Latest news with #TheJackal
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Frederick Forsyth's bestsellers drew on his work as a spy
WHAT IS the best career choice for someone who needs to make money quickly? Joining an investment firm? The law? (Lawyers, though, usually need extensive and pricey qualifications.) Setting up a company is an option—but because most startups fail, success requires luck in addition to ingenuity. Reasonable people can disagree about precisely which field to enter, but they can all agree what not to do: write a novel. Most never get published; many published novels never get read; very few reach the bestseller list. But when Frederick Forsyth returned from Africa—he had been covering the Biafran war in Nigeria as a journalist—he had no money or prospects. Against friends' advice, he decided to write a novel. Worse, it would be about Charles de Gaulle: the French general and president was unlikely to set publishers' hearts aflutter. But he sat down at his old typewriter in his bedsit and (aspiring novelists may want to skip this bit) in just 35 days produced 'The Day of the Jackal' (1971). He had never written a word of fiction before. Yet the book's final version was, he claimed, precisely as he had written it. Neither he nor his editors changed a word, except for the original title, 'The Jackal', which he extended to avoid it being mistaken for 'a documentary about African wildlife'. It followed a dogged French detective as he tried to stop de Gaulle from being assassinated by an English mercenary hired by aggrieved French veterans of the Algerian war. Still in print—and still a great read—54 years later, it has sold over 10m copies. The novel was turned into an excellent and faithful film starring Edward Fox and a dreadful one inexplicably starring Bruce Willis. It also inspired a recent TV series starring Eddie Redmayne. The book was an unlikely success because the central question of any thriller—will the villain succeed?—had already been answered. De Gaulle had died of natural causes the year before the book's publication; readers knew the assassin failed before they read the first word. The book's thrill lay not in the 'whether' but the 'how'. As a journalist, Mr Forsyth had covered several assassination attempts on de Gaulle during the 1960s, and the book reflected his time in the field. For added realism, he learned from a forger how to obtain a false passport and from a gunsmith how to make a rifle slender enough to hide inside a crutch. He understood the hierarchy of French security services—how they competed with and distrusted each other—and how an assassin could exploit de Gaulle's pride. He also understood the narrative appeal of the lone hero: Claude Lebel, his protagonist, had to battle French bureaucracy as vigorously as he hunted the Jackal. Mr Forsyth would go on to write another 22 books that sold more than 65m copies. His novels were neither as haunted and gloomy as John le Carré's, as two-dimensional as Ian Fleming's, nor as parochial as Len Deighton's, but, like them, he was a novelist of the cold war. And, like le Carré, he was also a participant. Mr Forsyth spent three years as a pilot with the Royal Air Force, and late in life he revealed that he had worked for MI6, Britain's foreign-intelligence service, though he dismissively called his work 'errand-running'. Aside from 'Jackal', his best books included 'The Odessa File' (1972), about a secret society that protects ex-Nazis; 'The Fourth Protocol' (1984), about espionage and British peacenik politics (Mr Forsyth was a staunch conservative); and 'The Dogs of War' (1974), about a group of mercenaries hired to foment a coup in a fictional west African country. Some wondered whether truth and fiction overlapped in 'The Dogs of War'. According to the Sunday Times in 1972 Mr Forsyth spent $200,000, via an intermediary, to hire a boat and soldiers of fortune to depose the president of Equatorial Guinea. (Supposedly the aim was to create a new homeland for those who had been defeated in the Biafran war.) Spanish police intercepted and arrested the mercenaries, purportedly en route to carry out a coastal oil survey, in the Canary Islands—more than 4,000km from their target—after seeing one of them in camouflage on the boat's deck. Mr Forsyth described the reporting as 'imaginary fantasies'. Mr Forsyth tried to retire from fiction in 2016, claiming he could no longer travel or come up with interesting things to say. But it was short-lived: despite not owning a computer, he published a novel about a hacker in 2018. A sequel to 'The Odessa File' will come out in the autumn. Not bad for a novelist who, at the height of his fame, said: 'I don't even like writing.' Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Gulf Today
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
'The Day of The Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86
