Lionel Davidson
FRSL (31 March 192221 October 2009) was an English
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
who wrote
spy thrillers.
Life and career
Lionel Davidson was born in 1922 in
Hull in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
, one of nine children of an immigrant
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
tailor. He left school early and worked in the London offices of ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' magazine as an office boy. Later, he joined the Keystone Press Agency. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, he served with the Submarine Service of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
.
When the war ended, he returned to the Keystone Agency and travelled all over Europe as a
freelance reporter. It was during one of these trips that he came up with the idea for his first thriller, ''
The Night of Wenceslas'' (1960). The novel is set in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
during the
Cold War, and tells the story of young Nicolas Whistler, a 24-year-old Londoner whose business trip to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
goes horribly awry. ''The Night of Wenceslas'' was an instant success, inviting favourable comparisons with
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for book ...
. Davidson became one of the handful of living writers to have their first novel appear in a green
Penguin jacket. The book won the
Crime Writers' Association's
Gold Dagger
The Gold Dagger is an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom since 1960 for the best crime novel of the year.
From 1955 to 1959, the organization named their top honor as the Crossed Red Herring Award. From ...
Award (the top prize for crime and spy fiction in Britain) as well as the
Authors' Club First Novel Award. It was filmed as ''
Hot Enough for June
''Hot Enough for June'' is a 1964 British spy comedy film directed by Ralph Thomas, and starring Dirk Bogarde with Sylva Koscina in her English film debut, Robert Morley and Leo McKern. It is based on the 1960 novel '' The Night of Wenceslas'' b ...
'' (1964), with
Dirk Bogarde in the role of Whistler.
His second novel ''
The Rose of Tibet'' (1962) was equally well received. ''
A Long Way to Shiloh'' (1966) won Davidson his second Gold Dagger, and he achieved a third with ''
The Chelsea Murders'' (1978). ''The Chelsea Murders'' was also adapted for television as part of Thames TV's ''
Armchair Thriller
''Armchair Thriller'' is a British television drama series broadcast on ITV in 1978 and 1980 in two seasons. Taking the form of a sequence of unconnected serials, scripts for ''Armchair Thriller'' were adaptations of published novels and storie ...
'' series in 1981.
Davidson then went into an extended hiatus after the publication of ''The Chelsea Murders''. He was not to write another thriller for the next sixteen years. ''
Kolymsky Heights
''Kolymsky Heights'' is a 1994 thriller novel by Lionel Davidson. It was his first thriller novel in 16 years, following '' The Chelsea Murders''.
Plot summary
A coded message is smuggled out of Russia, a plea for help from the director of a ...
'' appeared in 1994 to international acclaim.
Davidson never quite managed to fulfil his early promise to become a major figure in British spy fiction, although his best novels are of high quality. In 2001, he was awarded the CWA's
Cartier Diamond Dagger
The Diamond Dagger is an award given by the Crime Writers' Association of the United Kingdom to authors who have made an outstanding lifetime's contribution to the genre.
Winners
* 1986 – Eric Ambler
* 1987 – P. D. James
* 1988 – John le Car ...
lifetime achievement award, for making "a significant contribution to crime fiction published in the English language".
Davidson wrote a number of children's novels under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
David Line. ''
Run For Your Life'' is an example.
Lionel Davidson died on 21 October 2009 in north London after a long illness. Davidson's first wife, the former Fay Jacobs, died in 1988.
Bibliography
Novels
* ''
The Night of Wenceslas'' (
Gold Dagger Award), 1960
* ''
The Rose of Tibet'', 1962
* ''
A Long Way to Shiloh'' (US title: ''The Menorah Men'') (
Gold Dagger Award), 1966
* ''
Making Good Again'', 1968
* ''
Smith's Gazelle'', 1971
* ''
The Sun Chemist'', 1976
* ''
The Chelsea Murders'', (US title: ''Murder Games'') (
Gold Dagger Award), 1978
* ''
Under Plum Lake'', 1980 (children's novel)
* ''
Kolymsky Heights
''Kolymsky Heights'' is a 1994 thriller novel by Lionel Davidson. It was his first thriller novel in 16 years, following '' The Chelsea Murders''.
Plot summary
A coded message is smuggled out of Russia, a plea for help from the director of a ...
'', 1994
Novels for young adults published under the pseudonym "David Line"
* ''Soldier and Me'' (UK title: ''
Run for Your Life''), 1965
* ''Mike and Me'', 1974. More about Mike and Me at www.LionelDavidson.com/mike.html
* ''Screaming High'', 1985.
Short stories
* ''Note to Survivors'' - first published in ''
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine
''Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine'' (AHMM) is a bi-monthly digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime and detective fiction. ''AHMM'' is named for Alfred Hitchcock, the famed director of suspense films and television.
History
''AHM ...
'', May 1958
* ''Where am I Going? Nowhere!'' - first published in ''Suspense'' (London), February 1961
* ''Indian Rope Trick'' - first published in ''Winter’s Crimes 13'', London: Macmillan 1981; reprinted in ''Mysterious Pleasures'' London: Little, Brown 2003
* ''I Do Dwell'' - first published in ''Winter's Crimes 16'', London: Macmillan 1984
* ''Tuesday's Child'' - first published in ''The Verdict of Us All'', Crippen & Landru 2006
References
External links
Official website set up by his son
Lionel Davidson - an Appreciation- Daily Telegraph obituary
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11451620/Lionel-Davidson-the-best-spy-novelist-you-might-never-have-read.html "Lionel Davidson: the best spy novelist you might never have read", The Telegraph, Nov. 28, 2016]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Lionel
1922 births
2009 deaths
British spy fiction writers
Writers from Kingston upon Hull
Royal Navy personnel of World War II
Cartier Diamond Dagger winners
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Navy submariners
English male novelists
20th-century English novelists
20th-century English male writers