DEIGHTON, Len The IPCRESS File

A SIGNED COPY OF THE AUTHOR’S DEBUT SPY NOVEL

8vo., publisher’s bright orange boards, spine lettered and lined in gilt with publisher’s device to foot; together in the instantly recognisable dustwrapper (unclipped, 15/- net to front flap) designed by Raymond Hawkey; pp. [vi], 7-223, [i]; the book near-fine, the boards bright and unmarked; ever-so-slight toning to the text block, and paste-downs very mildly offset, with one of two tiny spots; the near-fine wrapper just a little toned and creased, with very small tide mark to the foot of spine. 

First edition, second impression. This copy neatly signed by the author to the title page. This edition was printed in the same month as the first, and predates the U.S. edition by a year. 

"I was earning enough money as an artist to write anything I chose. I chose a spy novel", Deighton famously wrote of ‘The IPCRESS file’ in 1966. Inspired in part by Raymond Chandler, one of his favourite writers, Deighton set about writing. The result centred around an unnamed British spy (later christened Harry Palmer in the film adaptation), whose mission to find a missing biochemist becomes a journey to the heart of a dark and deadly conspiracy. From seedy London clubs to Soviet Russia, islands in the Pacific, Hungary and back to London, Deighton later revealed in 1992 that the true inspiration for the novel came from his real-life neighbour Anna Wolkoff, a Russian emigré who collaborated to spy for Germany during the Second World War. In May 1940 she was arrested and charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, and an eleven-year old Deighton witnessed her being taken away by MI5 agents in an unmarked police car. 

For the dustwrapper, Deighton recruited the help of his friend Raymond Hawkey to create a stylish, steamy design evoking the feel of the 1960s. The pair had first met at the Royal College of Art, where they had both won scholarships. Deighton was delighted with the result, but the publishers were appalled, refusing to pay Hawkey more than 15 of his promised 50-guineas fee for the ‘disgusting’ design. Deighton made up the balance. Shot with a photographic technique known as ‘high-key’, the jacket would later be regarded as one of the most significant moments in modern book design history.  

In 1965, the book was adapted into film, in a deliberately downbeat alternative to the Bond movies. It brought further recognition of the imperturbable talents of Michael Caine, who played the role of Harry. The adaptation went on to win a BAFTA for Best British Film, and it was later included in the BFI 100 - the one hundred best British films of the twentieth century. In 2022, the book was also the source for a much-applauded six-part series on ITV. 

“I spy a man to put Bond out of business” (Dustwrapper).

SKU: 1800287