A comprehensive online resource about writer Len Deighton

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Len Deighton is one of the UK's most prolific writers, and not just in the field of spy and thriller fiction for which he is best known. He is also an expert in number of fields outside literature, including philately, military history, graphic design and gourmet cooking

He has written and contributed to over 80 books. He has designed the front covers of 200 other books. He has published hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles under his own name, and revolutionised the previously staid world of cooking.

He is most well-known for his fiction writing. His first book, The Ipcress File, when it first appeared in 1962 did genuinely revolutionise thriller fiction, and its gritty hero and complex stories proved an enticing counterpoint to Fleming and Le Carré, and the rest of his 'unnamed spy' stories are still regarded as classics of the genre. In the eighties, the Game, Set and Match series captured the zeitgeist of a Cold War that was beginning to freeze.

Deighton was for many the pre-eminent fictional chronicler of the Cold War and its impact on the individuals - on both sides - who were caught up in its seemingly inevitable powerplay. The ending of the Cold War arguably deprived Deighton of his most effective 'character'. Nevertheless, with his 80th birthday stimulating a new appreciation of his life's work, the last chapter is still not written.

If you want to know anything and everything about Len Deighton's written output, this is the place to start.

Use the section menu on the left to navigate around the different sections, and the drop-down menu bar on the right to find individual books or items within each section.

(c) R Mallows 2009