Alec Marsh, author and journalist

Thanks to @sauldavid66, @VaseemKhanUK and @MarkEllis15 for their support for CUT AND RUN - out now in #KindleUnlimited @BestThrillBooks @BestThrillers @HistoryRage @AspectsHistory @The_CWA

On Gone Medieval today, the brilliant Todd Ferguson joins me to talk about an unexpected Viking move that would redefine Scottish history - the 870 Siege of Dumbarton. podfollow.com/gone-medieval/… #history #podcast #medieval #newepisode

@JAHeale @urpolitikcs Though you struggle to buy a pint for a fiver anymore

We have a winner for the new fiver via @urpolitikcs

@EvanHD Love this stuff. In 85 days - so early June - he’ll overtake the Earl of Aberdeen who I think was rather a great man (as Eden was, until he wasn’t).

I missed it on Tuesday.. but Keir Starmer has overtaken Rishi Sunak in his length of time in office. And is about three weeks short of Anthony Eden

@pirateirwin That's a great film and Christopher Plummer as Kipling is especially good, too...

@AlecMarsh Yes Connery was hardly the actor one would choose to play a public school boy -- know it is hardly related but it was wonderful to see Bond and Palmer brought together in The Man Who Would Be King 😊

thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/… -- 'Deighton and Caine became close friends and would joke about how the author’s first choice of actor for the role had been Harry H Corbett, later of Steptoe fame.' 1/2

@pirateirwin The Salzmann connection is fascinating. In the choice perhaps of Connery and the vibe, it's an interesting question how much The Ipcress File influenced the film version of Bond; it certainly plays down Fleming's Fettes public schoolboy and may owe more to Deighton than we think

@AlecMarsh Yes wonderful. Spot on analysis of the contrast between H Palmer and J Bond. What a terrific fellow he was Len D.

@MoarPart @JAHeale @spectator @ShippersUnbound Well you would, wouldn't you? Politicians like even the negative cartoons

@AlecMarsh @JAHeale @spectator @ShippersUnbound NF will have this framed on his wall before the day's end.

This week's @spectator cover with @ShippersUnbound: the most extensive deep-dive to date on Reform's rise

“Probably the single most ambitious thing about economic devolution that this country has ever seen” Economist Lord O’Neill says Rachel Reeves’ announcement on giving regional bodies more spending powers over income tax is “fabulous news” and has been overlooked #Peston

@richardaeden 👍

Because she's our future Queen and she looks magnificent

@readswithravi I bought this in the school bookshop as a precocious nine-year-old in 1984. Finally read it a few years later. Goodness …

It took me long enough to pick this book, but we’re here: 1984 by George Orwell.

@JAHeale @ShippersUnbound @spectator Were you tempted to run with GAWS?

@MattNixson @AlecMarsh @Daily_Express @alex_gerlis @Andrew_Grant @spybrary @DeightonDossier @mccloskeybooks theoldie.co.uk/blog/rip-len-d…

@sturgios Yes... The lady doth emote too much

Murder she (nearly) wrote

@PrivateEyeNews on the money.

Down below on page 2 of The Times today is the dog that’s still years from barking in British politics - but it will (in about 15). Gen X is facing a grim grey future….

My piece in today's @Daily_Express on the late, great Len Deighton, with thanks to @alex_gerlis @Andrew_Grant @spybrary @DeightonDossier Mick Herron & @mccloskeybooks - some lovely tributes

A personal reflection from Mike Ripley on the great #LenDeighton

Len Deighton produced novels that were packed with excitement and suspense but also infused with moral complexity and psychological insight. Len Deighton’s spycraft | Malcolm Forbes engelsbergideas.com/essays/len-dei…

@ShippersUnbound That’s stunning !

One of my most prized possessions, a paperback of The Ipcress File, Deighton’s first novel, with an explanation from Len about where the gun came from on the cover

Very sad to learn of the death of Len Deighton, who was one of the two greatest spy thriller writers of all time and in some regards was Le Carre’s superior. Anyone who has not read Deighton should try Funeral in Berlin, Bomber or SSGB. Most of all they should seek out Berlin Game, the start of an epic 10 book Cold War series focused on Bernard Samson. Deighton’s writing was sharp, satirical, gripping and often amusing. His office infighting in the intelligence services was delicious and his characters are beautifully drawn. The Samson cycle starts with a meticulously plotted run of five books (Berlin Game, Mexico Set, London Match, Spy Hook and Spy Line) which all stand alone but tell one big story from the jaded but dedicated perspective Bernard a brilliant field operative. Len’s genius idea was to use the sixth, Spy Sinker, to retell the whole cycle from the perspective of everyone else, exposing what Bernard didn’t know and misunderstood. There is then an origin story about Bernard’s dad during the war, Winter, and then a concluding trilogy of Faith, Hope and Charity, which is not as high quality but deals with the fallout from the events of books 1-5. It’s an epic achievement and the greatest long series in spy fiction, accepting that the Smiley series is the greatest short series. Do yourself a favour, give it a try