British and American Spy Fiction back

Relevant link: http://www.c3.hu/scripta/beszelo/99/03/16elber.htm

ungvari on elbert 1998

The course is a series of lectures introducing the student to the origins and development of espionage fiction. We shall trace elements of the genre in some ancient writings, including the Bible and Homer, and then have a look at its modern beginnings around World War I, and flourishing in the Cold War period. Apart from historical investigations, we shall try to feel some of the possibilities before spy fiction now that those decades of international confrontation seem to be history. The texts considered will include passages from the Bible, the Iliad (in Hungarian), Herodotus, Aeneid, Anonymus; Conan Doyle [1] [2] [3]the authors to be discussed Emmuska Orczy, John Buchan, W.S. Maugham, Graham Greene, Ian Fleming [Bond], Frederick Forsyth, Len Deighton, and John le Carré [link1] [interview] [Smiley] [Smiley2]. The course will be closed with an oral examination (for 4th- and 5th-year participants, after submitting a short [7.500 characters] written discussion of an espionage narrative)
Required readings will include the following novels (some items borrowable from NovákGy):

  1. E. Orczy: The Scarlet Pimpernel
  2. Buchan: Thirty-Nine Steps (or here) or: E. Childers: The Riddle of the Sands
  3. W.S. Maugham: Collected Short Stories. Volume 3 (Ashenden)
  4. G. Greene: Our Man in Havana (+ one more for 4-5th-year students)
  5. J. Conrad: The Secret Agent (or here) or Cooper: The Spy (vol.1) (vol.2)or something by E. Ambler:
  6. Fleming: Casino Royale (+ one more for 4-5th-year students)
  7. J. Le Carré: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold;
  8. ————: The Tailor of Panama (+ one more for 4-5th-year students, preferably The Perfect Spy)
  9. F. Forsyth: The Day of the Jackal
  10. L. Deighton: one of the Berlin-Mexico-London trilogy
  11. Guljaski, Andrej: A 07-es ügynök. Fordította Csuka Zoltán. Budapest: Kossuth, 1967.
  12. Tom Clancy: The Cardinal of the Kremlin.

It will be possible, indeed, advisable, to view spy-films in connection with the material discussed on Monday evenings from 6 p.m. (in the American Seminar). (Shows may start earlier, at 5:45, if convenient for the participants.) The film titles will include:

Feb 12 — The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (D: Martin RITT, 1965)
Feb 19 — The Looking Glass War (D: Frank R. PIERSON, 1970)
Feb 26 — The Ipcress File (D: Sidney J. Furie, 1965)
Mar 5&12 — Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy (D: John IRVIN; Starring Sir Alec GUINNESS, 1980)
Mar 19 & 26 — Smiley's People (D: Simon LANGTON; Starring Sir Alec GUINNESS, 1982)
——and four 007 films:
Apr 2 — Dr. No (D: Terence YOUNG, starring Sean CONNERY, 1962)
Apr 23 — Moonraker (D: Lewis GILBERT, starring Roger MOORE, 1979),
Apr 30 — The Living Daylights, (D: John GLEN, starring Timothy DALTON, 1987),
May 7 — Goldeneye, (D: Martin CAMPBELL, starring Pierce BROSNAN, 1995)

 

