Talk:Len Deighton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Len Deighton article.
Please sign and date your posts by typing four tildes (~~~~). Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Ask questions, get answers. This is not a forum for general discussion about the article's subject.	Be polite Assume good faith No personal attacks Be welcoming	Article policies No original research Neutral point of view Verifiability

This article must adhere to the policy on biographies of living persons. Controversial material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted or if there are other concerns relative to this policy, report it on the living persons biographies noticeboard.

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page.	Biography Portal
Start	This article has been rated as start-Class on the project's quality scale. [FAQ]
	This article is supported by the Arts and Entertainment work group.

An appropriate infobox may need to be added to this article, or the current infobox may need to be updated. Please refer to the list of biography infoboxes for further information.

	This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see lists of open tasks and regional and topical task forces. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.
Start	This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale.
Additional information and associated task forces: This article has been checked against the following criteria for B-Class status: Referencing and citation: not checked Coverage and accuracy: not checked Structure: not checked Grammar: not checked Supporting materials: not checked To fill out this checklist, please add the following to the template call: <!-- B-Class-1. It is suitably referenced, and all major points have appropriate inline citations. --> |B-Class-1=yes/no <!-- B-Class-2. It reasonably covers the topic, and does not contain obvious omissions or inaccuracies. --> |B-Class-2=yes/no <!-- B-Class-3. It has a defined structure, including a lead section and one or more sections of content. --> |B-Class-3=yes/no <!-- B-Class-4. It is free from major grammatical errors. --> |B-Class-4=yes/no <!-- B-Class-5. It contains appropriate supporting materials, such as an infobox, images, or diagrams. --> |B-Class-5=yes/no Associated task forces (general topics): Military historiography task force

Surely "An expensive place to die" is a "Harry Palmer" Novel also, as I've seen a Michael Caine interview in which he say's he regrets not having made that book into a movie. Regards Steve

Please provide a link to this quote if possible, as it is considered that, although featuring another unnamed spy writing in the first person, aEPtD is actually a different spy to Harry Palmer. However, possibly either the book could have been adapted into featuring Harry Palmer just because Michael Caine would be starring in it, or Caine would be playing this 'different' spy.

Or maybe Michael Caine just read the book wrong, and thought it was Harry Palmer, when it isn't. The Yeti 12:49, 14 August 2006 (UTC)

The nameless character, known in the film adaptations as "Harry Palmer", who is from Burnley, works for WOO(C)P, and whose boss is Dawlish and secretary/girlfriend is Jean, only appears in the first four novels--the others are about a different nameless spy working for a different intelligence branch. Grackle 18:39, 19 November 2006 (UTC)

I think it's a little more complex than that. In one of the subsequent "nameless spy" novels, Dawlish (the "boss" of WOOC(P)) in all but the first of the earlier novels) reappears at a party (I regret that I do not have the books handy for reference purposes); so while it's clear that the hero is working for someone else, it seems to be the same hero. [Note that it's WOOC(P); we know from a remark of Ross's that the "P" stands for Provisional, and it's reasonable to assume that WO stands for "War Office."] 70.196.144.109 18:27, 24 November 2006 (UTC) EJBleendreeble

• I seem to recall that WOOC(P) stood for War Office Overseas Committee (Political) but I could be wrong.  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 11:49, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

I don't recall that WOOC(P) ever having its meaning spelled out. As for Dawlish, he shows up at a dinner party in 'Spy Story.' He also shows up in 'Yesterday's Spy,' though by then apparently WOOC(P) had become merely 'the Department.' Toddrk (talk) 23:23, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Fighter" (1977) and "The Battle of Britain" (1980)

What is the difference between these two books (the first of which I possess, the second of which I do not)? The text seems to confuse them.

Cast your gaze down a few paragraphs. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 19:55, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] A minor correction

I have renamed the 'Harry Palmer' novels as 'Unnamed Hero' as one of the conceits of these stories was that hero was never named. 'Harry Palmer' was invented for the inferior films. I have also added 'An Expensive Place To Die' to this list as it was one of them.  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 11:46, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

While 'An Expensive Place to Die' indeed features an unnamed protagonist, it is far from clear that he is indeed the same one as from the previous four novels. One of the factors arguing against this is the 'packet' included in the first printings imply that this agent has been already in place for some considerable time.

Arguably, 'Spy Story' could be the same character as the first four especially as 'Pat Armstrong' personally knows both Dawlish and Stok. Also, 'Catch a Falling Spy' has an unnamed spy working under Colonel Schlegel introduced in 'Spy Story.' Finally, 'Yesterday's Spy,' also has a protagonist who was known in Nice during WWII as 'Charles' working for Schlegel and Dawlish. Sadly, none of this is at all conclusive. Toddrk (talk) 23:13, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] A query

Did Deighton really write two books one called 'Fighter - the true story of the Battle of Britain' and one simply called 'Battle of Britain' only three years apart? This seems unlikely. Can anyone clarify please?  SmokeyTheCat  •TALK• 11:46, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

Battle of Britain was co-written by Max Hastings. Here's the reprint I have, here's a first edition. As I understand it, the book is a retread of Fighter, but with many more pictures and cut-away diagrams - an early go at multi-media. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 19:54, 15 December 2007 (UTC)

I've since got hold of a first edition of Fighter (back cover blurb by Albert Speer!), and they're definitely two different books; Battle of Britain has an entirely different text, although some of the photographs are the same. -Ashley Pomeroy (talk) 18:51, 27 January 2008 (UTC)