Ever wondered what it’s like to be a real-life MI6 agent covering conflict in places like Rhodesia and East Germany, passing secret information back to British Intelligence?
Find out from former agent turned best-selling spy thriller novelist, The Day of the Jackal writer Fredrick Forsyth, in a rare public interview at Brunel University London.
Writers in British Intelligence: Frederick Forsyth in Conversation will see investigative journalist Dr Paul Lashmar grill the author on his life including rumours MI6 fed him suggested plotlines.
“He’s one of the most exciting and influential writers of his generation,” said the event’s organiser, Prof Jago Morrison, contemporary literature specialist at Brunel.
“Maybe his most iconic book is his first, The Day of the Jackal. He pioneered a new kind of thriller – fast-paced, technically detailed and steeped in current events, giving his worldwide readership insights into previously hidden worlds," Prof Morrison said. "He is also famous for having brought the horrific realities of the Biafran war to worldwide attention – including at least two million children who died of starvation – from within Biafra itself.”
In what promises to be a riveting interview, the writer will reveal how access to the world of international espionage inspired his 13 novels, including The Odessa File, The Afghan and The Kill List.
From his early RAF days to dodging bullets in Biafra and Guinea-Bissau, to being arrested by the Stasi, join the man who 'broke the thriller writing mould’.
The free event is at 6:30pm, Wednesday 26 October in Brunel University London’s Eastern Gateway building. Register for a ticket here.
Image: John Swannell