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Eric Ambler


(Eric Clifford Ambler)
UK flag (1909 - 1998)

aka Eliot Reed

Eric Ambler began his writing career in the early 1930s, and quickly established a reputation as a thriller writer of extraordinary depth and originality. He is often credited as the inventor of the modern political thriller and John Le Carré once described him as 'the source on which we all draw.'

Ambler began his working life at an engineering firm, then as a copywriter at an advertising agency, while in his spare time he worked on his ambition to become a playwright. His first novel was published in 1936 and as his reputation as a novelist grew he turned to writing full time. During the war he was seconded to the Army Film Unit, where he wrote, among other projects, The Way Ahead with Peter Ustinov.

He moved to Hollywood in 1957 and during his eleven years there scripted some memorable films, including A Night to Remember and The Cruel Sea, which won him an Oscar nomination.

In a career spanning over sixty years, Eric Ambler wrote nineteen novels and was awarded the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award for Passage of Arms in 1960. He was married to Joan Harrison, who wrote or co-wrote many of Alfred Hitchcock's screenplays - in fact Hitchcock organized their wedding. Eric Ambler died in London in October 1998.
 

Awards: CWA (1986), Edgar (1964)  see all

Genres: Mystery, Thriller
 
Series
Charles Latimer
   1. The Mask of Dimitrios (1937)

     aka A Coffin for Dimitrios

   2. The Intercom Conspiracy (1969)
     aka Quiet Conspiracy
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Valeshoff
   Uncommon Danger (1937)

     aka Background to Danger

   Cause for Alarm (1938)
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Arthur Abdel Simpson
   The Light of Day (1962)
     aka Topkapi
   Dirty Story (1967)

     aka This Gun for Hire

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Novels
   The Dark Frontier (1936)
   Epitaph for a Spy (1938)
   Journey Into Fear (1940)
   Skytip (1950) (as by Eliot Reed)
   Judgement on Deltchev (1951)
   Tender to Danger (1951) (as by Eliot Reed)
     aka Tender to Moonlight
   The Maras Affair (1953) (as by Eliot Reed)
   The Schirmer Inheritance (1953)
   Charter to Danger (1954) (as by Eliot Reed)
   The Night-Comers (1956)
     aka State of Siege
   Passport to Panic (1958) (as by Eliot Reed)
   Passage of Arms (1959)
   A Kind of Anger (1964)
   The Levanter (1972)
   Send No More Roses (1974)
     aka The Siege of the Villa Lipp
   Doctor Frigo (1974)
   The Care of Time (1981)
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Collections
   The Ability to Kill (1963)
   Waiting for Orders (1991)
     aka The Story So Far
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Anthologies edited
   To Catch a Spy (1964)
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Non fiction show
 
Omnibus editions show
 
Books containing stories by Eric Ambler
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Mysterious Pleasures (2003)
(Crime Writer's Association Anthology)
edited by
Martin Edwards
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The Book of Spies (2003)
An Anthology of Literary Espionage
edited by
Alan Furst

More books 


Awards
1986 CWA Diamond Dagger
1972 CWA Gold Dagger : The Levanter
1964 Edgar Award for Best Novel : The Light of Day
1959 Crossed Red Herring Award : Passage of Arms

Award nominations
1967 CWA Gold Dagger (nominee) : Dirty Story
1964 CWA Gold Dagger (nominee) : A Kind of Anger
1962 CWA Gold Dagger (nominee) : The Light of Day


Eric Ambler recommends
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The Miernik Dossier (1974)
(Paul Christopher, book 1)
Charles McCarry
"It is ages since I enjoyed anything as much . This is the most intelligent and enthralling piece of work I have read for a very long time. The level of reality it achieves is high indeed; it is superbly constructed, wholly convincing, and displays insights that are distinctly refreshing. A new and very welcome talent."

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