Editorial: Farewell to Forsyth

Despite being a celebrated author, Frederick Forsyth, who died at 86, always considered himself a journalist first and often joked that he turned to fiction only when he found himself broke and jobless

Everyone loves a Forsyth thriller. One may endlessly argue about which of his novels was the best but never about the universal impact of his works. Frederick Forsyth, who died at 86 after a brief illness, was a British author of several iconic espionage novels that captivated the hearts and minds of millions across generations. The writer of several best-selling page-turners, including The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Dogs of War and The Fourth Protocol, Forsyth created fascinating worlds populated by spies, mercenaries, political extremists and intelligence operators. A master of the geopolitical nail-biter, with intriguing plots and action happening across continents, he was best known for his meticulous attention to detail, blistering pace and capturing the intricacies of military and statecraft. His life was as fascinating as the plots of his swashbuckling thrillers. He was a fighter pilot, journalist and a spy, all rolled into one. And, many of his books in the 1970s and 1980s were based on his own experience, weaving intricate technical details into his stories, without detracting from the lightning pace. Forsyth wrote 24 books, including 14 novels, and sold more than 75 million copies. For a half-century, he was one of the most successful authors of the cloak-and-dagger circuit. Many of his books, featuring protagonists pitted against seemingly impossible odds, were made into movies and television dramas.

Forsyth joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot at 18, one of the youngest in Britain. He then began his roving journalism career in 1958, covering an attempted assassination of French President Charles de Gaulle in 1962 as well as other stories across the Soviet bloc and in conflict zones in Africa. Later, as a novelist, he moonlighted for British intelligence. The Day of the Jackal is arguably the most popular of his works which he wrote on an old typewriter in just 35 days. It showcased what would become the traditional hallmarks of a Forsyth thriller. It wove together fact and fiction, often using the names of real individuals and events. Forsyth would typically spend six months researching a book before writing a single word, a method that showed in his careful attention to detail. Many of his plots and characters were inspired by real-life experiences. His stories often juxtapose a single individual against sprawling networks of power and money — an unnamed assassin against the French government in The Day of the Jackal (1971), a lone German reporter against a shadowy conspiracy to protect ex-Nazi officers in The Odessa File (1972). While his contemporary and literary rival John le Carre’s novels focused on Cold War espionage, Forsyth created worlds that were largely outside of the US-Soviet rivalry. Despite being a celebrated author, Forsyth always considered himself a journalist first and often joked that he turned to fiction only when he found himself broke and jobless.

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