In an article on what makes a great dinner party, the party organiser Luke Prior was asked by the magazine to approach some of London's great and the good - the main party-givers - to find out what makes an evening go with a swing.
One of those interviewed is Len Deighton's first wife Shirley, an artist. In the brief comments under her picture, it's clear that in 1963 Len was not yet widely referred to as a 'famous writer'; rather, his fame, such as it was, was as a food writer and creator of the cook strip. With the launch of The Ipcress File and Horse Under Water on the slipway, this was probably the last time that Len was referred to as anything but a top author.
Interesting little curio...
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| Shirley Deighton on the fun of dinner parties |
It is the usual story, not exceptional with Deighton alone. An ordinary journalist by name Forsyth who was not known at all became a very hot author after The Day of the Jackal was published, the obscure lawyer, Griham who was just managing to survive in his profession, became a top author after A Time to Kill was published, a single mother on benefits called Rowling, became the very top author after the first Harry Potter novel , that was something, and finally, a very obscure theatrical producer called Ludlum produced best sellers after best sellers , after the publication of The Osterman Weekend. Grisham and Rowling are the superstars here, a status even Fleming did not achieve in his life time then.
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