Len Deighton
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2008-07-16T18:43:01Z
Salmanazar
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/* Career */
[[Image:Len Deighton and Michael Caine Ipcress File.jpg|thumb|Len Deighton (left) teaches Michael Caine how to break an egg on the set of ''[[The Ipcress File (film)|The IPCRESS File]]''.[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059319/trivia] ]]
'''Leonard Cyril Deighton''' (born [[February 18]], [[1929]], [[Marylebone]], [[London]]) is a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[historian]], [[cookery]] expert and [[novelist]], perhaps most famous for his spy novel ''[[The IPCRESS File]]'', which was made into [[The Ipcress File (film)|a famous film]] starring [[Michael Caine]].
==Early years==
Deighton was born in [[Marylebone]], London, in 1929. His father was a [[chauffeur]] and mechanic, and his mother was a cook. At the time they lived in a [[mews]] near Baker Street.<ref name=indy06>{{cite web | last = Scott | first = Robert Dawson | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Len Deighton: The spy and I | work = | publisher = [[The Independent]] | date = Wednesday, 4 January 2006 | url = http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/len-deighton-the-spy-and-i-521520.html | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-19}}</ref>
Deighton's interest in spy stories may have been partially inspired by the arrest of [[Anna Wolkoff]], which he witnessed as an 11-year-old boy. Wolkoff was a British citizen of Russian descent who was a [[Nazism|Nazi]] spy. She was detained on [[May 20]], [[1940]], and charged with violating the [[Official Secrets Act]] for attempting to pass secret documents to the Nazis.
==Career==
After leaving school, Deighton worked as a railway clerk before performing his [[National Service]], which he spent as a photograper for the [[Royal Air Force]]'s [[Special Investigation Branch]]. After discharge from the RAF, he studied at [[St Martin's School of Art]] in [[London]] in 1949, and in [[1952]] won a [[scholarship]] to the [[Royal College of Art]], graduating in [[1955]].<ref name=times>{{cite web | last = Scott | first = Robert Dawson | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = A class act, not a class warrior | work = | publisher = [[The Times]] | date = January 7, 2006 | url = http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article785371.ece | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-19}}</ref> While he was at the RCA he became a "lifelong friend"<ref>{{cite web
|last=Dempsey
|first=Mike
|title=Immaculate conception
|work=Design Week
|publication-date=2001-12-14
|url=http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Disciplines/Design/Articles/e9b9bcb0f6fc43b58a0252154c35e868/Immaculate-conception.html
|accessdate=2007-12-06 }}</ref> of fellow designer [[Raymond Hawkey]], who later designed covers for his early books. Deighton then worked as an [[flight attendant|airline steward]] with [[BOAC]]. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in [[New York]] and, in [[1960]], as an art director in a [[London]] [[advertising agency]]. He is credited with creating the first British cover for [[Jack Kerouac|Kerouac's]] ''[[On the Road]]''.<ref name=indy06/> He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own [[military history]] books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became [[The Observer]]'s cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of ''[[Playboy]]'', before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel ''[[Only When I Larf]]'', Deighton and photographer [[Brian Duffy]] bought the film rights to [[Joan Littlewood]]'s ''[[Oh! What a Lovely War]]''. However, he had his name removed from the credits of the film as producer, a move which he later described as "stupid and infantile". This was his last involvement with films.<ref name=indy06/>
Deighton left Britain in 1969 and has not since returned, apart from some personal visits and a very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on [[BBC Four]]. He now resides in southern California.<ref name=times/>
==Works==
===Novels===
Several of his novels have been adapted as [[film]]s. His first four novels featured an anonymous anti-hero, named "[[Harry Palmer]]" in the films, and portrayed by [[Michael Caine]]. The first trilogy of his ''[[Bernard Samson]]'' novel series was made into a 12-part [[television series]] by [[Granada Television]] in [[1988]], shown only once, and withdrawn on instructions from Mr Deighton.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} He wrote the [[screenplay]] and was an uncredited producer
<ref>{{cite web
|title=Oh! What a lovely war (1969) - Full cast and crew
|work=IMDB
|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064754/fullcredits#cast
|accessdate=2006-12-08 }}</ref> for the [[1969]] film of the [[Play (theatre)|play]] ''[[Oh! What a Lovely War]]''. His [[1970]] [[World War II]] historical novel ''[[Bomber (novel)|Bomber]]'' about an [[RAF Bomber Command]] raid over [[Germany]] often is considered his masterpiece.
He reportedly began an unfinished [[Vietnam]] novel, a portion of which appeared as the story ''First Base'' in his short story collection [[Declarations of War]].
