Intrigue: Four Great Spy Novels of Eric Ambler -- Journey Into Fear; A Coffin for Dimitrios; Cause for Alarm; Background to Danger

viii, 631, [1] pp. 8vo. Introduction by Alfred Hitchcock. Four mysteries in one volume: Journey Into Fear; A Coffin for Dimitrios; Cause for Alarm; Background to Danger. Jacket art by Jean Carlu. "Eric Ambler (28 June 1909 - 22 October 1998) was an influential English writer of spy novels who brought a level of realism to the field that had generally been absent in earlier works. Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda. His best known works are probably The Mask of Dimitrios (1939), which became a classic film noir in 1944 and The Light of Day (1962), filmed in 1964 as Topkapi and also lampooned in The Pink Panther (1963). He was also a successful screenwriter who, in his later years, lived in Los Angeles. Amongst other classic movies based on his works are Journey Into Fear (1943), starring Orson Welles, and The October Man (1947). He published his autobiography in 1985, Here Lies Eric Ambler. A recurring theme in Ambler's books is the amateur who finds himself unwillingly in the company of hardened criminals and/or spies. Typically, the protagonist is out of his depth and often seems for much of the book a bumbling anti-hero, yet eventually manages to surprise himself as well as the professionals by a decisive action which outwits his far more experienced opponents. Such plots occur, for example, in Journey into Fear, The Light of Day and Dirty Story. In Ambler's books, unlike those of most other writers of thrillers, the main protagonist is rarely a professional spy or policeman. His novel The Light of Day, was turned into a major movie production titled Topkapi, featuring the talents of Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell and Melina Mercouri, a remake to be entitled The Topkapi Affair, has been announced and is scheduled for release in 2007, with Pierce Brosnan producing as well as starring."