Prolific British thriller writer Frederick Forsyth, who instantly became a global bestselling author when his book "The Day of the Jackal" was published in 1971, died on Monday aged 86, his literary agents Curtis Brown said. Forsyth famously penned his most famous work about a fictional assassination attempt on French president Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists in just 35 days after falling on hard times. "The Jackal" went on to be made into a hit film starring Edward Fox as the assassin. A Netflix remake last year with Eddie Redmayne in the lead role was released last year. "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," his agent Jonathan Lloyd said. Forsyth died at home surrounded by his family following a brief illness, according to Curtis Brown. The former journalist and pilot wrote over 25 books including "The Odessa File" (1972) and "The Dogs of War" (1974) and sold over 75 million copies worldwide. Many of his novels were also turned into films. "Only a few weeks ago I sat with him as we watched a new and moving documentary of his life ... and was reminded of an extraordinary life, well lived," said Lloyd. "After serving as one of the youngest ever RAF pilots, he turned to journalism, using his gift for languages in German, French and Russian to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra (in Nigeria)," he said. 'Spectacular luck' "Appalled at what he saw and using his experience during a stint as a secret service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel, 'The Day Of The Jackal'," he added. A sequel to "The Odessa File", entitled "Revenge Of Odessa", on which he worked with thriller writer Tony Kent, is due to be published in August, his publisher Bill Scott-Kerr said. "His journalistic background brought a rigour and a metronomic efficiency to his working practice and his nose for and understanding of a great story kept his novels both thrillingly contemporary and fresh," Scott-Kerr added. Forsyth attributed much of his success to "luck", recalling how a bullet narrowly missed him while he was covering the bloody Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970. "I have had the most spectacular luck all through my life," he told The Times last November in an interview. "Right place, right time, right person, right contact, right promotion -- and even just turning my head away when that bullet went past," he said. Asked why he had decided to give up writing -- although he later went back to it -- he told AFP in 2016 he'd "run out of things to say". "I can't just sit at home and do a nice little romance from within my study, I have to go out and check out places like Modagishu, Guinea Bissau, both hellholes in different ways," he said. Forsyth had two sons by his first wife. His second wife, Sandy, died last year. Conservative MP David Davis paid tribute to his friend as a "fabulous wordsmith". He told Sky News that Forsyth "was a great believer in the old values -- he believed in honour and patriotism and courage and directness and straightforwardness, and a big defender of our armed forces". Agence France-Presse
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
What explains the enduring appeal of 'The Jackal' over decades
What explains the enduring appeal of 'The Jackal' over decades Team TOI Plus TNN Updated: Jun 10, 2025, 19:29 IST IST The suave, English assassin was introduced by author Fredrick Forsyth to the world in 1971 and remains a part of pop culture despite the passage of time and a Hollywood attempt to murder him. Author Fredrick Forsyth - who passed away on Monday - wrote about various characters who took on systems much bigger than one would think could be targeted by an individual. His most enduring character over the decades has been the lone assassin called the ' Jackal ', who has metamorphosed over the years and ridden waves of popular culture to remain intriguing to readers and viewers across generations.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Frederick Forsyth, author of ‘The Day of the Jackal', dies at 86; a look back at his 5 most iconic thrillers
Frederick Forsyth, the British author of 'The Day of the Jackal' and numerous best-selling thrillers, died at the age of 86 after suffering a brief illness. The piece of news was shared by his literary agent on Monday. On early Monday, Jonathan Lloyd, the literary agent of Forsyth, said that the author died at his home, surrounded by his family. He said, "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers." 'The Day of the Jackal' writer published over 25 books, including The Odessa File and The Dogs of War, and sold 75 million copies across the globe. Credit: X | @joybhattacharj Frederick Forsyth attributed 'luck' to most of his success One of the most famous works of Forsyth was about a fictional assassination attempt on former French President Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists, 35 days after facing difficult times. Following this, The Jackal went on to be made into a blockbuster film starring Edward Fox as the assassin. Not only this, but last year, a Netflix remake was also made with Eddie Redmayne playing the lead role. Moreover, according to Forsyth, he attributed most of his success to 'luck', recalling how a bullet just missed him during his coverage of the brutal Nigerian civil war between 1967 and 1970. Total sadness to hear my friend #FrederickForsyth, author, has passed. Wonderful memories of such a marvelous trip to India with his late wife Sandy. His academic knowledge of places, palaces & geography was bar none. He'll be much missed for so many reasons. RIP