Len Deighton (1929–2026) was an English author known for his novels, works of military history, screenplays and cookery writing. He had a varied career, including as a pastry cook, waiter, co-editor of a magazine, teacher and air steward before writing his first novel in 1962: The IPCRESS File. He continued to produce what his biographer John Reilly considers "stylish, witty, well-crafted novels" in spy fiction, including three trilogies and a prequel featuring Bernard Samson.

Deighton authored two television scripts, the first of which was Long Past Glory in 1963; he also wrote a film script, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). His long-held interest in cooking—his mother had been a professional chef and instilled a love for cuisine in her son—led to an illustrated cookery column in the Sunday newspaper, The Observer, for two years. The work was collected into two later books, Len Deighton's Action Cook Book and Où est le garlic (both 1965); he subsequently wrote several other cookery books. Deighton has produced several other works of non-fiction, including a study of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a history of the airship, Second World War military history and a short e-book about James Bond.

Novels + The novels of Len Deighton Title Year of firstpublication First edition publisher(All London) Hodder & Stoughton Horse Under Water Jonathan Cape Funeral in Berlin Jonathan Cape Billion-Dollar Brain Jonathan Cape Jonathan Cape Only When I Larf Privately printed Bomber Jonathan Cape Close-Up Jonathan Cape Spy Story Jonathan Cape Yesterday's Spy Jonathan Cape Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy Jonathan Cape SS-GB Jonathan Cape XPD Hutchinson Goodbye, Mickey Mouse Hutchinson Berlin Game Hutchinson Mexico Set Hutchinson London Match Hutchinson Winter Hutchinson Spy Hook Hutchinson Spy Line Hutchinson Spy Sinker Hutchinson MAMista Random House City of Gold Random House Violent Ward HarperCollins Faith HarperCollins Hope HarperCollins Charity HarperCollins

Miscellaneous Several of Deighton's works have been adapted for screen: the films The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1966), Billion Dollar Brain (1967) and Spy Story (1976). In 1988 Granada Television produced the miniseries Game, Set and Match based on his trilogy of the same name.

+ Miscellaneous works of Len Deighton Title Year of firstpublication First edition publisher(London, unless otherwise stated) Notes Long Past Glory – Television script Len Deighton's Cookstrips –1965 Weekly cookery strip Drinkmanship 1964 Haymarket Press As editor Oh! What a Lovely War 1969 – Film script; Deighton requested that he not be given screen credit for his work. Declarations of War 1971 Jonathan Cape Short stories How to be a Pregnant Father Macmillan Publishers Book by Peter Mayle; Deighton provided the chapter "The Pregnant Father's Cookbook" It Must Have Been Two Other Fellows – Television script Tactical Genius in Battle 1979 Phaidon Press Book by Simon Goodenough; Deighton acted as editor and provided the introduction Santa Teresa Press, Santa Barbara, CA Introduction only; original work by Arthur Conan Doyle. This edition was published for copyright purposes; limited to 25 copies Pests 1994 Chris Martin, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts A limited edition of 226 copies Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Swindle 2006 Crippen & Landru, Norfolk, VA A short story included in The Detection Club anthology The Verdict of Us All, edited by Peter Lovesey

Non-fiction + Non-fiction works of Len Deighton Title Year of firstpublication First edition publisher(London, unless otherwise stated) Notes Len Deighton's Action Cook Book Jonathan Cape Où est le garlic Penguin Books Jonathan Cape Co-written with M Rand and H Lockston Len Deighton's London Dossier Jonathan Cape Continental Dossier Michael Joseph Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain Jonathan Cape Airshipwreck Jonathan Cape with Arnold Schwartzman Blitzkrieg: From the Rise of Hitler to the Fall of Dunkirk Jonathan Cape Basic French Cooking Jonathan Cape Battle of Britain Jonathan Cape Germany Philatelic Society, Chesterfield, MO As "Cyril Deighton"; with Fred Blau Germany Philatelic Society, Chesterfield, MO As "Cyril Deighton"; with Fred Blau ABC of French Food Century Basic French Cookery Course Century Blood, Tears and Folly Jonathan Cape James Bond: My Long and Eventful Search for His Father Amazon Kindle In e-book format only

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External links

Works by Len Deighton at Internet Archive