Authors:
Gavin Lyall
Geoffrey Household
John Buchan
Kingsley Amis
Neglected Authors
While watching the movie The Tamarind Seed on YouTube, I noticed the character Judith Farrow, played by Julie Andrews, reading the book entitled The Riverside Villas Murder, published in hardback by Jonathan Cape in 1973 under a dust jacket designed by illustrator and children's author Ian Beck. So, I googled it and found the author enjoyed the Bond books, and other spy novels from authors like Gavin Lyall and Geoffrey Household.
I had never heard of Lyall or Household, but was familiar with the man/hunter/hunted theme. Gavin Lyall's most recognized, commercially successful books were Midnight Plus One (the movie script sold to Steve McQueen) and The Most Dangerous Game. Lyall's also wrote a few a Le Carré-esque novels featuring Major Harry Maxim of
the SAS. The BBC filmed the first book, entitled, The Secret Servant. Later he wrote another series, starting with Spy's Honour, set just before the First World War. These stories may remind one of the style of Scottish author John Buchan. Though Buchan wrote a great deal, his most recognizable contribution may be The 39 Steps.