Secondary literature will include:
(available from Novák Gy)
  1. Szun-ci: "A hadviselés törvényei (ping-fa)". In: Tőkei Ferenc (szerk.): Kínai filozófia. Ókor. Második kötet. Szöveggyűjtemény (Budapest: Akadémiai, 1964), pp. 361-391. (Especially Chapter 13, on the use of spies, pp. 389-391. (Lionel Giles' translation)
  2. On Baroness Orcy: Obituary in The Times | Entry in Világirodalmi Lexikon
  3. J. Atkins: The British Spy Novel. Styles in Treachery. London: John Calder, 1984. In bound volume: "The Beginning" pp. 21-30.; "Ian Fleming", "James Bond", "The Acceptance of Torture", pp. 72-103.; "The Organization of Fictional Espionage" pp. 104-110; "Fictional Espionage in the Field" pp. 111-118.; "The Great Game" pp. 130-139.; "The Spy and His Ethics" pp. 140-152.; "Motives" pp. 153-163.; "The Enemy", "Loyalties" pp. 200-219.; "Spies and the Class War" pp. 220-231.; "Directions" pp. 245-264.; "Satire and Sex" pp. 265-274.
  4. C. Bloom (ed): Spy Thrillers. From Buchan to le Carré. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1990. In bound volume: C. Bloom: "The Spy Thriller: A Genre Under Cover?" pp. 1-11.; Woolf: "Ian Fleming's Enigmas and Variations" pp. 86-99.; Simons: "Spy Fiction and the Vieatnam War" pp.185-199.
  5. J.G. Cawelti-B.A. Rosenberg: The Spy Story. Chicago, London: The University of Chicago Press, 1987. In bound volume: 1. "The Appeal of Clandestinity" pp. 11-33.; 2. "The Spy Story's Story" A Brief History" pp. 34-54.; "The Forms of the Spy Novel" pp. 55-78.; "Bonded Excitement: Ian Fleming" pp. 125-155.; "Appendix: Motif and Type Index of the Spy Story" pp. 219-220.
  6. M. Denning: Cover Stories. Narrative and Ideology in the British Spy Thriller. London: Routledge, 1987. In bound volume: "Thrillers, Shockers, Spy Novels" pp. 7-36.; "Licensed to Look" pp. 91-113.; "Looking-Glass Wars" pp. 114-141.; "Conclusion" pp. 142-163.
  7. Eco, Umberto: The Role of the Reader. Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts. Bloomington, IN and London: Indiana University Press, 1979. (In University Library)
  8. B. Merry: The Anatomy of the Spy Thriller. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 1977. In bound volume: "Introduction", "Chapter One" pp. 1-45.; "Chapter Six" pp. 198-235.
  9. L.O. Sauerberg: Secret Agents in Fiction. Ian Fleming, John le Carré and Len Deighton. London: Macmillan, 1984. In bound volume: "Secret-Agent Fiction: A Formula Genre" pp. 3-24.; "Plot" pp. 75-100.; "Roles and Characters" pp. 101-141.; "Ian Fleming: Anachronism and Adventure" pp. 150-169.
  10. K. Amis: The James Bond Dossier. London: Pan, 1967 [1965]. In bound volume: "The Man Who Is Only A Silhouette", "Sit Down, 007", "Going Slowly to Pieces" pp.11-43.; "No Woman Had Ever Held This Man", "Beautiful Firm Breasts" pp. 44-62.; "A Glint of Red", "Damnably Clear Grey Eyes" pp. 63-77.; "Warm, Dry Handshakes", "We May Be Slow, But…" pp. 78-95.; "Elegant Scene", "The Schertel-Sachsenberg System" pp. 96-116.; "Y*b**nna mat!", "Upas Tree" pp. 117-134.; "The Beautiful Red and Black Fish" pp. 135-144.; "Reference Guide" pp. 154-157.
  11. T. Bennett-J. Woolacott (eds.): Bond and Beyond. The Political Career of a Popular Hero. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1987. In bound volume: "The Bond-Phenomenon", "The Moments of Bond" pp. 11-43.; "Reading Bond" pp. 44-92.; "Bonded Ideologies" pp. 93-142. "The Transforming of James Bond" pp. 143-173.
  12. O. Buono-U. Eco: The Bond Affair. London: Macdonald, 1965. In bound volume: Tournabuoni: "A Popular Phenomenon" pp. 13-34.; Eco: "Narrative Structures in Fleming" pp. 35-75.; Calisi: "Myths and and History in the Epic of James Bond" pp. 76-85.;Colombo: "Bond's Women" pp. 86-102.; Antonioni: "The Psycholanalysis of 007" pp. 103-121.; Zorzoli: "Technology in the World of James Bond" pp. 122-132.; Barbato: "The Credible and the Incredible in the Films of 007" pp. 133-145.
  13. O.F. Snelling: 007 James Bond: A Report. New York: New American Library, 1965. In bound volume: "His Predecessors" pp. 11-18.; "His Image" pp. 19-42.; "His Women" pp. 43-104.; "His Adversaries" pp. 108-148.; "His Future" pp. 149-160.
  14. J. Costello: Mask of Treachery. Spies, Lies and Betrayal. New York: Warner, 1990.
  15. D. Lewis: Sexspionage. The Exploitation of Sex by Soviet Intelligence. London: Heinrich Hanau, 1977 [1976].
  16. J. Piekalkiewicz: A kémkedés világtörténete. 1. kötet. Budapest: Zrínyi, 1997.
  17. Ónody György: A hírszerzés története. Ókor, középkor, újkor. Budapest: Útmutató Kiadó, 1998.
  18. Ch. Pincher: Their Trade is Treachery. London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1981.
  19. P. Wright: Spycatcher. Richmond, Australia: Heinemann, 1987.
  20. Patkó Imre: Kim Philby csendes háborúja. Budapest: Kossuth-Zrínyi, 1969.
  21. C. Connolly: "Bond Strikes Camp." In: Previous Convictions (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1963), 354-371. In bound volume.
  22. A.S. Boyd: The Devil with James Bond! Richmond, VA: John Knox, 1967.
  23. Büky Barna: "James Bond, az új regényhős." In: Új Látóhatár (München) VIII. 6. (1965. November-December), 568-570.
  24. Hirsch Tibor: A James Bond mítosz avagy a 007-es ügynök kalandos története. Budapest: Szabad Tér, 1989.
  25. B. Lenz: Factifiction. Agentenspiele wie in der Realität. Wirklichkeitanspruch und -gehalt des Agentenromans. Heidelberg: Carl Winter, 1987.
  26. D. McCormick: Who's Who in Spy Fiction. New York: Taplinger, 1977.
  27. M.J. Smith: Cloak and Dagger Fiction. An Annotated Guide to Spy Thrillers. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 1982.
  28. G. Grella: "James Bond: Culture Hero" In: ?? In bound volume.

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