===Cookery books===
Deighton also published a series of cookery books and wrote and drew a weekly strip cartoon-style illustrated cooking guide in [[London]]'s ''[[The Observer]]'' newspaper – ''Len Deighton's Cookstrip''. At least one of the strips is pinned up in Deighton's spy hero's kitchen in the 1965 film of his novel ''[[The IPCRESS File]]''.[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059319/trivia]
To exploit the success of Deighton's first four "Harry Palmer" novels, he wrote ''Len Deighton's London Dossier'' ([[1967]]), a guide book to [[Swinging Sixties]] London with a "secret agent" theme — contributions from other writers are described as "surveillance reports".
===History books===
Deighton's 1977 "''The [[Battle of Britain]]''" was said by [[Albert Speer]] (once Hitler's Minister of Armaments) to be "an excellent, most thorough examination. I read page after page with fascination". The piece was furnished with a comment by [[A.J.P. Taylor]] simply saying: "Brilliant analysis...".
==Bibliography==
{|
|-
| width="50%" valign="top" |
*[[1962 in literature|1962]] - ''[[The IPCRESS File]]''
*[[1963 in literature|1963]] - ''[[Horse Under Water]]''
*[[1964 in literature|1964]] - ''[[Funeral in Berlin]]''
*[[1965 in literature|1965]] - ''[[Où Est le Garlic]]'' & ''[[Len Deighton's Action Cookbook]]''
*[[1966 in literature|1966]] - ''[[Billion Dollar Brain]]''
*[[1967 in literature|1967]] - ''[[An Expensive Place to Die]]'' & ''[[Len Deighton's London Dossier]]''
*[[1968 in literature|1968]] - ''[[Only When I Larf]]''
*[[1970 in literature|1970]] - ''[[Bomber (novel)|Bomber]]''
*[[1971 in literature|1971]] - ''[[Declarations of War]]''
*[[1972 in literature|1972]] - ''[[Spy Story (novel)|Spy Story]]''
*[[1975 in literature|1975]] - ''[[Yesterday's Spy]]''
*[[1976 in literature|1976]] - ''[[Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy]]'' (aka ''[[Catch a Falling Spy]]'')
*[[1977 in literature|1977]] - ''[[Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain]]''
*[[1978 in literature|1978]] - ''[[SS-GB]]'' & ''[[Airshipwreck]]'' (with [[Arnold Schwartzman]])
*[[1979 in literature|1979]] - ''[[Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk]]''
*[[1980 in literature|1980]] - ''[[Battle of Britain (book)|Battle of Britain]]''
| width="50%" valign="top" |
*[[1981 in literature|1981]] - ''[[XPD]]''
*[[1982 in literature|1982]] - ''[[Goodbye, Mickey Mouse]]''
*[[1983 in literature|1983]] - ''[[Berlin Game]]''
*[[1984 in literature|1984]] - ''[[Mexico Set]]''
*[[1985 in literature|1985]] - ''[[London Match]]''
*[[1987 in literature|1987]] - ''[[Winter (novel)|Winter]]''
*[[1988 in literature|1988]] - ''[[Spy Hook]]''
*[[1989 in literature|1989]] - ''[[Spy Line]]''
*[[1990 in literature|1990]] - ''[[Spy Sinker]]''
*[[1991 in literature|1991]] - ''[[MAMista]]''
*[[1992 in literature|1992]] - ''[[City of Gold (Deighton)|City of Gold]]''
*[[1993 in literature|1993]] - ''[[Violent Ward]]'' & ''[[Blood, Tears and Folly: An Objective Look at World War II]]''
*[[1994 in literature|1994]] - ''[[Faith (novel)|Faith]]''
*[[1995 in literature|1995]] - ''[[Hope (novel)|Hope]]''
*[[1996 in literature|1996]] - ''[[Charity (novel)|Charity]]''
*[[2006 in literature|2006]] - ''[[Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Swindle]]''
|}
==External links==
* [http://www-staff.mcs.uts.edu.au/~tomlin/LD/ Unofficial Len Deighton website]
* [http://www.algonet.se/~kallman/books/deighton.htm More information on LD]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-1971829,00.html 2006 interview #1]
* [http://arts.independent.co.uk/books/features/article336345.ece 2006 interview #2]
* [http://www.liontv.co.uk/_scotland/productions/documentaries/truth_len.html "''The Truth About Len Deighton''" documentary]
* [http://www.art.co.uk/asp/sp-asp/_/pd--12329991/sp--A/On_The_Road_by_Jack_Kerouac.htm Cover of ''On The Road'' illustrated by Len Deighton]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Len Deighton}}
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[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:Alternate history writers]]
[[Category:British spy fiction writers]]
[[Category:English novelists]]
[[Category:English screenwriters]]
[[Category:British historical novelists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Marylebone]]
[[Category:Military historians]]
[[Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art]]
[[Category:British military writers]]
[[Category:World War II historians]]
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