Frederick Forsyth

For the Canadian politician, seeFrederick Forsyth Pardee.

Frederick Forsyth CBE
Forsyth in 2003
Born	Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (1938-08-25)25 August 1938 Ashford,Kent,England
Occupation	Novelist
Period	1969–present
Genre	Crime fiction, Thriller
Notable works	The Day of the Jackal The Odessa File The Dogs of War The Fourth Protocol The Fist of God No Comebacks
Military career
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1956–1958
Rank	Pilot officer
Service number	5010968
Website
www.frederickforsyth.co.uk

Frederick McCarthy ForsythCBE(born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist andjournalist.He is best known for thrillers such asThe 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 CobraandThe 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.

Career

Military and journalism

Before becoming a journalist, Forsyth completed hisNational Servicein theRoyal Air Forceas a pilot, for which he flew thede Havilland Vampire.He joinedReutersin 1961 and in 1965 theBBC,for which he served as an assistant diplomatic correspondent.

Forsyth reported on his early activities as a journalist. His early career was spent covering French affairs and the attempted assassination ofCharles de Gaulle.He had never been to Africa until reporting on theNigerian Civil WarbetweenBiafraandNigeriaas a BBC correspondent. He was there for the first six months of 1967, but few expected the war to last very long considering the poor weaponry and preparation of the Biafrans when compared to the British-armed Nigerians. After his six months were over, however, Forsyth — eager to carry on reporting — approached the BBC to ask if he could have more time there. He noted their response:

I was told quite bluntly, then, "it is not our policy to cover this war". This was a period when the Vietnam War was front-page headlines almost every day, regarded broadly as an American cock-up, and this particularly British cock-up in Nigeria was not going to be covered. I smelt news management. I don't like news management. So I made a private vow to myself: "you may, gentlemen, not be covering it, but I'm going to cover it". So I quit and flew out there, and stayed there for most of the next two years.

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

In August 2015 Forsyth revealed that in Biafra he was an informant forMI6,a relationship that continued for 20 years. According to Forsyth, he was not paid.

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

Writing

Forsyth inFinlandduring the promotional tour forThe Day of the Jackal.He shows the bullet that grazed his head in theBiafra War.

According to Forsyth, his turn to writing fiction was born of financial need; he did not think himself cut out to be a novelist. As a boy, he said, he wanted to be "a fighter jock," and when he traded his career in the RAF for journalism, it was "to see the world" as a foreign and war correspondent. As for becoming a novelist, he confessed "I never wanted to be a writer," but wrote his first full-length novel,The Day of the Jackal,because he was "skint, stony broke."He applied similar research techniques to those used in journalism. Published in 1971, the book became an international bestseller and gained its author theEdgar Allan Poe Awardfor Best Novel. In this story, theOrganisation armée secrètehires an assassin to kill then–French PresidentCharles de Gaulle.It was made into afilm of the same name.

In Forsyth's second full-length novel,The Odessa File(1972), a reporter attempts to track down an ex-NaziSSofficer 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, calledODESSA.This book was later made into amovie with the same name,starringJon Voight,but there were substantial alterations. Many of the novel's readers assumed that ODESSA really existed, but historians disagree.

InThe 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 a1980 filmstarringChristopher WalkenandTom Berenger.

The Shepherdwas 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 cameThe Devil's Alternativein 1979, which was set in 1982. In this book, theSoviet Unionfaces 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.Ukrainianfreedom fighters complicate the situation later. In the end, a Swedish oil tanker built in Japan, a Russian airliner hijacked toWest Berlinand 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 Protocolwas published in 1984 and involves renegade elements within theSoviet Unionattempting to plant an atomic bomb near an American airbase in the UK, intending to influence the upcomingBritish electionsand lead to the election of an anti-NATO,anti-American, anti-nuclear, pro-sovietLabourgovernment. The1987 adaptationstarredPierce BrosnanandMichael Caine.Almost all of the political content was removed from the film.

Forsyth's tenth book came in 1989 withThe 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 Deceiverwas 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 publishedThe Fist of God,a novel which concerns the firstGulf War,Project Babylonand competition betweenIntelligence Agencies.Next, in 1996, he publishedIcon,about the rise of fascists to power inpost-Soviet Russia.

In 1999, Forsyth publishedThe Phantom of Manhattan,a sequel toThe 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?"However, it did not achieve the same success as his other novels, and he subsequently returned to modern-daythrillers.

In 2001,The Veteran,another collection of short stories, was published, followed byAvenger,published in September 2003, about a Canadian billionaire who hires aVietnam veteranto bring his grandson's killer to the US.Avengerwas released as a film starring Sam Elliott and Timothy Hutton.

The Afghan,published in August 2006, is an indirect sequel toThe 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 (ofThe 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 inAvenger,and has as its subject an attempt to destroy the world trade incocaine.

On 20 August 2013, his novelThe Kill Listwas published. It was announced earlier in June that year thatRupert Sanderswould be directing a film version of the story.

