Synopses & Reviews
Here is an extraordinary collection of the world's best literary espionage, selected by Alan Furst, a contemporary master of the genre. The Book of Spies brings us the aristocratic intrigues of The Scarlet Pimpernel, in which French émigrés duel with Robespierre's secret service; the savage political realities of the 1930s in Eric Ambler's classic A Coffin for Dimitrios; the ordinary (well, almost) citizens of John le Carré's The Russia House, who are drawn into Cold War spy games; and the 1950s Vietnam of Graham Greene's The Quiet American, with its portrait of American idealism and duplicity. Drawing on acknowledged classics and rediscovered treasures, The Book of Spies delivers literate entertainment and excitement on every page.
Review
"Furst shows some spirit in his selections....Furst is very good...at pinpointing the influence on the genre of the various authors....A superior anthology for anyone interested in the roots of espionage fiction." Bill Ott, Booklist
Review
"In addition to impeccable timing, Spies boasts the perfect editor in Alan Furst....Furst's selections for this anthology explore the same territory [as his acclaimed novels], and he chooses them with an expert hand....Furst's literary archaeology digs up gems." Zach Dundas, The Willamette Week (Portland, OR)
Review
"This volume...doesn't break new ground, but it does place the genre in perspective....This very literary look at a popular genre is recommended for all libraries with large collections of thrillers." Library Journal
Review
"[A] dazzling anthology....The writing whether displaying the cold clarity of Maugham or the pained lyricism of McCarry is splendid." The Wall Street Journal
Synopsis
Here is an extraordinary collection of the world's best literary espionage, selected by Alan Furst, a contemporary master of the genre. The Book of Spies brings us the aristocratic intrigues of The Scarlet Pimpernel, in which French migr s duel with Robespierre's secret service; the savage political realities of the 1930s in Eric Ambler's classic A Coffin for Dimitrios; the ordinary (well, almost) citizens of John le Carr 's The Russia House, who are drawn into Cold War spy games; and the 1950s Vietnam of Graham Greene's The Quiet American, with its portrait of American idealism and duplicity. Drawing on acknowledged classics and rediscovered treasures, A Book of Spies delivers literate entertainment and excitement on every page.
About the Author
Alan Furst is widely recognized as the master of the historical spy novel. He is the author of Night Soldiers, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, The World at Night, Red Gold, Kingdom of Shadows, and Blood of Victory. Born in New York, he has lived for long periods in France, especially Paris. He now lives on Long Island, New York.
Table of Contents
Introduction
From A Coffin for Dimitrios 3
From Tremor of Intent 47
From Under Western Eves 81
From The Spy 121
From The Quiet American 149
From The Russia House 181
From Ashenden 207
From The Tears of Autumn 252
From The Scarlet Pimpernel 285
From The Moon Is Down 312
From The Birds Fall Down 334
Permission Credits 373
Author Q&A
Alan Furst describes the area of his interest as "near history." His novels are set between 1933 the date of Adolf Hitler's ascent, with the first Stalinist purges in Moscow coming a year later and 1945, which saw the end of the war in Europe. The history of this period is well documented. Furst uses books by journalists of the time, personal memoirs some privately published autobiographies (many of the prominent individuals of the period wrote them), war and political histories, and characteristic novels written during those years.
"But," he says, "there is a lot more" for example, period newsreels, magazines, and newspapers, as well as films and music, especially swing and jazz. "I buy old books," Furst says, "and old maps, and I once bought, while living in Paris, the photo archive of a French stock house that served newspapers of Paris during the Occupation, all the prints marked as cleared by the German censorship." In addition, Furst uses intelligence histories of the time, many of them by British writers.
Alan Furst has lived for long periods in Paris and in the south of France. "In Europe," he says, "the past is still available. I remember a blue neon sign, in the Eleventh Arrondissement in Paris, that had possibly been there since the 1930s." He recalls that on the French holiday le jour des morts (All Saints Day, November 1) it is customary for Parisians to go to the Père Lachaise Cemetery. "Before the collapse of Polish communism, the Polish émigrés used to gather at the tomb of Maria Walewska. They would burn rows of votive candles and play Chopin on a portable stereo. It was always raining on that day, and a dozen or so Poles would stand there, under black umbrellas, with the music playing, as a kind of silent protest against the communist regime. The spirit of this action was history alive as though the entire past of that country, conquered again and again, was being brought back to life."
The heroes of Alan Furst's novels include a Bulgarian defector from the Soviet intelligence service, a foreign correspondent for Pravda, a Polish cartographer who works for the army general staff, a French producer of gangster films, and a Hungarian émigré who works with a diplomat at the Hungarian legation in Paris. "These are characters in novels," Furst says, "but people like them existed; people like them were courageous people with ordinary lives and, when the moment came, they acted with bravery and determination. I simply make it possible for them to tell their stories."