Eric Ambler (1909-1998)

At a time when spy stories still clung to cloak-and-dagger melodrama, Eric Ambler called his 1937 classic Epitaph for a Spy "a mild attempt at realism." From 1936 to 1940, between world wars, he wrote six such novels which portrayed the world as morally ambiguous and full of deception and danger. Epitaph for a Spy and A Coffin for Dimitrios are most notable examples of the first modern suspense novel.

Beyond the Balkans � Eric Ambler and the British Espionage Novel, 1936-1940
Pulp Valentine: Eric Ambler and the Invention of the Spy Novel

Spy story resources:

From NPR, a spy-obsessed librarian picks her favorites

In "Operation Spy Novel", Fred Kaplan reconsiders le Carre's Absolute Friends. [Slate 2/13/04]

The first modern spy novelist: "Eric Ambler and the invention of the spy novel." By Stephen Metcalf [Slate 5/25/06]

Top-grossing spy movies

Official CIA website, which offers a virtual tour of Langley headquarters.

England's MI5 website includes a history of its Thames House headquarters.