Frederick Forsyth

Frederick McCarthy Forsyth CBE (born 25 August 1938)

Frederick Forsyth
is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for
CBE
thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File,
The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's
Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger,
The Afghan, The Cobra and The Kill List. Forsyth's works
frequently appear on best-sellers lists and more than a dozen
of his titles have been adapted to film. By 2006, he had sold
more than 70 million books in more than 30 languages.[1]

Early life Forsyth in 2003

Born Frederick McCarthy Forsyth
The son of a furrier ,[2]Forsyth was born in Ashford, 25 August 1938
[3]
Kent. He was educated at Tonbridge School and later Ashford, Kent, England
attended the University of Granada in Spain.[2] Occupation Novelist
Nationality British
Career Period 1969–present
Genre Crime fiction,
Thriller
Military and journalism
Notable The Day of the Jackal
works
Before becoming a journalist, Forsyth completed his The Odessa File
National Service in the Royal Air Force as a pilot, for which The Dogs of War
he flew the de Havilland Vampire.[4][5] He joined Reuters
The Fourth Protocol
in 1961 and in 1965 the BBC, for which he served as an
assistant diplomatic correspondent. The Fist of God
No Comebacks
Forsyth reported on his early activities as a journalist. His
early career was spent covering French affairs and the Military career
attempted assassination of Charles de Gaulle. He had never Allegiance  United Kingdom
been to Black Africa until reporting on the Nigerian Civil
Service/  Royal Air Force
War between Biafra and Nigeria as a BBC
branch
correspondent.[6] He was there for the first six months of
1967, but few expected the war to last very long Years of 1956–1958
considering the poor weaponry and preparation of the service
Biafrans when compared to the British-armed Nigerians. Rank Pilot officer
After his six months were over, however, Forsyth — eager
to carry on reporting — approached the BBC to ask if he Service 5010968
could have more time there. He noted their response: number
Website
I was told quite bluntly, then, "it is not our www.frederickforsyth.co.uk (http://www.fre
policy to cover this war." This was a period derickforsyth.co.uk/)
when the Vietnam War was front-page
 headlines almost every day, regarded broadly as an A
British cock-up in Nigeria was not going to be covere
news management. So I made a private vow to mysel
it, but I'm going to cover it." So I quit and flew out the
two years.

He thus returned to Biafra as a freelance reporter, writing his first book, The Biafra Story, in 1969.[7]

In August 2015 Forsyth revealed that in Biafra he was an informant for MI6, a relationship that continued
for 20 years. According to Forsyth, he was not paid.[8]

He is an occasional radio broadcaster on political issues and has also written for newspapers throughout his
career, including a weekly page in the Daily Express. In 2003, he criticised "gay-bashers in the churches"
in The Guardian newspaper.[9] He has narrated several documentaries, including Jesus Christ Airlines,
Soldiers: A History of Men in Battle and I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon
Wiesenthal.

Writing

Forsyth decided to write a novel using similar research techniques

to those used in journalism. His first full-length novel, The Day of
the Jackal, was published in 1971. It became an international
bestseller and gained its author the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best
Novel. In this book, the Organisation Armée Secrète hires an
assassin to kill then–French President Charles de Gaulle. It was
made into a film of the same name.

In Forsyth's second full-length novel, The Odessa File (1972), a

reporter attempts to track down an ex-Nazi SS officer in
contemporary Germany. The reporter discovers him via the diary of
a Jewish Holocaust survivor who committed suicide earlier, but he
is being shielded by an organization that protects ex-Nazis, called
ODESSA. This book was later made into a movie with the same
name, starring Jon Voight, but there were substantial alterations. Forsyth in Finland during the
Many of the novel's readers assumed that ODESSA really existed, promotional tour for The Day of the
but historians disagree.[10] Jackal. He shows the bullet that
grazed his head in the Biafra War.
In The Dogs of War (1974) a British mining executive hires a group
of mercenaries to overthrow the government of an African country
so that he can install a puppet regime that will allow him cheap access to a colossal platinum-ore reserve.
This book was also adapted into a 1980 film starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger.

The Shepherd was an illustrated novella published in 1975. It tells of a nightmare journey by an RAF pilot
while flying home for Christmas in the late 1950s. His attempts to find a rational explanation for his
eventual rescue prove as troublesome as his experience.