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 theLauri LoveandGary McKinnonstories.The Foxwas published in electronic format in October 2018, and released in hardcover in November.The Foxis an espionage thriller about an autistic but gifted hacker.

Awards

On 16 February 2012 theCrime Writers Associationannounced that Forsyth had won itsCartier Diamond Daggeraward in recognition of his body of work.

Forsyth was appointed a Commander of theOrder of the British Empire(CBE) in the1997 New Year Honourslist for services to literature.

Other appearances

In September 2005, Forsyth appeared on theITVgameshowWho Wants To Be A Millionaire?and raised £250,000 for charity. He offered the answer to 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 showQuestion Time;on it, he expressedscepticism on the subject of anthropogenic climate change.On 26 March 2008, he also appeared on BBC'sThe One Show.On 17 June 2008, Forsyth was interviewed on BBCRadio 5 LiveMidday News in relation to the restoration of theMilitary Covenant.On 2 February 2015, he appeared onEggheadsas a member of Rewarding Talent.

Political views

Forsyth is aEuroscepticConservative.He has been Patron of The People's Book Prize since 2010. He is Patron ofBetter Off Out,an organisation calling for Britain's withdrawal from theEuropean Union,and he supportsBrexit.In 2003, he was awarded the One of Us Award from theConservative Way Forwardgroup for his services to the Conservative movement in Britain. He is also a patron of theYoung Britons' Foundation.

In 2005, he opposedKenneth Clarke's candidacy forthe 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 toDavid Davis's campaign. In the run-up to the2005 general election,Forsyth called for the impeachment ofTony Blairover the2003 invasion of Iraqand lent his support to anti-war campaignerReg Keyswho stood in Blair's constituency ofSedgefield.

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.He also had a relationship with actressFaye Dunaway.Forsyth previously resided in a manor house inHertfordshirewith his family before moving toBuckinghamshirein 2010.

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.

Bibliography

Works by Frederick Forsyth

Title	Year	Notes
The Biafra Story	1969	Non-fiction. 1977 edition titledThe Biafra Story: The Making of an African Legend.
The Day of the Jackal	1971	Adapted into the1973 film of the same name.
The Odessa File	1972	Adapted into the1974 film of the same name.
The Dogs of War	1974	Adapted into the1980 film of the same name.
The Shepherd	1975	Illustrated short story. Chris Foss illustrated the UK edition. American edition published in 1976: Lou Feck illustrated this edition.
The Devil's Alternative	1979	American edition published in 1980.
Emeka	1982	Biography ofC. Odumegwu Ojukwu,President ofBiafra.Revised in 1991.
No Comebacks	1982	Collection consisting of ten short stories.
The Fourth Protocol	1984	Adapted into the1987 film of the same name.
The Negotiator	1989
The Deceiver	1991
Great Flying Stories	1991	Compiled, edited and introduced by Forsyth. Features his 1975 story "The Shepherd" and "The Black Aeroplane"
Sharp Practice	1992	An audiobook of three short stories fromNo Comebacks,read byEdward de Souza
The Fist of God	1994
Icon	1996	Adapted into2005 television film.
The Phantom of Manhattan	1999	Partly adapted into the 2010 romantic musicalLove Never Dies.
The Veteran	2001	Collection consisting of five short stories: "The Veteran", "The Art of the Matter", "The Miracle", "The Citizen", and "Whispering Wind".
Avenger	2003	Adapted into2006 television film.
The Afghan	2006	Characters from The Fist of God reappear.
The Cobra	2010
The Kill List	2013
The Outsider: My Life in Intrigue	2015	Autobiography. Published in September 2015.
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) andThe Outsider(2015).

Filmography

As writer only (except forSoldiers,as presenter)

Film

Year	Title	Notes
1973	The Day of the Jackal	Adapted fromThe Day of the Jackal
1974	The Odessa File	Adapted fromThe Odessa File
1980	The Dogs of War	Adapted fromThe Dogs of War
1987	The Fourth Protocol	Adapted fromThe Fourth Protocol
1997	The Jackal	Based on the 1973 film
2023	The Shepherd	Adapted fromThe Shepherd

Television

Year	Title	Notes
1973	Money with Menaces	TV play; one of 10 short stories inNo 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 fromIcon
2006	Avenger	TV film; adapted fromAvenger

Theatre

Year	Title	Notes
2010	Love Never Dies	West End;partially adapted fromThe Phantom of Manhattan

Video

Year	Title	Notes
2012	Love Never Dies	Direct-to-video

Video games

Year	Title	Notes
1985	The Fourth Protocol	Adapted fromThe 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 byRoyal Opera Housesoprano Melissa Alder in 2016.

See also

• List of bestselling novels in the United States

External links

• Frederick Forsyth official website
• Frederick ForsythatIMDb
• "They Take The Mind, and What Emerges is Just Tapioca Pudding",Der Spiegel(interview),DE,29 December 2006.