Penguin Modern Classics
1272 books in this series
Violent Ward
If America is a lunatic asylum, then California is the Violent Ward.
Mickey Murphy is a criminal lawyer with an office in LA's downtown low-rent district, an ex-wife who bleeds him for money and 'clients who would plead the Fifth Amendment if they could count that high'. To make matters worse, Mickey finds himself embroiled against his wishes in an elaborate and clever scam that's going askew, and being interrogated by the LAPD about a brutal murder.
With an observant eye and ear for the California 'scene', Deighton once again uses his brilliant storytelling skills to propel an exciting and suspenseful narrative at breakneck speed to a dramatic climax in a riot-torn city.
Mickey Murphy is a criminal lawyer with an office in LA's downtown low-rent district, an ex-wife who bleeds him for money and 'clients who would plead the Fifth Amendment if they could count that high'. To make matters worse, Mickey finds himself embroiled against his wishes in an elaborate and clever scam that's going askew, and being interrogated by the LAPD about a brutal murder.
With an observant eye and ear for the California 'scene', Deighton once again uses his brilliant storytelling skills to propel an exciting and suspenseful narrative at breakneck speed to a dramatic climax in a riot-torn city.
City of Gold
January 1942. Rommel's seemingly invincible Afrika Korps is at the gates of Egypt - perhaps soon to threaten Cairo itself.
And Rommel has a spy in the city - a source so well-informed that the German commander knows in advance every movement of the allied forces.
Amongst the teeming streets and bazaars, the British, led by Major Albert Cutler, must find him. But Cairo is a city of fool's gold, where nothing and nobody, not even Cutler, can be taken at face value...
And Rommel has a spy in the city - a source so well-informed that the German commander knows in advance every movement of the allied forces.
Amongst the teeming streets and bazaars, the British, led by Major Albert Cutler, must find him. But Cairo is a city of fool's gold, where nothing and nobody, not even Cutler, can be taken at face value...
MAMista
Deep in Marxist Guerilla territory a hopeless war is being fought.
The Berlin Wall is demolished. Marx is dead. Try telling that to Ramon and his desperate men hiding in the jungle cradling their AK 47s, dusting off the slabs of Semtex and dreaming of world revolution.
MAMista takes us to the dusty, violent capital of Spanish Guiana in South America, and thence into the depths of the rain forest. There, four people become caught up in a struggle both political and personal, a struggle corrupted by ironies and deceits, and riddled with the accidents of war. They are four people who never should have found themselves bound together in a mission for revolution, which may be the sentence of death.
Never has Deighton portrayed so accurately the terror and the tedium of war, or the shifting alliances and betrayals between people who have nothing to lose but their lives.
The Berlin Wall is demolished. Marx is dead. Try telling that to Ramon and his desperate men hiding in the jungle cradling their AK 47s, dusting off the slabs of Semtex and dreaming of world revolution.
MAMista takes us to the dusty, violent capital of Spanish Guiana in South America, and thence into the depths of the rain forest. There, four people become caught up in a struggle both political and personal, a struggle corrupted by ironies and deceits, and riddled with the accidents of war. They are four people who never should have found themselves bound together in a mission for revolution, which may be the sentence of death.
Never has Deighton portrayed so accurately the terror and the tedium of war, or the shifting alliances and betrayals between people who have nothing to lose but their lives.
Rumpole's Return
Horace Rumpole - the rascally, Wordsworth-quoting Old Bailey hack - should be enjoying his retirement. Soaking unhappily in the Florida sun with his wife, Hilda (She Who Must Be Obeyed), it is safely assumed by all that Rumpole's wig has been hung up for good. But when a rather unkempt civil servant is mixed up in the mysterious death of a minor aristocrat, Rumpole seizes the opportunity to escape the life of leisure. He is soon back in court (via a budget airline) to do battle once more with Judge 'Mad Bull' Bullingham...
