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The Harry Palmer Quartet
Len Deighton
The first four ‘Secret Files’ from the master of fictional espionage, Len Deighton, containing the international exploits of Britain’s uber-cool sixties spy, Harry Palmer, together in one e-bundle for the first time.When Len Deighton wrote THE IPCRESS FILE, HORSE UNDER WATER, FUNERAL IN BERLIN and BILLION-DOLLAR BRAIN he not only reinvented spy fiction, but he created a style icon and literary legend: ‘Harry Palmer’.The nameless, working-class spy of the books was given a face and identity when he was played by Michael Caine in three classic films. Since then both the books and the character have become international icons.Now it’s your chance to delve into the mysteries of the four ‘Secret Files’ as Harry Palmer investigates conspiracies, secret experiments and even a deadly virus, with all the cockiness and dry wit a reluctant spy can muster.
Copyright (#ulink_b30736f0-c522-548d-bd9c-5dfe88c2e24e)
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)
The Ipcress File first published in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton 1962
Horse Under Water first published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape 1963
Funeral in Berlin first published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape 1964
Billion-Dollar Brain first published in Great Britain by Jonathan Cape 1966
Copyright © Pluriform Publishing Company BV 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966
Introduction copyright © Pluriform Publishing Company BV 2009
Cover design and photography © Arnold Schwartzman 2009
E-bundle cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2013
Len Deighton asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9780586026199, 9780586044315, 9780586045800, 9780586044285
Ebook Edition © JUNE 2013 ISBN 9780007531479
Version: 2018-11-27
HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.
Contents
Cover (#u0e5b7ac0-6bbf-5508-b72b-a15a1a7d9ad1)
Copyright (#ud0b08cea-5d87-5819-b272-548f45cf1bb9)
The Ipcress File (#u39897bf4-551d-5bc8-8c41-a0a858afe423)
Horse Under Water (#litres_trial_promo)
Funeral in Berlin (#litres_trial_promo)
Billion Dollar Brain (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)
About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)
Cover Designer’s Note (#ulink_ffad2ebd-c2df-5b44-afac-ed4e6b71ab43)
The great challenge I faced when asked to produce the covers for new editions of Len Deighton’s books was the existence of the brilliant designs conceived by Ray Hawkey for the original editions.
However, having arrived at a concept, part of the joy I derived in approaching this challenge was the quest to locate the various props which the author had so beautifully detailed in his texts. Deighton has likened a spy story to a game of chess, which led me to transpose the pieces on a chess board with some of the relevant objects specified in each book. I carried this notion throughout the entire quartet of books.
Since smoking was so much part of our culture during the Cold War era, I also set about gathering tobacco-related paraphernalia.
Each chapter of The Ipcress File opens with its Gauloises-smoking protagonist’s horoscope, so discovering an Aquarius cigarette lighter was a great coup. Finding a Gauloises cigarette packet, designed by Marcel Jacno in 1936, became a more difficult proposition. However, after much searching, I eventually found one via the Internet!
Serendipity sometimes plays an important part in the design process. In seeking an appropriate ashtray, to carry through the ‘smoking’ theme, I accidentally came across a unique piece shaped like a hand gun, so I aimed it at a red chess pawn, which represents Ipcress’s ‘Red’ Cold War antagonist.
The image of the gun pays homage to the original Hawkey-designed Ipcress jacket. I further retained the wooden type font logotype originated by him.
One of my long-time hobbies has been collecting cigarette cards. I was fortunate to find some appropriate images among my personal trove to illustrate the back cover, and these are accompanied by examples of military insignia gathered during my National Service days served in Cold War Korea!
Len Deighton and I shared a great affection for London’s Savoy Hotel. My father had served as a waiter there in the 1930s so I have a number of pieces of memorabilia from the Savoy, including the saucer and the cloakroom ticket depicted on the cover.
I was thrilled to locate the ‘Made in GDR’ syringe in Latvia, of all places. Closer to home, I have kept all my past British passports, together with most of my boarding passes and baggage labels. The Chubb key and the CND badge—which today has become a fashion accessory—came from other locations around the UK. The 1960s postage stamp on the spine of the cover commemorates the former Soviet spy, Richard Sorge.
