I am writing a spy novel.
It is about a popular and respected American writer who was once a popular and respected spy. His life is an interplay between fact and fiction, light and darkness, image and illusion. I am trying to use my imagination to its limit, but I must confess that many particulars will be loosely based on a huge cache of copied documents and confidential reports, a trove that remains easily accessible to me even though, at the moment, it resides at an undisclosed secure location. The only thing further I will say on that subject is that access does not involve the removal of any floorboards. As Giles Cabot would say, I’m better than that.
The originals of these documents are presumably still in the possession of the Central Intelligence Agency, unless of course no one ever checked the post office box in Herndon, Virginia.
Someone at the Agency must have gotten wind of my plans, because recently one of their employees phoned me. I wasn’t surprised that they knew, since I’d told Marty Ealing what I was doing the day I gave notice, and he’s a terrible gossip.
The caller sounded young and inexperienced, but he wasted no time in sternly reminding me of the nondisclosure agreement, and the possible consequences of violating it.
“It’s a novel,” I said. “Completely made up. Ed Lemaster’s name won’t even be mentioned.”
“So this isn’t for Vanity Fair?”
“No. There won’t be a single fact involved.”
“Okay. But you also should be aware that former employees must also submit novels before publication.”
“But I was never an Agency employee, as you know. And the agreement I signed covers only the facts.” He wasn’t quite sure how to respond. I felt a little sorry for him.
“Well, just be careful, then.”
“Oh, I will. Very careful.”
He apologized for bothering me. Then he wished me luck.
Sometimes even the idle wishes of a nameless CIA man come true, and this morning a reputable publishing house in New York telephoned to offer me a contract based on my cover letter, an outline, and fifty sample pages.
Tonight, David and I will celebrate with our usual fare at Martin’s Tavern. I doubt we will see a woman wearing a red carnation, but you never know. He and I have already made plans to meet my father this December. In Berlin, of course. What better place, now that each of us in his own way has played at being a spy.
I figure my book will take about a year to finish, but I’ve already roughed out the plot, sketched the characters, and have an ending in mind. I’ve also decided that the opening words will not appear in the first chapter, or even in the prologue. They will be printed on the epigraph page, right up front, so that no reader can possibly miss them.
They go like this:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
APPENDIX
Warfield Cage’s Library of Espionage First Editions
The following are 222 books, by 48 authors, 18 of whom worked in intelligence (their names are in boldface), 6 more of whom worked in foreign ministries or a war/defense office.
Of these, 57 of the books were published prior to 1950.
BY AUTHOR
Allbeury, Ted
—Snowball, 1974
—The Special Collection, 1975
—The Lantern Network, 1978
—The Alpha List, 1979
—The Other Side of Silence, 1981
—No Place to Hide, 1986
—A Wilderness of Mirrors, 1988
Ambler, Eric
—The Dark Frontier, 1936
—Uncommon Danger (U.S.: Background to Danger), 1937
