Political detective lovers all over the world know and appreciate the fascinating novels of Frederick Forsythe. By the strength of their impact, the books of the English writer surpass the works of many competitors. For a long time, Forsyth's personality was covered with an aura of mystery: there were persistent rumors that he was not a completely ordinary reporter, but a real "agent 007".
Born in england
English writer Frederick Forsyth was born on August 25, 1938 in Ashford, Kent, in the south-east of England. He received a very solid education: behind him is a privileged private school and the University of Granada (Spain).
Forsyth served in the Royal Air Force in the mid-1950s. Then he was a reporter, collaborated with Reuters. The future writer happened to be a correspondent in Paris, Berlin, Prague.
Little is known for certain about the personal life of Russian fans of a political detective. In one of his last interviews, Forsyth admitted that he had worked with the British intelligence services for two decades.
Researchers of the writer's work, not without reason, believe that before the publication of Forsyth's novels, they were carefully checked by curators from the secret department - for any unauthorized revelations in the books.
The beginning of the creative path
Forsyth came to literature by accident. The novel "The Day of the Jackal", which made him famous throughout the world, Frederick wrote "out of nothing to do." It so happened that at the age of thirty he was fired from his job. There was plenty of free time, so Forsyth decided to get down to romance. He had a writing experience: in 1969 the book of his essays "The Story of Biafra" was published. The book described his experiences as a reporter in Nigeria during the civil war.
It took a little over a month to create the "Day of the Jackal". It was necessary to find a publisher. It turned out to be difficult to do this. Editors rejected the manuscript 27 times until the writer was in luck. The book was published in August 1971 by the Viking Press publishing house, for which the work brought huge profits.
Looking back at that time, Forsyth admits that he did not have full confidence that the book would become popular, although he cherished secret hopes of success. Any writer can envy the success of this book. Jackal Day has been on the bestseller list for several years.
They tried to publish the novel in the USSR as well. However, the magazine "Prostor", which took up publication in 1974, stopped publishing excerpts after the second issue, promising only that "to be continued." It took a decade and a half to wait for the continuation. It so happened that the manuscript of the novel was put on the table of M. Suslov, the country's main ideologist, who saw sedition in the book - almost a call for the assassination of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee.
The secret of success
Forsyth's book, until then an unknown author, attracted the reader with a virtuoso plot and a masterfully depicted character, who should have been called an anti-hero, since he is a contract killer. The merit of the book was also the detail of the descriptions, which gave the book special reliability. Fosythe describes exactly the streets of Paris, the automatic rifle, the airport in Vienna.
Truth and fiction are gracefully intertwined in the novel. But the most important thing is that the author stepped over the basic rule of the detective: he did not hide the ending from the reader. All these features fueled interest in the work.
Forsyth decided to cement his literary success. Already in 1972, another novel was published from under his pen, which received the name "Dossier" Odessa ". The plot is based on Forsyth's memories of his work as a reporter in Paris, East Berlin and London.
In July 1974, the book "Dogs of War" was presented to the reader. She began to be considered the end of her writing career, since at one time Forsyth announced that he would create three novels and retire. The third novel tells the story of mercenaries who are faced with the task of overthrowing the government of one of the African countries.
Interestingly, in many ways the writer foresaw the future: a coup in the Seychelles in the early 80s was attempted by a team of mercenaries exactly as described in Forsythe's book.
After another success, the writer was silent for a long time. One got the impression that he had moved away from literature. But in 1979 the novel "The Devil's Alternative" was published. While nurturing this grandiose plan, the writer turned to the genre of political fiction.
A few years later the collection of Forsyte's stories "No Traces" saw the light, and a little later the novel "The Fourth Protocol" was published. In it, Frederick again turns to political fiction.
The total circulation of Forsyth's books was about 70 million copies. Most of his works have been translated into other languages.
In book reviews, Forsythe was often called a spy. But he never considered himself to be such. He never stole classified documents and did not pass the stolen data to the intelligence service. He was a simple messenger: he took documents and transported them to his homeland. The work of a journalist made it possible to do this without using the tricks used in spy novels.
Foresight is not only a writer, but also a reader. He reads constantly and a lot. He is interested in materials about political events. He knows the situation in the world well. The 80-year-old writer shows considerable interest in contemporary Russia. Among the topics of interest to Forsythe are war, crime stories, and the fight against the terrorist threat. But he tries not to take books in the form of thrillers.