Speaking Out
'Truth is mysterious, fleeting, always to be won. Freedom is dangerous, as hard to live as it is exalting'
This definitive new collection of Albert Camus' public speeches and lectures gives an unparalleled insight into the thought of one of the twentieth century's most enduring writers. From his pre-war speech on the politics and culture of the Mediterranean - delivered when he was just twenty-two - to his impassioned Nobel Prize acceptance speeches, Speaking Out makes manifest Camus' 'stubborn humanism', his longing for freedom and justice. In a Europe scarred by the horrors of the early twentieth century, these speeches mark a singular artist's commitment to a kinder, truer world.
This definitive new collection of Albert Camus' public speeches and lectures gives an unparalleled insight into the thought of one of the twentieth century's most enduring writers. From his pre-war speech on the politics and culture of the Mediterranean - delivered when he was just twenty-two - to his impassioned Nobel Prize acceptance speeches, Speaking Out makes manifest Camus' 'stubborn humanism', his longing for freedom and justice. In a Europe scarred by the horrors of the early twentieth century, these speeches mark a singular artist's commitment to a kinder, truer world.
Goodbye Mickey Mouse
Goodbye Mickey Mouse is a vivid evocation of wartime England, the story of a group of American fighter pilots flying escort missions over Germany in the winter of 1943-4.
At the centre of the novel are two young men: the deeply reserved Captain Jamie Farebrother, estranged son of a deskbound colonel, and the cocky Lieutenant Mickey Morse, well on his way to becoming America's Number One Flying Ace. Alike only in their courage, they forge a bond of friendship in battle with far-reaching consequences for themselves, and for the future of those they love.
At the centre of the novel are two young men: the deeply reserved Captain Jamie Farebrother, estranged son of a deskbound colonel, and the cocky Lieutenant Mickey Morse, well on his way to becoming America's Number One Flying Ace. Alike only in their courage, they forge a bond of friendship in battle with far-reaching consequences for themselves, and for the future of those they love.
XPD
11 June, 1940 - where is Winston Churchill?
A private aircraft takes off from a small town in central France, while Adolf Hitler, the would-be conqueror of Europe, prepares for a clandestine meeting near the Belgian border.
For more than forty years the events of this day have been Britain's most closely guarded secret. Anyone who learns of them must die - with their file stamped:
XPD - expedient demise.
A private aircraft takes off from a small town in central France, while Adolf Hitler, the would-be conqueror of Europe, prepares for a clandestine meeting near the Belgian border.
For more than forty years the events of this day have been Britain's most closely guarded secret. Anyone who learns of them must die - with their file stamped:
XPD - expedient demise.
Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War
We were an army of shadows, of ghosts, walking as if to the beat of some dark psychic mechanism'
The Cuban Revolution changed the course of the twentieth century. Following years of brutal tyranny and poverty, a band of idealistic young people fought against immense odds to overthrow a dictator and emerged victorious. This is the story of how they did it. Che Guevara's classic eyewitness account chronicles the transformation of a country, and of Che himself, from troop doctor to revolutionary icon.
'Powerful and poetic ... For anyone interested in the myth of Che Guevara ... this book is essential reading' Colm Tóibín, Observer
'Che's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom' Nelson Mandela
The Cuban Revolution changed the course of the twentieth century. Following years of brutal tyranny and poverty, a band of idealistic young people fought against immense odds to overthrow a dictator and emerged victorious. This is the story of how they did it. Che Guevara's classic eyewitness account chronicles the transformation of a country, and of Che himself, from troop doctor to revolutionary icon.
'Powerful and poetic ... For anyone interested in the myth of Che Guevara ... this book is essential reading' Colm Tóibín, Observer
'Che's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom' Nelson Mandela
The Salt Eaters
'A book full of marvels' New Yorker
The American Deep South, in the 1970s. Velma Henry, once a formidable political activist, has grown weary and disillusioned with the fight for civil rights. She wants to end it all. But then she finds herself in the hands of a Black faith community, and the fabled healer Minnie Ransom. As she works through the rage and fear of her traumatic past, Velma finds herself changing, becoming whole and, maybe, free. The Salt Eaters is a boldly optimistic, profound exploration of memory, the self, power and Black health as liberation.
