It is with sadness that this blog notes the passing of Len Deighton, announced today (15 March 2026) by his family. He was 97.
This blog exists as a companion to the main Deighton Dossier website, which I created nearly twenty years ago now. I did so, as a reader, upon finding that online, there were few, if any, quality websites for readers, and collectors, to find out more about the author,
Since then, I think that the Deighton Dossier has played its part in keeping the author's works visible online, even as he enjoyed retirement for the last thirty years, out of the spotlight. And this blog too, has played its role, even though blogs are - like high buttoned shoes and loose leaf tea - something of an anachronism in this social media age.
So, it is probably time to put a lid on this blog. I will keep it up, as there are many articles which readers may still want to explore, and I know from my experiences today online and offline that with his passing, people have again shown interest in the author's works - for example, people who may have remembered reading a novel of his twenty five years ago - and younger readers, looking for classics to read, may well come to this blog, or the Deighton Dossier, and find something that inspires them to read.
In that sense, job done.
Rob
ReplyDeleteThe passing of a great man and a literary giant. The influence of LD’s books on the spy genre was and remains huge. So many original things - the covers, the ephemera, etc! And the books themselves! The “Harry Palmer” and Samson books were really terrific. And whilst there have been comparisons with Le Carre, that is only because he was the last of the Holy Trinity of SpyFi that kept on writing - Fleming, Deigton, with, for me, Le Carre third. I first read The Ipcress File in 1962 as a 15 year old, and his influence was huge and immediate. Now, more than 60 years later, he remains my favourite spy writer. Le Carre, and later most spy authors, including other favourites such as Mick Herron, Charles Cumming, and now David McCloskey, were all influenced by LD’s working class spy hero. And thanks to you Rob for showcasing LD and his works in the DD and this blog. I’ve enjoyed every item!
Best
Raki
I was sad to hear of his passing, but I’m heartened by the fact that I still have much of his works to read. Kudos to you for maintaining this wonderful blog, and I’m sure that, through your efforts, Mr Deighton was made aware and reminded of how much his work meant to his many fans. His passing marks the end of an era.
ReplyDeleteR.I.P.
ReplyDeleteI posted my appreciation of Deighton, soon after his death announcement under the previous heading congratulating Deighton for reachhing the milestone of 97.
ReplyDeleteAs I have been posting , as a university student in the late 1950s, we, a cluster of mates, bought Fleming hardbacks, in turn, and read them loaning to eaach other. While James Bond appeared in the wde screen in 1962, and was making the biggest impact on the cinema goers, Deighton's , the Ipcress File novel appeared with a no name working class spy. We graduated by then, and yet shared our reading experiences of that first novel.
I did not realise, how superior his knowledge of Berlin based cold war, until , I had to attend academic conferences in East Berlin and then on to Dresden, crossing the Berlin Wall in 1980. He was admiringly perfect in the assessment of the cold war, which reflected in his Funeral in Berlin and the Bernard Samson trilogy. The latter in my opinion shold have appeared , after the Funeral in Berlin novel.
He wrote for the readers. His style was hence, very good.
Buut, by late 1980s, the habit of reading novels based on the cold war, dimmed. Other genres of novels emerged, and novelists like Forsyth flourished, who basically followed the trend of writing for readers, So too James Herriot and Lee Child) set by Deighton. Deighton slowly faded away.
I read an excellent assessment of Deighton which was a tribute in the Tuesday Daily Mail., by Christopher Stevens. It was reported that Deighton wanted to write the history of the aero engine, and could not find a publisher interested in it!
Well, a legend, who entertained a reader like me is no more. RIP, Len Deighton.
Dear Mr Mallows,
ReplyDeleteNooooooo! Don’t close it!
First of all, apologies for my English – I’m French (I know, Len-Bernard gives us a right telling-off, which has always amused me).
I discovered Deighton straight away with Berlin Game, which was buried somewhere in the French edition in my father’s holiday bookcase. I’d already read quite a few Le Carré novels (including the Karla trilogy); I must have been about 18. I fell head over heels for them. I quickly found Mexico Set, but London Match proved harder to track down. As for Hook, Line & Sinker, that was a real struggle. Back then, the internet was just taking off, and Amazon didn’t exist yet, so I had to scour the second-hand bookshops in the Latin Quarter and along the banks of the Seine. I put far more time and enthusiasm into that than into my studies...
And then, disaster struck: Faith, Hope, Charity & Winter had never been translated into French. And they were impossible to find in France at the time. I asked a cousin in England to buy them for me and send them over (the postage cost was a fortune compared to the price of the books). So Deighton played a major part in getting me into English literature (along with Le Carré).
Don’t forget that in France, the style of the (genuine) spy novel has never caught on as much as it has in your country, and has certainly not gained the same recognition. Even a great French author like Vladimir Volkoff is largely unknown there (and that’s not just down to his controversial political views).
I discovered Deighton’s other works later: Ipcress and other spy novels, SS-GB, Fighter, Bomber...
I reread Deighton’s ‘Decateuch’ (that’s what I call the Ten) in my twenties, then in my thirties. And here I am in my forties with the books that have been casting longing glances at me regularly from my bookshelf. With each reading, as I’ve grown older and wiser, I’ve discovered and felt new things in them. For me, this is the pinnacle of espionage.
In short, I learnt of Len Deighton’s death from a brief obituary in Le Monde. I rushed to the British press (there wasn’t much else in the French newspapers apart from Télérama). And as I hopped from page to page, I landed on your website, your blog and finally the 10-year-old discussion thread ‘Game Set but no Match’, which amazed me and gave me a good chuckle. I’d have plenty to add to it...
But first, I need to get back into reading the Decateuch in its entirety in English so that I can grasp some of its subtleties this time round.
So please, keep this blog alive for as long as you can and want to. Who knows, with the passing of our dear Len Deighton (if I may call him that), new readers may emerge. Or old readers and fans like me will come forward. And who knows, perhaps even some hideous frogs.
In any case, thank you for these discoveries, which I haven’t finished exploring yet (too bad for my work).
Cheers
Bonjour, Vous êtes cordialement invité sur https://lefichierdeighton.blogspot.com/ (Everybody's welcome of course)
DeleteThank you for all your really informative work and passion for all things LD
ReplyDeleteI too read Len Deighton's first novel, the Ipcress File, when it was published in 1962. Despite the Dr No film then heralding the much awaited James Bond on the Screen then, this Deighton's publication was received enthusiastically, because, the hero was an unassuming working class spy. The working class readers encouraged its popularity, as Deighton perhaps rightly expected. That attracted Harry Saltzman, the co=producer of the James Bond films then, quickly, turned this novel into a film, picking a fellow Canadian, who understood Deighton's aspiration, picked ordinary London locations to produce a successful film. That is history.
ReplyDeleteFor long, Deighton lived in working class places in the South Bank London. There after, he lect Britain to live in various countries in the World. He was best when he was a Londoner, and realised it quickly, and produced albeit a but late his Bernard Samson trilogy.
He was arguably, the best exponent of the Cold War spy craft, understanding well, the part played by the Berlin Wall which divided Berlin. As the Cold War, was slowly petering towards its end, so did Deighton's gradual withdrawal from the literary production scene.
The readership of his novels declined, with very few in the generation after 1990s recognising his works, but yet a core readership of elderly readers were passionately with him. His passing away , is hence, a great loss or them -which includes me.