Following this came The Devil's Alternative in 1979, which was set in 1982. In this book, the Soviet Union
faces a disastrous grain harvest. The US is ready to help for some political and military concessions. A
Politburo faction fight ensues. War is proposed as a solution. Ukrainian freedom fighters complicate the
situation later. In the end, a Swedish oil tanker built in Japan, a Russian airliner hijacked to West Berlin and
various governments find themselves involved.
In 1982, No Comebacks, a collection of ten short stories, was published. Some of these stories had been
written earlier. Many were set in the Republic of Ireland where Forsyth was living at the time. One of them,
There Are No Snakes in Ireland, won him a second Edgar Allan Poe Award, this time for best short story.

The Fourth Protocol was published in 1984 and involves renegade elements within the Soviet Union
attempting to plant a nuclear bomb near an American airbase in the UK, intending to influence the
upcoming British elections and lead to the election of an anti-NATO, anti-American, anti-nuclear, pro-
soviet Labour government. The 1987 adaptation starred Pierce Brosnan and Michael Caine. Almost all of
the political content was removed from the film.

Forsyth's tenth book came in 1989 with The Negotiator, in which the American President's son is
kidnapped and one man's job is to negotiate his release.

Two years later, in 1991, The Deceiver was published. It includes four short stories reviewing the career of
British secret agent Sam McCready. At the start of the novel, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State
(PUSS) of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office requires the Chief of the SIS to push Sam into early
retirement. The four stories are presented to a grievance committee in an attempt to allow Sam to stay on
active duty with the SIS.

In 1994, Forsyth published The Fist of God, a novel which concerns the first Gulf War, Project Babylon
and competition between Intelligence Agencies. Next, in 1996, he published Icon, about the rise of fascists
to power in post-Soviet Russia.

In 1999, Forsyth published The Phantom of Manhattan, a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. It was
intended as a departure from his usual genre; Forsyth's explanation was that "I had done mercenaries,
assassins, Nazis, murderers, terrorists, special forces soldiers, fighter pilots, you name it, and I got to think,
could I actually write about the human heart?"[11] However, it did not achieve the same success as his other
novels, and he subsequently returned to modern-day thrillers.

In 2001, The Veteran, another collection of short stories, was published, followed by Avenger, published in
September 2003, about a Canadian billionaire who hires a Vietnam veteran to bring his grandson's killer to
the US. Avenger was released as a film starring Sam Elliott and Timothy Hutton.[12]

The Afghan, published in August 2006, is an indirect sequel to The Fist of God. Set in the very near future,
the threat of a catastrophic assault on the West, discovered on a senior al-Qaeda member's computer,
compels the leaders of the US and the UK to attempt a desperate gambit — to substitute a seasoned British
operative, retired Col. Mike Martin (of The Fist of God), for an Afghan Taliban commander being held
prisoner at Guantánamo Bay.

The Cobra, published in 2010, features some of the characters previously featured in Avenger, and has as
its subject an attempt to destroy the world trade in cocaine.

On 20 August 2013, his novel The Kill List was published. It was announced earlier in June that year that
Rupert Sanders would be directing a film version of the story.[13]

On 10 September 2015, Forsyth's autobiography, The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue, was published.
In January 2018 it was announced that Forsyth would publish his eighteenth novel, a thriller about
computer hackers, inspired by the Lauri Love and Gary McKinnon stories.[14] The Fox was published in
electronic format in October 2018, and released in hardcover in November. The Fox is an espionage thriller
about an autistic but gifted hacker.

Awards
On 16 February 2012 the Crime Writers Association announced that Forsyth had won its Cartier Diamond
Dagger award in recognition of his body of work.[15]

Forsyth was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1997 New Year
Honours list for services to literature.[16]

Other appearances
In September 2005, Forsyth appeared on the ITV gameshow Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and raised
£250,000 for charity. He offered the answer for the £500,000 question but, despite being correct, he
decided to take £250,000. On 8 February 2007, Forsyth appeared on BBC's political panel show Question
Time; on it, he expressed scepticism on the subject of anthropogenic climate change. On 26 March 2008, he
also appeared on BBC's The One Show. On 17 June 2008, Forsyth was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live
Midday News in relation to the restoration of the Military Covenant. On 2 February 2015, he appeared on
Eggheads as a member of Rewarding Talent.

Political views
Forsyth is a Eurosceptic Conservative. He has been Patron of The People's Book Prize since 2010. He is
Patron of Better Off Out, an organisation calling for Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, and he
supports Brexit.[17] In 2003, he was awarded the One of Us Award from the Conservative Way Forward
group for his services to the Conservative movement in Britain. He is also a patron of the Young Britons'
Foundation.

