Three Deighton Novels

I've been meaning to get these online for a while now. They're designed by Raymond Hawkey who also designed these and are brilliant novels. Funeral was made into an OK film while Brain was turned into a bloody terrible film by Ken Russell. Neither films are a patch on the very perfect and utterly thrilling Ipcress File.

Of these three editions Horse was the first to be published and is most definitely the superior cover. Although not made into a film staring Caine the book's hero is the Harry Palmer character* so I guess when it was issued, to the public, Caine was Palmer hence his mush on the cover. But I must say, I think it's used brilliantly. The way the coarse dot screened image is cut off is more than just dead cool, it's got attitude and Caine's distant gaze is so Palmer. While I think the other two are OK covers I think they suffer because of the unecessarily "novel" type for the title and the inaccurate depiction of the hero as a machine gun weilding action man. That stuff inside helps too and again is handled in Horse with much more finesse than in the others. * It's common knowledge but on the off chance you don't know, in the books the hero (or should that be anti-hero?) is actually anonymous. The Harry Palmer name was necessary for the film adaptation. Wikipedia explains: Needing to name the previously anonymous character, the film production team chose the name 'Harry Palmer' because they wanted the name to be as dull and unglamorous sounding as possible, to distance him from the prevalent stereotype of the flamboyant, swashbuckling secret agent exemplified in the Bond movies.

Comments

[Anne]

Oooh lovely. I've got these too. I was about to ask if you've got the Action Cookbook but something rang a bell and I found it in your archives. One of my all-time favourite book covers ever.

[LondonLee]

Am I the only person on the planet who thinks 'Billion Dollar Brain' is the best of the three Harry Palmer films? It's got everything, sexy Russians, crazy Americans, beautiful frozen landscapes, and wonderful theme music.

This "Ipcress File" paperback I have has a great cover too:

http://www.londonlee.com/Designerama/pics/scrapbook/ipcress_big.jpg

[Johnny]

I'm happy to say I've got these editions too. And is it me or is Deighton often overlooked as a writer? These stories are superb, and I was always more of a Harry Palmer man than a James Bond fan. You always feel that Palmer's fighting a little class war of his own, even when he's up against the Eastern Bloc.
Great to see the Action Cookbook on your site too.

[Richard]

Deighton is an amazing writer. Miles better than Fleming. And it's a shame that there's really only one great Palmer film. Someone's got to put that right some time.

[Johnny]

Couldn't agree more. The shabby, claustrophobic feel to Deighton's spy world knocked spots off Fleming's one dimensional efforts. Deighton's a natural story teller, and Palmer's a great character; part hero, part conman. It might just be me but I think he's got far more style than Bond ever did. . .