Who was Len Deighton? Spy novelist behind iconic 'The Ipcress File' dies aged 97

BAFTA-winning author and widely acclaimed spy thriller The Ipcress File author dies at age 97.

Deighton was credited with defining the genre of British spy fiction, penning down 39 spy novels, adding a remarkable contribution to English literature.

Deighton rose to prominence with his debut book, The Ipcress File appeared in 1962 and was adapted into a BAFTA-award-winning film starring Michael Caine.

In March 2022, the buzzworthy thriller was reproduced by ITV, in which Peaky Blinders’ Joe Cole portrayed the anonymous spy.

Leonard was born in a London workhouse in 1929, his father was a chauffeur to the keeper of prints and drawings at the British Museum, and his mother was a hotel cook.

The legendary fiction writer of the Nineteenth Century was married twice, first to illustrator Shirley Thompson and then to Ysabele, and had two sons.

Alongside pursuing his dream of writing spy novels, Deighton enjoyed writing cookery books, especially ones on French cooking.

Deighton continued writing books based on the 20th century’s most deadly war conflicts.

In 1977, his novel Fighter was published, which narrates the story of a nonfictional incident from the Battle of Britain, which Hitler’s former armaments minister, Albert Speer, described as “excellent.”

Deighton preferred to remain away from the public spotlight; that’s why he is rarely seen giving interviews.

In a rare interview with BBC’s Desert Island Discs program, he explained what it felt like to be a writer.

“The best thing about writing books is being at a party and telling some pretty girl you write books.”

The worst thing is sitting at a typewriter and actually writing the book.”