In 2005, he opposed Kenneth Clarke's candidacy for the leadership of the Conservative Party, calling
Clarke's record in government "unrivalled; a record of failure which at every level has never been
matched". Instead, he endorsed and donated money to David Davis's campaign. In the run-up to the 2005
United Kingdom general election, Forsyth called for the impeachment of Tony Blair over the 2003 invasion
of Iraq and lent his support to anti-war campaigner Reg Keys who stood in Blair's constituency of
Sedgefield.[18]

Personal life
Forsyth has been married twice, first to former model Carole Cunningham between 1973 and 1988, with
whom he had two sons Stuart and Shane, and then to Sandy Molloy, since 1994.[19][20] He also had a
relationship with actress Faye Dunaway.[21] Forsyth previously resided in a manor house in Hertfordshire
with his family before moving to Buckinghamshire in 2010.[22][23][24]
In 2016, he said he was giving up writing thrillers because his wife had told him he was too old to travel to
dangerous places.[25]

Bibliography
Works by Frederick Forsyth
Title Year Notes

Non-fiction. 1977 edition titled The Biafra Story: The Making of an African
The Biafra Story 1969
Legend.

The Day of the Jackal 1971 Adapted into the 1973 film of the same name.
The Odessa File 1972 Adapted into the 1974 film of the same name.

The Dogs of War 1974 Adapted into the 1980 film of the same name.

Illustrated short story. Chris Foss illustrated the UK edition. American edition
The Shepherd 1975
published in 1976: Lou Feck illustrated this edition.
The Devil's Alternative 1979 American edition published in 1980.

Emeka 1982 Biography of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. Revised in 1991.

No Comebacks 1982 Collection consisting of ten short stories.

The Fourth Protocol 1984 Adapted into the 1987 film of the same name.

The Negotiator 1989

The Deceiver 1991

Compiled, edited and introduced by Forsyth. Features his 1975 story "The
Great Flying Stories 1991
Shepherd" and "The Black Aeroplane"

An audiobook of three short stories from No Comebacks, read by Edward de

Sharp Practice 1992
Souza
The Fist of God 1994

Icon 1996 Adapted into 2005 television film.

The Phantom of
1999 Partly adapted into the 2010 romantic musical Love Never Dies.
Manhattan
Collection consisting of five short stories: "The Veteran", "The Art of the
The Veteran 2001
Matter", "The Miracle", "The Citizen", and "Whispering Wind".

Avenger 2003 Adapted into 2006 television film.

The Afghan 2006 Characters from The Fist of God reappear.

The Cobra 2010

The Kill List 2013

The Outsider: My Life

2015 Autobiography. Published in September 2015.
in Intrigue
The Fox 2018

The following four works listed above are not fictional novels or novellas: The Biafra Story (1969), Emeka
(1982), Great Flying Stories (1991) and The Outsider (2015).

Filmography
As writer only (except for Soldiers, as presenter)

Film

Year Title Notes

1973 The Day of the Jackal Adapted from The Day of the Jackal

1974 The Odessa File Adapted from The Odessa File

1980 The Dogs of War Adapted from The Dogs of War

1987 The Fourth Protocol Adapted from The Fourth Protocol

1997 The Jackal Based on the 1973 film

Television

Year Title Notes

1973 Money with Menaces TV play; one of 10 short stories in No Comebacks

1980 Cry of the Innocent TV film

1984 Two by Forsyth 2 episodes: "Privilege" and "A Careful Man"

1985 Soldiers 13 episodes; as presenter

1989–90 Frederick Forsyth Presents 6 episodes; as writer and presenter

1996 Code Name: Wolverine TV film

2005 Icon TV film; adapted from Icon

2006 Avenger TV film; adapted from Avenger

Theatre

Year Title Notes

2010 Love Never Dies West End; partially adapted from The Phantom of Manhattan

Video

Year Title Notes

2012 Love Never Dies Direct-to-video

Video games

Year Title Notes

1985 The Fourth Protocol Adapted from The Fourth Protocol

Music videos
 Year Title Artist

2016 "Fallen Soldier" Melissa Alder

Music
Forsyth wrote lyrics to a lament titled "Fallen Soldier", with music by Gareth Ellis Williams, which was
released as a single by Royal Opera House soprano Melissa Alder in 2016.[26]