—Epitaph for a Spy, 1938
—Cause for Alarm, 1938
—The Mask of Dimitrios (U.S.: A Coffin for Dimitrios), 1939
—Journey into Fear, 1940
—Judgment on Deltchev, 1951
—The Levanter, 1972
Bingham, John (Lord Clanmorris)
—A Fragment of Fear, 1965
—The Double Agent, 1966
—Brock and the Defector, 1982
Buchan, John
—The Thirty-nine Steps, 1915
—Greenmantle, 1916
—Mr. Standfast, 1919
—Huntingtower, 1922
—The Three Hostages, 1924
—The Courts of the Morning, 1929
Buckley, William F., Jr. (Blackford Oakes series)
—Saving the Queen, 1976
—Stained Glass, 1978
—Who’s on First, 1980
—The Story of Henri Tod, 1984
—See You Later, Alligator, 1985
—High Jinx, 1986
—Mongoose, R.I.P., 1987
Burgess, Anthony (Army intel cipher work during WWII)
—Tremor of Intent, 1966
Childers, Erskine
—The Riddle of the Sands, 1903
Coles, Manning (Adelaide Frances Oke Manning [war office] and Cyril Henry Coles [British intelligence]) (Tommy Hambledon series)
—Drink to Yesterday, 1940
—Pray Silence (U.S.: A Toast to Tomorrow), 1940
—They Tell No Tales, 1941
—Without Lawful Authority, 1943
—Green Hazard, 1945
—The Fifth Man, 1946
—Let the Tiger Die, 1947
—A Brother for Hugh (U.S.: With Intent to Deceive), 1947
—Among Those Absent, 1948
—Diamonds to Amsterdam, 1949
—Not Negotiable, 1949
—Dangerous by Nature, 1950
—Now or Never, 1951
—Alias Uncle Hugo (U.K.: Operation Manhunt), 1952
—Night Train to Paris, 1952
Conrad, Joseph
—The Secret Agent, 1907
—Under Western Eyes, 1911
Cooper, James Fenimore
—The Spy, 1821
Cory, Desmond (Shaun Lloyd McCarthy) (Johnny Fedora series)
—Secret Ministry, 1951
—This Traitor, Death, 1952
—Dead Man Falling, 1953
—Intrigue, 1954
—Height of Day, 1955
—High Requiem, 1955
—Johnny Goes North, 1956
—Johnny Goes East, 1957
—Johnny Goes West, 1958
—Johnny Goes South, 1959
—The Head, 1960
—Undertow, 1962
—Hammerhead, 1963
—Feramontov, 1966
—Timelock, 1967
—Sunburst, 1971
Deighton, Len
—The Ipcress File, 1962
—Horse Under Water, 1963
—Funeral in Berlin, 1964
—Billion-Dollar Brain, 1966
—An Expensive Place to Die, 1967
—Spy Story, 1974
—Yesterday’s Spy, 1975
—Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy, 1976
—Berlin Game, 1983
—Mexico Set, 1984
—London Match, 1985
—Spy Hook, 1988
—Spy Line, 1989
Diment, Adam (Philip McAlpine series)
—The Dolly Dolly Spy, 1967
—The Great Spy Race, 1968
—The Bang Bang Birds, 1968
—Think Inc., 1971
Durrell, Lawrence (British Foreign Office, in Yugo)
—White Eagles over Serbia, 1957
Fleming, Ian (James Bond series)
—Casino Royale, 1953
—Live and Let Die, 1954
—Moonraker, 1955
—Diamonds Are Forever, 1956
—From Russia, with Love, 1957
—Dr. No, 1958
—Goldfinger, 1959
—For Your Eyes Only, 1960
—Thunderball, 1961
—The Spy Who Loved Me, 1962
—On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1963
—You Only Live Twice, 1964
>
—The Man with the Golden Gun, 1965
—Octopussy and The Living Daylights, 1966
Furst, Alan
—Night Soldiers, 1988
Gainham, Sarah
—The Stone Roses, 1959
—Night Falls on the City, 1967
Garner, William (Michael Jagger series)
—Overkill, 1966
—The Deep, Deep Freeze, 1968
—The Us or Them War, 1969
Grady, James
—Six Days of the Condor, 1974
—Shadow of the Condor, 1978
Granger, Bill
—The November Man, 1978
—Schism, 1981
—The Shattered Eye, 1982
—The British Cross, 1983
Greene, Graham
—The Confidential Agent, 1939
—The Quiet American, 1955