'A hymn to individual courage' The Times Literary Supplement
'Her characters inhabit the nonlinear, sacred space and sacred time of traditional African religion' The New York Times Book Review
The American Deep South, in the 1970s. Velma Henry, once a formidable political activist, has grown weary and disillusioned with the fight for civil rights. She wants to end it all. But then she finds herself in the hands of a Black faith community, and the fabled healer Minnie Ransom. As she works through the rage and fear of her traumatic past, Velma finds herself changing, becoming whole and, maybe, free. The Salt Eaters is a boldly optimistic, profound exploration of memory, the self, power and Black health as liberation.
'A hymn to individual courage' The Times Literary Supplement
'Her characters inhabit the nonlinear, sacred space and sacred time of traditional African religion' The New York Times Book Review
Second-Class Citizen
'Fresh, timeless ... a lively work of art' Observer
'Buchi Emecheta was the foremother of black British women's writing . . . powerful fictions written from and about our lives' Bernardine Evaristo
'Most dreams, as all dreamers know quite well, do have setbacks. Adah's dream was no exception, for hers had many'
They nicknamed Adah 'the Igbo tigress' at school in Nigeria, she was so fearless. Now she has moved to London to join her husband, and is determined to succeed. But her welcome from 1960's England - and the man she married - is a cold one. Providing for her growing family, struggling to survive and negotiating everyday injustices along the way, Adah still resolves that she will never give up her dream of becoming a writer.
'Bold, brave, defiant ... its exploration of blackness, the white gaze, and the development of the main character Adah's sense of self is extremely powerful' Gal-dem
'Buchi Emecheta was the foremother of black British women's writing . . . powerful fictions written from and about our lives' Bernardine Evaristo
'Most dreams, as all dreamers know quite well, do have setbacks. Adah's dream was no exception, for hers had many'
They nicknamed Adah 'the Igbo tigress' at school in Nigeria, she was so fearless. Now she has moved to London to join her husband, and is determined to succeed. But her welcome from 1960's England - and the man she married - is a cold one. Providing for her growing family, struggling to survive and negotiating everyday injustices along the way, Adah still resolves that she will never give up her dream of becoming a writer.
'Bold, brave, defiant ... its exploration of blackness, the white gaze, and the development of the main character Adah's sense of self is extremely powerful' Gal-dem
Close-Up
Deighton's incendiary novel of the film industry uncovers a Hollywood Babylon for our time.
Marshall Stone, international superstar and charismatic member of Hollywood's elite. Abundantly blessed with charm, genius and wealth, the one gift he most desires - everlasting youth - seems within his grasp when an eminent writer begins the star's biography. But painful memories and suppressed scandals threaten to expose the fiction of his life.
Dazzled by flattery and numbed by threats, the biographer is caught up in the big-daddy world where books are properties, films are investments, ratings are rigged, and stars and directors are bought and sold like slaves at an auction.
The rituals, the wheeler-dealing politics, and back-stabbing tactics of the richest industry in the world have never been more effectively portrayed. And at the heart of this glittering machine, a brilliant star who will do almost anything to remain untarnished.
Marshall Stone, international superstar and charismatic member of Hollywood's elite. Abundantly blessed with charm, genius and wealth, the one gift he most desires - everlasting youth - seems within his grasp when an eminent writer begins the star's biography. But painful memories and suppressed scandals threaten to expose the fiction of his life.
Dazzled by flattery and numbed by threats, the biographer is caught up in the big-daddy world where books are properties, films are investments, ratings are rigged, and stars and directors are bought and sold like slaves at an auction.
The rituals, the wheeler-dealing politics, and back-stabbing tactics of the richest industry in the world have never been more effectively portrayed. And at the heart of this glittering machine, a brilliant star who will do almost anything to remain untarnished.
