Eric Ambler

Eric Ambler (1909) British writer of spy thrillers, who as early as the 19303 was depicting the seamy realities of the world of espionage convincingly and with an accurate eye for detail. His studiedly unglamorous settings and exquisitely drawn anti-heroes have served as models for the later generation which includes John Le Carre and Len Deighton. His earlier books have somewhat dated. The Light of Day (1962, filmed as Topkapj) and Dirty Story (1967, in U.S. This Gun for Hire) feature perhaps his most pleasing protagonist, Arthur Abdul Simpson : stateless, corrupt and cowardly, but always surviving on his wits. The Levanter (1972.) contains a masterly portrait of the modern freedom fighter

Selected Books & Recommended Reading
The Dark Frontier (1936)
Uncommon Danger (1937)
Epitaph for a Spy (1938)
Cause for Alarm (1938)
The Mask of Dimitrios (1939)
Journey into Fear (1940)
Skytip (1950) under the pseudonym of Eliot Reed
Judgment on Deltchev (1951)
Tender to Danger (1951) under the pen name Eliot Reed
The Schirmer Inheritance (1953)
The Night-Comers (1956)
Passage of Arms (1959)

Eric Ambler was born in London, England. His mother and father worked as performers and the author even travelled in the 1920s as a music-hall entertainer and penned stage plays. From 1924 to 1927 he went University eventually  starting an apprenticeship as an engineer .  In the 1930s he wrote some avant-garde pieces. By 1937 he was working as a director of a London advertising company. He then abandoned this career and dedicated himself to becoming a full time writer in France. In Paris he met an American fashion journalist, Louise Crombie, who became his wife in 1939