—Our Man in Havana, 1958
—The Human Factor, 1978
Hall, Adam (Elleston Trevor)
—The Berlin Memorandum (U.S.: The Quiller Memorandum), 1965
—The Ninth Directive, 1966
—The Striker Portfolio, 1968
—The Warsaw Document, 1971
—The Tango Briefing, 1973
—The Mandarin Cypher, 1975
—The Sinkiang Executive, 1978
—The Scorpion Signal, 1979
—Northlight (U.S.: Quiller), 1985
—Quiller KGB, 1989
Hamilton, Donald (Matt Helm series)
—Death of a Citizen, 1960
—The Wrecking Crew, 1960
—The Removers, 1961
—The Silencers, 1962
—Murderers’ Row, 1962
Hone, Joseph
—The Private Sector (Peter Marlow), 1971
—The Sixth Directorate, 1975
Hood, William (worked for James Angleton)
—Spy Wednesday, 1986
—Cry Spy, 1990 (last non-Lemaster purchase in the collection)
Household, Geoffrey
—Rogue Male, 1939
Hunt, E. Howard
—East of Farewell, 1942
—Stranger in Town, 1947
—Maelstrom, 1948
—Bimini Run, 1949
—The Berlin Ending, 1973
—The Gaza Intercept, 1981
—The Kremlin Conspiracy, 1985
Hunter, Jack D. (also wrote The Blue Max)
—The Expendable Spy, 1965
—One of Us Works for Them, 1967
—Spies, Inc., 1969
Kipling, Rudyard
—Kim, 1901
Latham, Aaron
—Orchids for Mother, 1977 (Angleton novel)
Le Carré, John (David Cornwell)
—Call for the Dead, 1961
—A Murder of Quality, 1962
—The Spy Who Came In from the Cold, 1963
—The Looking Glass War, 1965
—A Small Town in Germany, 1968
—Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, 1974
—The Honourable Schoolboy, 1977
—Smiley’s People, 1979
—The Little Drummer Girl, 1983
—A Perfect Spy, 1986
—The Russia House, 1989
Lemaster, Edwin
—Knee Knockers, 1969
—A Lesson in Tradecraft, 1971
—The Double Game, 1973
—The Cutout, 1976
—A Spy for All Seasons, 1979
—London’s Own, 1981
—A Glancing Blow, 1984
—Requiem for a Spy, 1986
—Render unto Caesar, 1989
Post–Cold War
—A Final Folly (last novel to feature Folly), 1991
—The Sinking of the Bellwether, 1994
—Strength in Numbers, 1997
—Duty, Honor, Betrayal, 2000
—The Tent of the Sheik, 2003
—Remote Control, 2007
Le Queux, William
—Strange Tales of a Nihilist, 1892
—Her Majesty’s Minister, 1901
—The Seven Secrets, 1903
—The Czar’s Spy, 1905
—The German Spy, 1914
—Sant of the Secret Service, 1918
—The Secret Telephone, 1920
—The Secret Formula, 1928
Littell, Robert
—The Defection of A. J. Lewinter, 1973
—The Debriefing, 1979
—The Sisters, 1986
MacInnes, Helen
—Above Suspicion, 1941
—Assignment in Brittany, 1942
—The Unconquerable, 1944
—Horizon, 1945
—The Venetian Affair, 1963
—The Double Image, 1966
—The Salzburg Connection, 1968
—Message from Málaga, 1971
—Agent in Place, 1976
—Ride a Pale Horse, 1984
Mackenzie, Compton (Sir Edward Montague Compton Mackenzie)
—The Three Couriers, 1929
Maugham, Somerset
—Ashenden, 1928
McCarry, Charles
—The Miernik Dossier, 1973
—The Tears of Autumn, 1974
—The Secret Lovers, 1977
—The Last Supper, 1983
O’Donnell, Peter
—Modesty Blaise, 1965
Oppenheim, Edward Phillips (Ministry of Information)
—The Great Secret, 1908
—The Double Traitor, 1915
—The Great Impersonation, 1920
—The Spy Paramount, 1934
—The Spymaster, 1938
Quammen, David
—The Zolta Configuration, 1983
—The Soul of Viktor Tronko, 1987
Semyonov, Yulian (USSR—originally published in Russian)
—Petrovka 38, 1965
—The Himmler Ploy, 1968 (aka Seventeen Moments of Spring)
Simmel, Johannes Mario (Austrian—originally published in German)
