Product Description

Len Deighton's classic first novel, whose protagonist is a nameless spy -- later christened Harry Palmer and made famous worldwide in the iconic 1960s film starring Michael Caine. The Ipcress File was not only Len Deighton's first novel, it was his first bestseller and the book that broke the mould of thriller writing. For the working class narrator, an apparently straightforward mission to find a missing biochemist becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy. The film of The Ipcress File gave Michael Caine one of his first and still most celebrated starring roles, while the novel itself has become a classic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56613 in Books
• Published on: 1968-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
'A spy story with a difference.' Observer 'A master of fictional espionage.' Daily Mail 'The poet of the spy story.' Sunday Times 'The Ipcress File helped change the shape of the espionage thriller!the prose is still as crisp and fresh as ever!there is an infectious energy about this book which makes it a joy to read, or re-read.' Daily Telegraph 'The self-conscious cool of Deighton's writing has dated in the best way possible!a stone-cold cold war classic.' Guardian 'Deighton is so far in the front of other writers in the field that they are not even in sight' Sunday Times 'Nobody now seriously doubts that Deighton is the most credible of all the spysmiths' The Scotsman 'Regarded as the cold war spy thriller that made all subsequent examples of the genre possible!however much of a classic the film is, the book is a completely different proposition. It's more intricate and far superior!a must for anyone who likes this kind of fiction.' Loaded

About the Author
Born in London, he served in the RAF before graduating from the Royal College of Art (which recently elected him a Senior Fellow). While in New York City working as a magazine illustrator he began writing his first novel, 'The Ipcress File', which was published in 1962. He is now the author of more than thirty books of fiction and non-fiction. At present living in Europe, he has, over the years, lived with his family in ten different countries from Austria to Portugal.

Customer Reviews

Spivs not spys
This is the grimy antidote to Bond where the lead character has the Burnley accent. Deighton's espionage world is full of crooks rather than spys on both sides. He portrays a world where the driving force is not a simple Left/Right ideology but rather out and out greed.

It has a Chandleresque prose style fitted into a UK setting; actually a very London-centric setting.It has an odd feeling of being written as a reaction to something and I can only assume it is Ian Fleming's stuff. It is very anti-Establishment and early 60's referring to Harry as 'he could have been a John Osborne hero'. This feeling goes with a general world weariness.

He gives a knowing wink at the real-life UK traitors but unfortunately he didn't quite know the whole story in 1962. This is not Mr Deighton's fault and does not weaken his valid premise that the spy world may have more to it than duffing up the Russkies.

Without giving away the plot there is also some prescient stuff on brain-washing and industrial espionage for which the author deserves credit.

Enjoyed this more than I expected. It has a curiosity value to see early 60's political attitudes, it offers a different kind of espionage raison d'etre typified by the 'Ipcress' concept and it keeps you turning the pages.

What they never tell you is how FUNNY this book is.
Deighton has given his nameless narrator a wry, dry wit. Even if you don't like spy stories (and this one's a cracker), the style will grip you. I'm going to have to read it again.

Now listen to me ...
When Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were looking for a spy to contrast with James Bond, they couldn't have hit on a better one than Len Deighton's creation. Known in the film version as Harry Palmer and played with youthful cheek and a cocky, Cockney swagger by Michael Caine, in the book our spy is older, from the North and nameless - though he may once have been a "Harry" in one of the many guises he has adopted in his life as a secret agent. Nonetheless, in both guises the hero remains witty (in all senses of the word) and endowed with both a half-easy charm and a gift for medium-rare-to-overdone insubordination that makes him easy to warm to.

The events of the novel may be even lower key than in the film of the same name - no swirling, technicolour lights and spinning hypnotic discs, no "Now listen to me" - but they are just as gripping, if not more so. This is the Cold War game as played by men already hardened by their participation in the hot war that preceded it, mildly bemused by the webs of intrigue that surround them at the same time as they are embittered by the grey pettiness of the form-filling and chit-obtaining that form the rituals of civil service life. With this base for his dish, Deighton throws in neutron bombs, brainwashing and betrayal to create a fine novelistic dish, which feels real in a way Bond - even in Fleming's original novels - never managed and is suffused with moments of real humour and humanity Fleming's tales never possessed.