of the events, giving them a case of identifiable characters, makes it so much more gut-wrenching than any academic history does. For me, HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean has the same effect. My father, who served in the RN as a DEMS gunner on various convoys during WWII but rarely spoke of his experiences (which did include at least one torpedoing and one sinking, but also sailings to Sydney, Cape Town and New York) did comment after reading this story of the Arctic convoys that he was very glad that he was never assigned to the Russian runs.
Perfect comparison. I read HMS Ulysses as a teenager and was gutted by its tragic ending and all the death. It was still just about young enough to curse the book for not turning out as I wanted.
Thank you for this very good overview of Deighton’s career.
Thanks for the memories, I was also an early “adopter” of Len Deighton right alongside LeCarre- a combination that was great preparation for their 21st Century literary reincarnation as Mick Herron. I still have a number of Len Deighton’s histories on my shelves as well.
Thanks for the recommendation, might start with the London Dossier
I recently read Winter, and it rather baffles me that it doesn't enjoy wider recognition. A really magnificent, deeply sad book
I like Len. I never got the Ipcress file the film, it turned my brain inside out, but Len's quick wit and honesty in his writing is very appealing. His French cookery book is a gem also, which could turn civilize the most incompetent in the kitchen and at the dining table.
Thanks for a great writeup of a great man.
Lovely, thank you. I remember seeing somewhere and association with Bertrand Russell and anti-war activism, unless I made that up. Have only read one novel by him but looking forward to more!
Deighton and Russell talked about a Paul McCartney-initiated anti-Vietnam War project in the late 1960s, but I don’t think anything substantive came of it. Mad that Russell’s grandfather first became Prime Minister in 1846 (and was first elected to Parliament in 1813).
This is excellent. Thank you. And agree that Deighton is extremely funny.
Excellent post. I'll be covering Oh! What a Lovely War (1969) soon- August seems a most appropriate month. I'm trying to understand exactly why LD refused to have his name credited as a scriptwriter?- it's a superb film, imo. From memory, in that Desert Island Discs interview, something about it being 'too sentimental'? Have I got this right? Assume he's referring to the ending, with the crosses planted on the Sussex Downs, which, I think, has to be the one of the most moving sequences in British 60s cinema. Anyway. Much to say re Alan Clark and The Donkeys. Historically, things have moved on... But LD very much reflecting the mood of the time, I think... All fascinating.
Agreed. LeCarre seemed to look down hus nose at LD apparently. Don't know why. It's not as if LeCarre lost book sales to LD. I've read and enjoyed both. Different styles & presentation.
Well done and hopefully part of the shadow effort to bring broader contemporary recognition to a writer who used genre to plumb themes of social class and modern identity.
Thank you for this very good overview of Deighton’s career.
I read the Samson ennealogy a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, although I don’t normally read spy fiction. I’m still really annoyed that I read somewhere on the Internet about the plot twist before I had got to that bit in the books. Would I have seen it coming? I will never know.
I have just written a couple of comments about my reaction to the books, but I’ve decided not to press send as I don’t want to give any hints as to the plot to anyone who hasn’t read them.
There is one aspect of the Samson series I will mention, though. I find it baffling. This is a story about British spies that is written in American English. Not just the narration, but the dialogue too. I’m not referring to the sort of Americanisms that have entered everyday British speech. I’m talking about Americanisms that no British person of the time would have used. A British married couple in the 1980s talking about their estate car would not have referred to it as a “station wagon“ (Berlin Game). There are many other examples. It just makes me wince and makes the suspension of disbelief more difficult. Apparently, Len Deighton was living in the US at the time he wrote the books. This is the only explanation I can think of, but it still seems remarkable that a British author would do this and that it survived the editorial process. Was he ever asked about this? Surely I can’t be the only person to have noticed it?
I read the Samson ennealogy a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, although I don’t normally read spy fiction. I’m still really annoyed that I read somewhere on the Internet about the twist in Spy Hook before I had finished reading the first trilogy. I will never have the experience of discovering the twist for myself. Would I have seen it coming? I will never know.
Part of me feels that the twist revealed in Spy Hook, even though essential to the ennealogy, retrospectively spoils Berlin Game. The story you think you’re reading in Berlin Game is actually a good tale in itself.
There is one aspect of the Samson series I find baffling. This is a story about British spies that is written in American English. Not just the narration, but the dialogue too. I’m not referring to the sort of Americanisms that have entered everyday British speech. I’m talking about Americanisms that no British person of the time would have used. No British married couple in the 1980s talking about their estate car would have referred to it as a “station wagon“ (Berlin Game). There are many other examples. It just makes me wince and makes the suspension of disbelief more difficult. Apparently, Len Deighton was living in the US at the time he wrote the books. This is the only explanation I can think of, but it still seems remarkable that a British author would do this and that it survived the editorial process. Has he ever been asked about this? Surely I can’t be the only person to have noticed it?
Spy books have always been my great weakness, from the true quality like Le Carre all the way down to the most garbage airport Cold War novel, you give me the KGB, CIA, MI6, Berlin, Moscow or similar then I’m in, totally shamelessly all in. The true utter no saving grace garbage I’ve read in my time because it had a KGB v CIA storyline is either hilarious or pathetic, I’m not sure which but give me spies and I’m all in
This is marvellous: thank you. I began reading Deighton only a few years ago, and it was a revelation, for all the reasons you outline. I enjoyed, too, the 1988 TV adaptation with Ian Holm as Samson: an odd casting, but Holm is such a good actor that he seemed to carry it, somehow. Some odd fearures to the whole series, but it was compelling, too, with other great actors of the time, too.