Len Deighton Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929), known as Len Deighton, is a British author. Deighton is considered one of the top three spy novelists of his time (along with Ian Fleming and John le Carré). In addition he is a highly acclaimed military historian, cookery writer, and graphic artist. "The IPCRESS File" (1962), his first novel, was an instant bestseller and broke the mould of thriller writing. "The Sunday Times" called him "the poet of the spy story". Deighton’s first protagonist – a nameless spy christened Harry Palmer in the films – was made famous worldwide
The Painted Veil (novel) The Painted Veil (novel) The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham. The title is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet, which begins "Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life". The novel was first published in serialised form in five issues of "Cosmopolitan" (November 1924 – March 1925). Beginning in May 1925, it was serialised in the United Kingdom in eight parts in "Nash's Magazine". The biographer Richard Cordell notes that the book was influenced by Maugham's study of science and his work as a houseman at St Thomas' Hospital.