Crossing the Mangrove
Francis Sancher, a handsome outsider, loved by some and reviled by others, is found dead, face down in the mud on a path outside Riviere au Sel, a small village in Guadeloupe. No one is particularly surprised since Sancher, a secretive and melancholy man, had often predicted an unnatural death for himself. As the villagers come to pay their respects, they each reveal another piece of the mystery behind his life and death.
Like pieces of an elaborate puzzle, their memories interlock to create a rich and intriguing portrait of a man and a community. A beautifully crafted, Rashomon-like novel, this gripping story, first published in France in 1989, is imbued with all the nuances and traditions of Caribbean culture.
Like pieces of an elaborate puzzle, their memories interlock to create a rich and intriguing portrait of a man and a community. A beautifully crafted, Rashomon-like novel, this gripping story, first published in France in 1989, is imbued with all the nuances and traditions of Caribbean culture.
An Expensive Place to Die
Paris in the 1960's caters for every taste, and nowhere more than at the private 'clinic' run by the enigmatic Monsieur Datt on Avenue Foch, which supplies psychedelic drugs and sexual favours to the city's elite - all the while secretly filming guests in order to blackmail them. Into this decadent underworld steps a bespectacled British spy. Sent on what seems like a simple mission, he soon finds himself playing a game where the rules are unknown - and even victory could be fatal.
Spy Story
Computer games run in a classified war studies centre in London. Nuclear submarines prowl beneath Arctic ice. And war games go into real time. Patrick Armstrong - possibly the same reluctant hero of The IPCRESS File - is sent to investigate.
Patrick Armstrong is a tough, dedicated agent and war-games player. But in Armstrong's violent, complex world, war-games are all too often played for real. Soon the chase (or is it escape?) is on.
From the secretive computerized college of war studies in London via a bleak, sinister Scottish redoubt to the Arctic ice cap where nuclear submarines prowl ominously beneath frozen wastes, a lethal web of violence and double-cross is woven. And Europe's whole future hangs by a deadly thread...
Spy Story is the most authentic and brilliant novel of espionage yet from the world's greatest writer of spy thrillers.
Patrick Armstrong is a tough, dedicated agent and war-games player. But in Armstrong's violent, complex world, war-games are all too often played for real. Soon the chase (or is it escape?) is on.
From the secretive computerized college of war studies in London via a bleak, sinister Scottish redoubt to the Arctic ice cap where nuclear submarines prowl ominously beneath frozen wastes, a lethal web of violence and double-cross is woven. And Europe's whole future hangs by a deadly thread...
Spy Story is the most authentic and brilliant novel of espionage yet from the world's greatest writer of spy thrillers.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy
A Soviet space scientist defects to win academic freedom, but western intelligence has other plans for him, and sends an unnamed spy - perhaps the same reluctant hero of The IPCRESS File - to look after him. But what follows is a blood-streaked trail across three continents...
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Spy reveals a more mature Deighton exploring relationships between couples: professional rivals and private allies, spy and counter-spy, master and slave. Some are drawn together mutual comfort, others for exploitation. With an uncanny feeling for landscape, he begins his story in the awesome emptiness and remorseless heat of the Sahara desert. From there a trail of blood leads to Manhattan, Paris, Dublin and halfway back across Africa.
In a narrative as compelling as it is tantalizing, Deighton surpasses all his previous triumphs and holds the reader spellbound to the very last page.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Spy reveals a more mature Deighton exploring relationships between couples: professional rivals and private allies, spy and counter-spy, master and slave. Some are drawn together mutual comfort, others for exploitation. With an uncanny feeling for landscape, he begins his story in the awesome emptiness and remorseless heat of the Sahara desert. From there a trail of blood leads to Manhattan, Paris, Dublin and halfway back across Africa.
In a narrative as compelling as it is tantalizing, Deighton surpasses all his previous triumphs and holds the reader spellbound to the very last page.
Yesterday's Spy
Sinister rumours link clandestine Arab arms dealing with a hero of the French resistance. Time to re-open the master file on yesterday's spy...