Spies have been with us all the way back to the ancient world even, as evidence shows, back as far back as the court of the Babylonian King Hammurabi. He died in or around 1750 B.C.

Espionage was also prevalent among the Ancient Egyptians who had a secret service and in the Greek and Roman world.

This followed through the ages with even the great Elizabethan playwright, and a contemporary of Shakespeare, Christopher, or Kit, Marlowe being said to be a spy for the British government.

Spying only expanded through the ages as espionage became more entwined with governments and world events such as the colonial period, the Great Game in central and south Asia, the ensuing World War I and II and the subsequent Cold War.

Spy fiction is immensely popular among readers, and it saw its birth among novels such as the early espionage novel, Kim from 1901 by Rudyard Kipling, The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers (one of my personal favourites) published in 1903 and the thriller The Schirmer Inheritance of 1953 by Eric Ambler and the classic, The Quiet American of 1955 which is set in Vietnam and was written by Graham Greene.

They are three wonderful novels which are all well worth reading. Incidentally once you read The Quiet American and if you get a taste for Vietnam and the Far East then Up Country by Nelson DeMille is another favourite of mine.  

Who could mention the espionage novel without speaking of the spy books of Ian Fleming concerning the super-spy James Bond or the subsequent films by Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and his daughter Barbara Broccoli. The amazing film adaptions by the Broccolis hooked the masses into the world of espionage. My personal favourite Bonds being the iconic Sean Connery, Roger Moore and of course that master of his craft Daniel Craig.

Spy novels and espionage thrillers can be immensely exciting, convoluted, and informative. Many of the greatest fiction writers have been spies themselves.

Some of my favourite espionage fiction writers include G. K. Chesterton, Helen MacInnes, Ken Follett, John le Carré, Graham Greene, Len Deighton, Desmond Bagley, Robert Ludlum, Tom Clancy, Robert Littell, Julian Semyonov and Brad Thor.

Buy See Glass now for a roller-coaster ride through this espionage and political thriller. Available as an audiobook, e-book, paperback and large print book.

Photo by Killian Cartignies on Unsplash

Photo by David Sinclair on Unsplash