See also
List of bestselling novels in the United States

References
1. Leeman, Sue (3 September 2006). "Forsyth Looks at World of Al-Qaida" (https://news.googl
e.com/newspapers?nid=2199&dat=20060903&id=XWxUAAAAIBAJ&pg=6521,848695&hl=
en). Associated Press. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
2. Forsyth, Frederick (10 September 2015). The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue. Bantam Press.
p. 84. ISBN 9780593075401.
3. "Index entry" (http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=DBsSzgWJki6Gvumd8%2F
oqeQ&scan=1). FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
4. "No. 40902" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/40902/supplement/5846). The
London Gazette (Supplement). 16 October 1956. p. 5846.
5. "No. 41165" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/41165/supplement/5169). The
London Gazette (Supplement). 3 September 1957. p. 5169.
6. Nigeria War Against Biafra, 1967–70, Part 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7qQdZ9n
zbI). BBC (documentary) – via Njenje Media TV; YouTube.
7. "Frederick Forsyth" (http://www.biblio.com/authors/27/Frederick_Forsyth_Biography.html).
Biblio (biography). Retrieved 1 December 2007.
8. BBC article "Frederick Forsyth reveals MI6 spying past" (https://www.bbc.com/news/entertai
nment-arts-34101822)
9. Norman, Matthew (30 June 2003). "Diary, 26 June 2003" (https://www.theguardian.com/politi
cs/2003/jun/26/1). The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
10. Walters, Guy (2010). Hunting Evil: The Nazi War Criminals Who Escaped and the Quest to
Bring Them to Justice (https://books.google.com/books?id=X5EgykND42kC&pg=PA443).
Crown Publishing Group. pp. 139, 156. ISBN 9780307592484.
11. King, Larry, Live Weekend (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0004/15/lklw.00.html)
(transcript) (Interview), CNN.
12. Avenger (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473445/) at IMDb
13. Han, Angie (20 June 2013), "Rupert Sanders to Direct Frederick Forsyth Adaptation 'The Kill
List' " (http://www.slashfilm.com/rupert-sanders-to-direct-frederick-forsyth-adaptation-the-kill-l
ist/), Slash film.
14. Cowdrey, Katherine (9 January 2018): Forsyth to release hacking thriller this autumn. (http
s://www.thebookseller.com/news/transworld-publish-new-forsyth-novel-autumn-704846) The
Bookseller.com. URL accessed 19 April 2018.
15. "Frederick Forsyth wins the CWA Diamond Dagger" (https://web.archive.org/web/20121020
210305/http://www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers/2012/diamond.html). CWA Diamond Dagger
Awards. Crime Writers Association (UK). Archived from the original (http://www.thecwa.co.u
k/daggers/2012/diamond.html) on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
16. "No. 54625" (https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/54625/supplement/8). The London
Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1996. p. 8.
17. Frederick Forsyth (10 March 2016). "The EU was never meant to be a democracy, says
Frederick Forsyth" (https://www.express.co.uk/comment/columnists/frederick-forsyth/651377/
Brexit-referendum-EU-never-meant-to-be-democracy-says-Frederick-Forsyth). Daily
Express.
18. "Biogs.com: Reliable Biographies" (https://www.biogs.com/). Biogs. Retrieved 25 February
2021.
19. "Forsyth, Frederick 1938- | Encyclopedia.com" (https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educatio
nal-magazines/forsyth-frederick-1938). www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 25 February
2021.
20. https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph-saturday/20190112/282016148484672
(https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph-saturday/20190112/28201614848467
2). Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty
|title= (help)
21. New York Daily News, 25 August 1987.
22. BBC. "Hertfordshire Literary Map" (https://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/content/articles/200
6/01/31/hertfordshire_literary_map_feature.shtml). www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
23. "Frederick Forsyth" (https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/100/1000661/frederick-forsyth.html?t
ab=penguin-biography). www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
24. Redwood, Fred (12 February 2017). "Take a peek inside spy-to-writer Frederick Forsyth's
fortress" (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buy/take-peek-inside-spy-to-writer-frederick-fo
rsyths-fortress/). The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0307-1235).
Archived (https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/bu
y/take-peek-inside-spy-to-writer-frederick-forsyths-fortress/) from the original on 12 January
2022. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
25. "Frederick Forsyth to stop writing thrillers" (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/14/
frederick-forsyth-to-stop-writing-thrillers). TheGuardian.com. 14 September 2016. Retrieved
16 September 2016.
26. Forsyth's Fallen soldier (https://www.fallen-soldier.comFrederick)

External links
Frederick Forsyth official website (http://www.frederickforsyth.co.uk/)
Frederick Forsyth (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0287046/) at IMDb
"They Take The Mind, and What Emerges is Just Tapioca Pudding" (http://www.spiegel.de/in
ternational/spiegel/0,1518,457074,00.html), Der Spiegel (interview), DE, 29 December
2006.

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