The Chancellor Manuscript
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The Chancellor Manuscript is a 1977 novel, written by Robert Ludlum, about the "alleged" secret files of J. Edgar Hoover and how they disappeared after his death, and how they possibly could be used to force people in high places to do the bidding of those who possessed the secrets contained therein. It also speculated that Hoover himself might have been assassinated because he knew too much about too many of the wrong people.
[edit] Plot
In the story, Peter Chancellor, who found unlikely success as an author of political thrillers after his ambitions to become a historian were frustrated, writes a work of fiction that comes close enough to the scenario described that the people who controlled those files, a group called Inver Brass in the novel, decide that someone else may also know too much. This sets the stage for the international intrigue that follows.
[edit] Meta
In the end Ludlum left the reader wondering if it was he himself, not Peter Chancellor, the protagonist of his story, who knew of the conspiracy.
A film adaptation starring Leonardo DiCaprio is in the works at Paramount Pictures.
