Early novels
Len Deighton introduced the lead character in The IPCRESS File, his first novel, published in November 1962. In that first-person novel, the intelligence officer is anonymous, although at one point he is greeted by someone saying, "Hello, Harry"; he later says, "Now my name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been."[6] Deighton's character is described as working class, living in a back street flat and seedy hotels, and shopping in supermarkets. He wears glasses, is hindered by bureaucracy, and craves a pay rise. It is revealed in passing that he is from Burnley, Lancashire, and that he was born in 1922 or 1923.[7]
Further novels featuring this character followed, including Horse Under Water (1963), Funeral in Berlin (1964), Billion-Dollar Brain (1966), and An Expensive Place to Die (1967). Again, the lead character is never named, but they appear to be the same character in all of the books. In his 2009 afterword to Horse Under Water, Deighton noted "Now, writing a second book, I found it an advantage to have an anonymous hero. He might be the same man; or maybe not. I was able to make minor changes to him and his background...I realized that...identifying him as a northerner would make demands on my knowledge that I could not sustain. It would be more sensible to give him a background closer to my own."
From the first novel onwards, the narrator shows knowledge of fine food and drink, painting, classical and 20th-century music, jazz, military history, and Latin. In Horse Under Water, he is described as an expert on world currency.
Later novels and discrepancies
In 1974, the novel Spy Story was published, followed by Yesterday's Spy (1975), and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy (1976) (also known as Catch a Falling Spy in North America). As the protagonist also remains anonymous in these novels, it is still open to debate whether the narrator of these last three novels is the same as in the earlier books. There is conflicting evidence for either view. Despite this, and despite the lead protagonist being unnamed, all eight books have been unofficially called the Harry Palmer novels, based on the protagonist's name given in the subsequent film adaptations of The IPCRESS File and its sequels.
Evidence for this narrator being different from the earlier novels comes from Deighton himself, who is quoted as saying that the narrator of Spy Story is not the same character as the narrator of The IPCRESS File; in fact, for most of Spy Story, the narrator is named and addressed as "Patrick Armstrong" – although, as another character says, "We have so many different names." Additionally, he is reported to be in his late 30s,[8] whereas the narrator of The IPCRESS File was born in 1922 or 1923[7] (making him in his 40s), and thus implying that this protagonist is different from that of the earlier novels.
Encouraging the unitary concept – that the later novels feature the same narrator – is the 1974 dust jacket to the Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich American edition of Spy Story, in which the cover blurb states, "He is back, after five long-years' absence, the insubordinate, decent, bespectacled English spy who fought, fumbled, and survived his outrageous way through the best-selling Horse Under Water, Funeral in Berlin, and the rest of those marvellous, celebrated Len Deighton spy thrillers." Likewise, on the 1976 edition dust jacket to Catch a Falling Spy, the novel features "Deighton's familiar hero, our bespectacled Englishman". A number of minor characters from the earlier novels also appear in Spy Story, further connecting the books.