During the 1970s, while designing a supplement series for the London Sunday Times, I needed a set of fingerprints to illustrate a specific article, so I persuaded the duty sergeant at my local police station to take mine, which are here given a new public airing!
I photographed the cover set-up using natural daylight, with my Canon OS 5D digital camera.
Arnold Schwartzman OBE RDI
LEN DEIGHTON
The Ipcress File
Epigraph (#ulink_bcae76bf-30af-5a4d-b52a-e889080bc74a)
And now I will unclasp a secret book, And to your quick-conceiving discontents, I’ll read you matter deep and dangerous.
Henry IV
Though it must be said that every species of birds has a manner peculiar to itself, yet there is somewhat in most genera at least that at first sight discriminates them, and enables a judicious observer to pronounce upon them with some certainty.
Gilbert White, 1778
Contents
Cover (#u39897bf4-551d-5bc8-8c41-a0a858afe423)
Cover Designer’s Note (#u835b7dcb-3943-59fd-b377-13a1068fba42)
Title Page (#u60bf3c4a-f6bf-5c9d-9526-e94f4e4b13c2)
Epigraph (#u392756b7-ef43-5bab-87df-8860187d8257)
Introduction (#u89e3f141-59c5-5637-a00c-8796ec7c2cec)
Prologue (#u35a57f59-71f1-56e2-8d0e-5d51781c9d34)
Chapter 1 (#u50d1a0ff-bde3-5db6-bee9-1442cbaf5183)
Chapter 2 (#u3c1ba61e-a312-59be-8c23-c9dce16ce885)
Chapter 3 (#u12a23870-4b0b-5940-adaf-200bd6103de5)
Chapter 4 (#u0fac6ab9-d38f-50ef-9d4a-24cb02d41b64)
Chapter 5 (#ua9053825-e3fa-5262-9533-aa244f77b25b)
Chapter 6 (#uf36a8daa-e689-5424-9d11-11cbd784571f)
Chapter 7 (#u7392c995-f7f4-5f57-a39d-b24342753a5d)
Chapter 8 (#ub5575fbb-386d-5ffe-b2d5-ed837ce62bff)
Chapter 9 (#u27fffa6e-901d-5784-a6ac-69bb4fda31e4)
Chapter 10 (#u6a9a3bec-fb79-561a-9f9d-9a86fb3a5d1b)
Chapter 11 (#u437bd682-3101-54f8-8670-8267d559654a)
Chapter 12 (#u881202ed-d29f-5704-8772-f5d3d3a5b2cc)
Chapter 13 (#u9d5bce24-eb4a-5a5d-9db0-97d4c45e7c67)
Chapter 14 (#u02c14cf2-7e57-5c9a-b93d-9bb8731394ff)
Chapter 15 (#u180d68ad-4f4d-58dd-b63e-70d505406417)
Chapter 16 (#ude2f4324-76bd-589c-ba3c-24fcbfc32e97)
Chapter 17 (#ud5f132af-0818-5269-ba46-899cf7e4d05f)
Chapter 18 (#ue97e1bec-9892-5720-8c57-68a6fbbb1c3b)
Chapter 19 (#u6f226afb-62ba-5a97-b41b-7ffc22414446)
Chapter 20 (#uf5276ec3-4eac-5e81-af39-bf839cf52710)
Chapter 21 (#uccdfe280-8557-5a26-9458-e4f4b102059a)
Chapter 22 (#u185e3331-c80f-5a8a-862b-228cf213c729)
Chapter 23 (#u9354ff3e-7d37-5a8d-9e7f-4fad780be72c)
Chapter 24 (#ubb905596-0d25-540c-8a05-9c0959589150)
Chapter 25 (#u431d4df8-0185-524e-be32-24e7b5d5e70d)
Chapter 26 (#ua48f5e16-b56d-5952-ad77-8b473aa5dcc7)
Chapter 27 (#u088bca97-3793-5112-a6f0-e1ad13a8b1a1)
Chapter 28 (#uae9add6d-b9ce-50e6-a4a3-1294551c8d98)
Chapter 29 (#u2d21ed89-d957-558b-a273-16684b2e1082)
Chapter 30 (#u6dd58f3c-435c-575b-ac25-75d7247c93e8)
Chapter 31 (#u180d60a1-c486-5da7-8e49-575568aa76d5)
Chapter 32 (#ue0ce9f0a-4911-53ff-a090-6d2b5027ca11)
Epilogue (#u676e574e-bf9c-59f2-b45b-da613d8651c0)
Appendix (#u34245cca-becb-5aa5-ab35-8a1818d5f01c)
Introduction (#ulink_761762f2-38bf-527b-b98b-30841752e005)
The Ipcress File was my first attempt to write a book. I was a commercial artist, or ‘illustrator’ as we are now called. I had never been a journalist or reporter of any kind so I was unaware of how long writing a book was likely to take. Knowing the size of the task is a deterrent for many professional writers, which is why they defer their ambitions often until it is too late. Being unaware of what’s ahead can be an advantage. It shines a green light for everything from enlisting in the Foreign Legion to getting married.
