Funeral in Berlin Funeral in Berlin Funeral in Berlin is a 1964 spy novel by Len Deighton set between Saturday October 5th and Sunday November 10th 1963. It was the third of four novels about an unnamed British agent. It was preceded by "The IPCRESS File" (1962) and "Horse Under Water" (1963), and followed by "Billion-Dollar Brain" (1966). The protagonist, who is unnamed, travels to Berlin to arrange the defection of a Soviet scientist named Semitsa, this being brokered by Johnny Vulkan of the Berlin intelligence community. Despite the protagonist's initial scepticism, the deal seems to have the support of Russian security-chief Colonel
The Ipcress File (film) novel was nameless, but in Chapter 5 he remarks, "My name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been." In the opening scenes of the film, Palmer is shown to care little for authority, to indulge in quick repartee and to have an interest in good food. Newspaper cuttings shown in Palmer's kitchen are actually cookery articles written for "The Observer" by Deighton, who was an accomplished cook himself. In a scene where Palmer prepares a meal, the hands in close-up are really Deighton's. There were two immediate sequels starring Harry Palmer: "Funeral