Those who frequent the English Faculty Library in the Michaelmas term may spot our not-so-top-secret display on Spying and Espionage Literature, which showcases some key texts of the genre and highlights the relationship between international tensions and the spy novel. We have works on display from giants like John Le Carré and Joseph Conrad, a few James Bond films, and even a copy of Blackwood’s Magazine in which John Buchan first published The Thirty-Nine Steps.

However, in curating the display, we found a lot more than we could put on display. This seemed like a brilliant opportunity to draw your attention to our online collection and to resources available in the wider Bodleian and beyond. Please find below a (not exhaustive!) selection of alternative resources:

Lauren Wilkinson brings a more modern take to the genre of spy novels with her debut, The American Spy, published in 2019. Her book is built around the historical figure of Thomas Sankara, revolutionary president of Burkina Faso, and explores the experiences of a black woman working in the white-male dominated intelligence community. In an interview with Electric Lit, Wilkinson said: “My experience as a black American was in line with [spying], where you spend a lot of time thinking about how you portray yourself.” Her book is available to read via ELD on Bodleian PCs.

Helen MacInnes was an espionage novelist inspired by her husband, who served in British Intelligence in World War 2, to write her first novel Above Suspicion (1941). Her work is intensely political and deeply opinionated, roiling against fascist ideologies and political systems. A list of her books available at the Bodleian can be found here, and a full biography of her life is available via the Bodleian subscription to American National Biography.

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathiser won the Pulitzer Prize – and for good reason. The novel follows the story of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist sleeper agent stranded in exile in America after the end of the Vietnam War. It’s an honest and at times hilarious look at identity and politics with style and flair. If you’re lucky (and quick!), you can get your hands on a physical copy at the EFL – go go go!

Some other good resources (besides a fascinating assortment of novels) include:

• Toledo Library have published a Brief History of the Spy Genre, which is (as promised) brief but very informative. It also includes a much bigger reading list than the one above!
• This list published by CrimeReads is a carefully curated selection of ‘Literary Thrillers about Espionage, Spies, and Double Agents’ and includes titles not mentioned in this article or in our display.
• The Novels of John Le Carré by David Monaghan – A critical analysis of Le Carré’s work that was incredibly helpful in curating the display. This is available in a physical copy at the EFL.
• The display alludes briefly to a very important piece by Chinua Achebe called An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s The Heart of Darkness – the piece is worth reading in its entirety and available online.
• James Bond Uncovered by Jeremy Strong is a fascinating read for film fans, with a clear focus on adapting a classic text to a variety of media for changing audiences. An electronic copy is available through Bodleian Libraries.