—It Can’t Always Be Caviar, 1959
—Dear Fatherland, 1965
—And Jimmy Went Up the Rainbow, 1970
Tyler, W. T. (Samuel J. Hamrick, U.S. Foreign Service officer)
—The Man Who Lost the War, 1980
—Rogue’s March, 1982
West, Elliot
—The Night Is a Time for Listening, 1966
Wheatley, Dennis (British War Office)
—The Secret War, 1937
—The Scarlet Impostor, 1940
—Faked Passports, 1940
—The Launching of Roger Brook, 1947
Wilkinson, J. Burke (State Department, NATO)
—Night of the Short Knives, 1964
—The Adventures of Geoffrey Mildmay, 1969
BY DATE
1821 —Cooper, The Spy
1892 —Le Queux, Strange Tales of a Nihilist
1901 —Kipling, Kim
—Le Queux, Her Majesty’s Minister
1903 —Childers, The Riddle of the Sands
—Le Queux, The Seven Secrets
1905 —Le Queux, The Czar’s Spy
1907 —Conrad, The Secret Agent
1908 —Oppenheim, The Great Secret
1911 —Conrad, Under Western Eyes
1914 —Le Queux, The German Spy
1915 —Buchan, The Thirty-nine Steps
—Oppenheim, The Double Traitor
1916 —Buchan, Greenmantle
1918 —Le Queux, Sant of the Secret Service
1919 —Buchan, Mr. Standfast
1920 —Le Queux, The Secret Telephone
—Oppenheim, The Great Impersonation
1922 —Buchan, Huntingtower
1924 —Buchan, The Three Hostages
1928 —Le Queux, The Secret Formula
—Maugham, Ashenden
1929 —Buchan, The Courts of the Morning
—Mackenzie, The Three Couriers
1934 —Oppenheim, The Spy Paramount
1936 —Ambler, The Dark Frontier
1937 —Ambler, Uncommon Danger (U.S.: Background to Danger)
—Wheatley, The Secret War
1938 —Ambler, Epitaph for a Spy
—Ambler, Cause for Alarm
—Oppenheim, The Spymaster
1939 —Ambler, The Mask of Dimitrios (U.S.: A Coffin for Dimitrios)
—Greene, The Confidential Agent
—Household, Rogue Male
1940 —Ambler, Journey into Fear
—Coles, Drink to Yesterday
—Coles, Pray Silence (U.S.: A Toast to Tomorrow)
—Wheatley, The Scarlet Impostor
—Wheatley, Faked Passports
1941 —Coles, They Tell No Tales
—MacInnes, Above Suspicion
1942 —Hunt, East of Farewell
—MacInnes, Assignment in Brittany
1943 —Coles, Without Lawful Authority
1944 —MacInnes, The Unconquerable
1945 —Coles, Green Hazard
—MacInnes, Horizon
1946 —Coles, The Fifth Man
1947 —Coles, Let the Tiger Die
—Coles, A Brother for Hugh (U.S.: With Intent to Deceive)
—Hunt, Stranger in Town
—Wheatley, The Launching of Roger Brook
1948 —Coles, Among Those Absent
—Hunt, Maelstrom
1949 —Coles, Diamonds to Amsterdam
—Coles, Not Negotiable
—Hunt, Bimini Run
1950 —Coles, Dangerous by Nature
1951 —Ambler, Judgment on Deltchev
—Coles, Now or Never
—Cory, Secret Ministry
1952 —Coles, Alias Uncle Hugo (U.K.: Operation Manhunt)
—Coles, Night Train to Paris
—Cory, This Traitor, Death
1953 —Cory, Dead Man Falling
—Fleming, Casino Royale
1954 —Cory, Intrigue
—Fleming, Live and Let Die
1955 —Cory, Height of Day
—Cory, High Requiem
—Fleming, Moonraker
—Greene, The Quiet American
1956 —Cory, Johnny Goes North
—Fleming, Diamonds Are Forever
1957 —Cory, Johnny Goes East
—Durrell, White Eagles over Serbia
—Fleming, From Russia, with Love
1958 —Cory, Johnny Goes West
—Fleming, Dr. No
—Greene, Our Man in Havana
1959 —Cory, Johnny Goes South
—Fleming, Goldfinger
—Gainham, The Stone Roses
—Simmel, It Can’t Always Be Caviar
1960 —Cory, The Head
—Fleming, For Your Eyes Only
—Hamilton, Death of a Citizen
—Hamilton, The Wrecking Crew
1961 —Fleming, Thunderball
—Hamilton, The Removers
—Le Carré, Call for the Dead
The Double Game Page 38
