THE IPCRESS FILE by Deighton, Len [Leonard Cyril] - [1962]

London: Hodder & Stoughton, [1962]. First edition. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Now housed in a custom clamshell box. A lovely copy. (28465). Octavo, boards. Inscribed and signed by Deighton on the title page. The author's first book and first spy novel. This novel introduces the nameless spy (which in the novels uses many names and aliases) which was given the name of Harry Palmer in a series of films. "In a succession of stylish, witty, well-crafted novels beginning with The Ipcress File in 1962, Len Deighton has established himself as a master of modern spy fiction and one of the most innovative writers in the short but eventful history of the form." - Pederson (ed.): St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers (4th ed.), pp. 289. Produced as a film in 1965 with Michael Caine in the lead role. Hubin p. 224. McCormick and Fletcher, Spy Fiction: A Connoisseur's Guide, pp. 72-75. Smith and White: Cloak and Dagger Fiction (3rd ed.) p. 194.