A comprehensive online resource about writer Len Deighton

_Ephemera

The Billion Dollar Brain - the 'letter from Helsinki' marketing pack

The letter from Helsinki

In 1966, Jonathan Cape's marketing manager came up with the wheeze of sending out to booksellers and distributors, in advance of publication of Deighton's new novel Billion Dollar Brain, a 'letter purporting to be from Len Deighton' in order to generate interest.

The letters, in facsimile clearly, were actually posted out to booksellers across the UK on Jonathan Cape's mailing list from Helsinki (they bear a Helsingfors briefmark) .The set contained a letter from Deighton written in the Helsinki Hotel, an Aeroflot luggage tage, a ticket for a ferry and one for Otello at the Opera, along with a facsimile of pages from the notebook Deighton used to make notes when writing the book.

The latter gives a fascinating insight into the detail with which Deighton approaches all his writing and is designed clearly to communicate to sellers the quality of the next book and the fact that Deighton this time reaches deep into the Soviet bloc for inspiration for his story.

This copy was sent to an East Anglian bookseller called John Rolph. Each letter was posted directly from Helsinki, indicating that a considerable amount of marketing budget was put behind this campaign.

Contents of the leter

Deighton's notebook

(c) R Mallows 2009

The letter from Deighton says: "The tiny notebook is the key to the whole operation as far as I am concerned. I have marked the pages that contain items that were finally used in my new book just in case you find it fun to check the notes against the results."

Rich in detail and a facsimile from the real notebook, this contains Deighton's notes about Soviet uniforms and weaponry, Finnish police cars, common Finnish names, popular radio programmes and current tie fashions, all details which would find their way into the book.