Harry Palmer 'Palmer', 'Tommy Palmer'. So, he said, 'All right, we'll call him Harry Palmer.'" Len Deighton introduced the lead character in "The IPCRESS File", his first novel, published in November 1962. In that first-person novel, the secret agent 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." Deighton's spy 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
James Meek (author) James Meek (author) James Meek (born 1962) is a British novelist and journalist, author of "The People's Act of Love". He was born in London, England, and grew up in Dundee, Scotland. Meek attended school at Grove Academy in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, and studied at Edinburgh University. His first short stories were published in the New Edinburgh Review and he collaborated with Duncan McLean on a play, "Faculty of Rats", which starred Angus Macfadyen. After a few years in England Meek returned to Edinburgh in 1988, where he worked for The Scotsman. The following year, his first novel, "McFarlane Boils