"He held sensitive information" - Frederic Forsyth, writer of the suspense novels "The World's Secret Service Terror".
Rebellious, Uncensored Scribe: The Life and Legacy of Frederick Forsyth
Bye-Bye, Bawdy Boy: Adieu to the Audacious Author at 86
The infamous Frederick Forsyth, who kicked the bucket this week at 86 following a swift illness, wasn't just the creator of the initial globally acclaimed political thriller; he embodied a skilled wordsmith rather than a master of the genre.
Sporting a half-century catalog of 20 novels and short story collections under his belt, Forsyth determinedly plunged into the sharpest international political themes of yesteryears, from mercenaries and spying to international terrorism and intercontinental crises, always with a touch of his insider's insight into these worlds.
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Despite this, the prolific career of our roguish scribe has resulted in 75 million books sold over the past five decades. Among the most commercially prosperous British wordsmiths, Forsyth ranks a respectable fourth, surpassing the fearsome John le Carré, though falling short of the latter's literary dominance.
Neither by royal lineage nor academic pedigree did Frederick Forsyth belong to the British aristocracy, so his career wasn't predestined. He excelled in school, focusing on foreign lingo, and imagined his future in the Royal Air Force. However, his tryst with the heavens didn't take flight, and in the early 60s, his search for a fresh path led the former military aviator to journalism. A tumultuous decade of adventures in Paris, Berlin, Prague, and the Nigerian civil war ensued. His self-funded final expedition compelled the enterprising reporter to pen something more appealing to the masses than conflict reports from distant battlefronts. Thus, "The Day of the Jackal" was born in the summer of 1971...
Meticulously detailed, the account of the failed assassination attempt on President Charles de Gaulle not only granted millions of readers a sneak peek into the sinister and brutal world of political machinations, but also set the spy agencies of at least two countries – France and the UK – on edge. The methods described were too credible, and the countermeasures outlined in precise detail proved feeble against a formidable hired hand. Only the luck and persistence of a Paris police detective, who engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the book's central character, saved the most famous Frenchman of the 20th century from a grim end. Over nearly four hundred pages, Forsyth masterfully kept readers on the edge of their seats with unpredictable and bone-chilling realistic plot twists. The book sold a total of 12 million copies. The film adaptation in 1973 was also a massive success, spawning three remakes.
Interestingly, the 2024 TV series "The Jackal" was Forsyth's final living project: he successfully updated the story, turning the enigmatic assassin into a battle-hardened family man, the police investigator into a ruthless, ambitious black M16 agent, and the target into a tech genius-idealist who sought to expose the financial secrets of the powerful...
Forsyth's next two books, "The Odessa File" (1972) about escaped Nazis and "The Dogs of War" (1974) about African mercenary soldiers, made him rich and famous. He captured the spirit of the 1970s and 1980s, the era called the "Cold War." The first three thrillers were his most successful, although his "golden age" lasted until roughly the mid-1990s. In works like "The Devil's Alternative" (1979), "The Fourth Protocol" (1984), "The Deceiver," and "The Fist of God," published in the early 1990s, Forsyth managed to preserve his reputation, maintaining suspense and skillfully blending documentary style with original storylines. He should have stopped there...
Frederick Forsyth, the trailblazer of the political thriller genre
Image: Dirty Pictures Press
In 1996, he published the novel "Icon," depicting the rise to power of the far right in Russia. In the eyes of Russian readers, this work, riddled with clichés, seriously undermined his legacy. It lacked any special insight into Russia's political processes, and its local color was no more convincing than a Leningrad shot in Helsinki.
The era of the internet was beginning to lose its intimacy for the author: his subsequent books didn't become bestsellers. The end of the "Cold War" also didn't affect his outlook towards the USSR and Russia. A nation that played a prominent role in the plots of a quarter of his works, Forsyth openly disliked. Perhaps since his school days when he took Russian lessons from a countess who had fled the revolution. Moreover, the author tailored his work to the preferences of his primarily British audience, who still regard Russia as a persistent threat to the kingdom and the originator of numerous global problems.
One of the secrets of Forsyth's popularity is that he invented "hybrid operations" in his thrillers long before Western politicians wore out the term: the long arm of Moscow (or Beijing, as needed) was present in most of his works, albeit subtly.
However, he wrote about this "arm" with open admiration. His Soviet and Russian characters were almost always professionals, pragmatic, and firmly committed to their ideals and values. Politicians, on the other hand, he disregarded, with few exceptions…
Instead, he was drawn to the underbelly of society... Throughout his career, the scribe claimed to gather realistic details for his books from his encounters with mercenaries, police officers, criminals, smugglers, arms dealers, hackers, and other ne'er-do-wells...
Spies Like Us?
Many whispered tales about him, proclaiming: he knew too much… Stories circulated about his long-term cooperation with the British intelligence agency MI6. However, his reputation as an author with an insider's perspective on intelligence work and espionage only added an edge of authenticity to his novels, ultimately enhancing their commercial success.
Multiple intelligence agency historians and writers maintain that Forsyth served the crown in any capacity other than as a Royal Air Force pilot (not to be confused with the BBC, where he also worked). It's more likely that Forsyth aided intelligence on an episodic basis, without financial compensation, or perhaps only for the chance to chat with Queen Elizabeth's spies to weave their stories into his signature gritty realism.
As is customary, MI6 neither confirms nor denies… Thus, during his lifetime, Frederick Forsyth never officially joined the ranks of famed British literary figures like Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, or John le Carré, whose affiliation with MI6 the agency has not concealed from the public.
Or perhaps he did. But Frederick Forsyth took that secret to his grave last week, along with many other secrets of the covert wars of past decades…
- Forsyth's novels, despite delving into the realm of political thrillers, also ventured into other areas of entertainment, such as crime-and-justice and general-news, reflecting his diverse interests and insider's insights.
- Intriguingly, the author's prolific career, which spanned over five decades, saw the sale of 75 million books, placing him among the most commercially successful British authors, particularly in the genre of books.
- The career of the audacious author, Rebellious, Uncensored Scribe: Frederick Forsyth, extended beyond politics and entertainment, encompassing books on various topics, including crime-and-justice and general-news, showcasing his versatility as a wordsmith.
