Secrets, Spies & Foreign Affairs at the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival

On stage for this panel event were John Fullerton; Dan Fesperman; C J Sansom; The Rough Guide to Crime Fiction author Barry Forshaw, with Natasha Cooper interrogating gently (chairing).  Some highlights follow.

We kicked off hearing the panel's thoughts on the secret of espionage fiction.  Forshaw said he thinks the best espionage fiction has great texture; it can deal with betrayal and political issues in a more sophisticated way than pure crime fiction.  He sees it as "much richer than crime fiction".

Cooper, being the only female on stage was interested in the male female divide.  She sees it as a male genre, but with women reading it.  Many women have been successful spies, she said.  So why don't women write it?

Fullerton replied that he has no idea why women don't write in this genre but thinks that women are better at psychological writing.  It's a genre that has every man's toys and breaks all the rules.  However, in the real world of espionage, Fullerton was keen to add, "You can't break the rules".

Sansom said his spy is a reluctant spy and not a very good spy.  He lacks the key component of being at a certain ease, i.e. enjoying deception.  It's considered morally wrong, but spies have to do it.  There's an additional dimension to the police.  As for women not writing spy novels, Sansom believes it's entirely prejudice as they think it's all about boys' toys.  "Men and women", he added, "are good at deception".

Forshaw noted a dip in spy fiction following the end of the cold war but was keen to add that Stella Rimington has written spy novels.  He told us that she was more worried about the rise in Islamic terrorism as no one knows where they are.

Fullerton commented that writing about spies has nothing to do with the real world of spies.  It's making it up entirely and bears no resemblance.

At this point Cooper put Fullerton on the spot.  Had he been a spy?  Fullerton admitted that he had been for a short while, describing himself as a "spear carrier, the lowest of the low".  He was "wearing out shoe leather on the street and not in an office".  He found it "enormous fun".

Moving on to Fesperman, who has been a foreign correspondent, he said he's been accused of being a spy, but no, he's never been one.

The topic of Fleming and Bond came up.  Forshaw said he considers it an oxymoron to have romance working in a spy novel.  Fullerton remarked that Bond would have been an awful spy.  He said that you need someone who is "grey, unnoticed, doesn't stand out in any way".

Cooper noted the success of the TV series "Spooks" and the fact that it had led to a rise in applications to join the security services in the UK.  Some, she said, obviously thought it was a reflection of the real thing.

But Fullerton considers it "grotesque" and doesn't watch it.  He added that you need a completely different type of person.  He told us that in training, the novice spooks are taken out to do practical exercises and that this soon sorts out who the "quietly determined ones are".  For Fullerton, quiet determination is key.

Fesperman then came back with the comment that in the US they have "24" - again, not at all real.

Enlightening us further, Fullerton said that in the real world what you're actually trying to do is gain access.   A person recruited may not even know they've been recruited.

Finally, Cooper asked if the genre was realistic or an open season for drama?

Sansom declared it's open season.  He likes to try and be real and endeavours to avoid romance in the situations in which the characters find themselves.

I'm not sure how and when the following comment came up after this question, but it's a gem.  Fullerton told us that he'd been a "war junkie", adding that by the time he'd come back "had a bath, something to eat... freshened up... got laid" he wanted to go back again.

This was an engaging panel event and it was lovely to hear the very open (and honest?) discourse.  A spook is trained in deception and comfortable with it to be successful.  But Fullerton did come across as delightfully honest to me, very ready to draw the comparison between fiction and reality.

Comments

[crimeficreader]

And Natasha's extensive preparation was obvious. This was a well researched piece to get the best from the boys.
Thanks for the comment, Natasha.

[Natasha Cooper]

Really delighted you enjoyed the Spies panel. I must say I loved chairing it and was riveted by both the reading around the subject I did in preparation and everything the chaps said during the panel itself.
Natasha