So I stumbled into writing this book with a happy optimism that ignorance provides. Was it a depiction of myself? Well, who else did I have? After completing two and a half years of military service I had been, for three years, a student at St. Martin’s School of Art in Charing Cross Road. I am a Londoner. I grew up in Marylebone and once art school started I rented a tiny grubby room around the corner from the art school. This cut my travelling time back to five minutes. I grew to know Soho very well indeed. I knew it by day and by night. I was on hello, how are you? terms with the ‘ladies’, the restaurateurs, the gangsters and the bent coppers. When, after some years as an illustrator, I wrote The Ipcress File much of its description of Soho was the observed life of an art student resident there.
After three years postgraduate study at the Royal College of Art I celebrated by impulsively applying for a job as flight attendant with British Overseas Airways. In those days this provided three or four days stop-over at the end of each short leg. I spent enough time in Hong Kong, Cairo, Nairobi, Beirut and Tokyo to make good and lasting friendships there. When I became an author, these background experiences of foreign people and places proved of lasting benefit.
I don’t know why or how I came to writing books. I had always been a dedicated reader; obsessional is perhaps the better word. At school, having proved to be a total dud at any form of sport – and most other things – I read every book in sight. There was no system to my reading, nor even a pattern of selection. I remember reading Plato’s The Republic with the same keen attention and superficial understanding as I read Chandler’s The Big Sleep and H.G. Wells’ The Outline of History and both volumes of The Letters of Gertrude Bell. I filled notebooks as I encountered ideas and opinions that were new to me, and I vividly remember how excited I was to discover that The Oxford Universal Dictionary incorporated thousands of quotations from the greatest of great writers.
So I wasn’t taking myself too seriously when, as a holiday diversion, I took a school exercise book and a fountain pen, and started this story. Knowing no other style I did it as though I was writing a letter to an old, intimate and trusted friend. I immediately fell into the first person style without knowing much about the literary alternatives.
My memory has always been unreliable, as my wife Ysabele regularly points out to me, but I am convinced that this first book was influenced by my time as the art director of an ultra-smart London advertising agency. I spent my days surrounded by highly educated, witty young men who had been at Eton together. We relaxed in leather armchairs in their exclusive Pall Mall clubs. We exchanged barbed compliments and jocular abuse. They were kind to me, and generous, and I enjoyed it immensely. Later, when I created WOOC(P), the intelligence service offices depicted here, I took the social atmosphere of that sleek and shiny agency and inserted it into some ramshackle offices that I once rented in Charlotte Street.
Using the first person narrative enabled me to tell the story in the distorted way that subjective memory provides. The hero does not tell the exact truth; none of the characters tell the exact truth. I don’t mean that they tell the blatant self-serving lies that politicians do, I mean that their memory tilts towards justification and self-regard. What happens in The Ipcress File (and in all my other first-person stories) is found somewhere in the uncertainty of contradiction. In navigation, the triangle where three lines of reference fail to intersect is call a ‘cocked hat’. My stories are intended to offer no more precision than that. I want the books to provoke different reactions from different readers (as even history must do to some extent).