dear Freddie — Elaine Paige (@elaine_paige) June 9, 2025 5 best books by Frederick Forsyth Frederick Forsyth called on his experiences as a fighter pilot, spy, and journalist to draw authenticity to his novels, the first of which was 1971's The Day of the Jackal, which he wrote when he was unemployed. It was then adapted into a 1973 film directed by multiple Oscar winner Fred Zinneman and a 2024 TV series. Here's the top 5 best books of Frederick Forsyth: The Day of the Jackal – 140,174 ratings: According to an Express UK report, The Day of the Jackal is Forsyth's most popular book, which was published in 1971. The book was based on a professional assassin, known as 'The Jackal', who was hired by a French paramilitary group to assassinate President Charles de Gaulle. Credit: X The Odessa File – 61,657 ratings: The second, as per the report, is the thriller of a young German journalist, Peter Miler, who becomes obsessed with finding a former SS concentration camp commander, Eduard Roshchmann, after finding out a diary detailing his atrocities and learning about the secret organisation ODESSA. Credit: X The Fourth Protocol – 34,810 ratings: This novel was named after the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The story revolves around a professional thief who stumbles upon top-secret documents, leading to a KGB plot to destabilise Britain via a nuclear attack. Credit: X The Dogs of War – 24,278 ratings: The next is The Dogs of War, which is again a thriller about mercenaries hired by a British industrialist to overthrow the government of a fictional African country, Zangaro. This book was also proven to have a strong political impact on readers. Credit: X The Devil's Alternative – 16,261 ratings: This book depicted the society in 1982 and was published in 1979. It was based on a devastating wheat crop failure that led the Soviet Union to famine and forced the USSR to seek food help from the US. Credit: X |@AbhinavAgarwal To stay updated on the stories that are going viral, follow Indiatimes Trending.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Day of The Jackal' author Frederick Forsyth dies aged 86
Prolific British thriller writer Frederick Forsyth, who instantly became a global bestselling author when his book "The Day of the Jackal" was published in 1971, died on Monday aged 86, his literary agents Curtis Brown said. Forsyth famously penned his most famous work about a fictional assassination attempt on French president Charles de Gaulle by right-wing extremists in just 35 days after falling on hard times. "The Jackal" went on to be made into a hit film starring Edward Fox as the assassin. A Netflix remake last year with Eddie Redmayne in the lead role was released last year. "We mourn the passing of one of the world's greatest thriller writers," his agent Jonathan Lloyd said. Forsyth died at home surrounded by his family following a brief illness, according to Curtis Brown. The former journalist and pilot wrote over 25 books including "The Odessa File" (1972) and "The Dogs of War" (1974) and sold over 75 million copies worldwide. Many of his novels were also turned into films. "Only a few weeks ago I sat with him as we watched a new and moving documentary of his life ... and was reminded of an extraordinary life, well lived," said Lloyd. "After serving as one of the youngest ever RAF pilots, he turned to journalism, using his gift for languages in German, French and Russian to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra (in Nigeria)," he said. - 'Spectacular luck' - "Appalled at what he saw and using his experience during a stint as a secret service agent, he wrote his first and perhaps most famous novel, 'The Day Of The Jackal'," he added. A sequel to "The Odessa File", entitled "Revenge Of Odessa", on which he worked with thriller writer Tony Kent, is due to be published in August, his publisher Bill Scott-Kerr said. "His journalistic background brought a rigour and a metronomic efficiency to his working practice and his nose for and understanding of a great story kept his novels both thrillingly contemporary and fresh," Scott-Kerr added. Forsyth attributed much of his success to "luck", recalling how a bullet narrowly missed him while he was covering the bloody Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970. "I have had the most spectacular luck all through my life," he told The Times last November in an interview. "Right place, right time, right person, right contact, right promotion -- and even just turning my head away when that bullet went past," he said. Asked why he had decided to give up writing -- although he later went back to it -- he told AFP in 2016 he'd "run out of things to say". "I can't just sit at home and do a nice little romance from within my study, I have to go out and check out places like Modagishu, Guinea Bissau, both hellholes in different ways," he said. Forsyth had two sons by his first wife. His second wife, Sandy, died last year. Conservative MP David Davis paid tribute to his friend as a "fabulous wordsmith". He told Sky News that Forsyth "was a great believer in the old values -– he believed in honour and patriotism and courage and directness and straightforwardness, and a big defender of our armed forces". bur-har/jkb/ach
