Anthony Price
Encyclopedia
Anthony Price is an author
of espionage
thrillers.
and served in the British Army
from 1947 to 1949, reaching the rank of Captain. He then studied at Merton College, Oxford
until 1952, earning the MA
degree. Price was a journalist with the Westminster Press
from 1952 to 1988, as well as an editor with the Oxford Times from 1972 to 1988.
He is the author of nineteen novels in the Dr David Audley/Colonel Jack Butler series. These books focus on a group of counter-intelligence agents who work for an organization modeled on MI5. They usually refer to their employer obscurely as "the Ministry of Defence", though it becomes clear in Our Man in Camelot that their specific department is rather like MI5. Other Paths to Glory mentions that the secret agency's budget is hidden under "Research and Development". The agency is headed by Sir Frederick Clinton and then by Colonel Jack Butler. Its best agent is David Audley, a historian turned spy. Audley is known for his unorthodox tactics and perhaps surprisingly his fondness for quoting Kipling, especially Stalky & Co.
.
Audley appears in each of the novels, but is not always the "point of view" character. In the first novel, The Labyrinth Makers, in which Audley meets his future wife, he is the central character, but other operatives are introduced and later have books of their own, including Jack Butler (Colonel Butler's Wolf), Squadron Leader Hugh Roskill (The Alamut Ambush), and historian Paul Mitchell, whom Audley first recruits in Other Paths to Glory. As in John le Carré
's Smiley novels, there are rivalries and enmities within the department, but Price takes this further by telling whole books through the eyes of those who oppose or dislike Audley: notably Sion Crossing, in the voice of Oliver Latimer. Price's fictional spy service belongs to a more recent Britain than le Carré's, and includes women among its active agents: first Frances Fitzgibbon and later Elizabeth Loftus. Audley's Russian opponent, Professor Panin, also makes repeated appearances, and a recurring plot in the later novels concerns the "Debrecen List" of people who may, or may not, have attended a spy school in Debrecen
, a city in eastern Hungary.
The novels traverse "real time", in that the characters change and evolve with each episode, with approximately twenty years elapsing between the first and last novel; a few titles cut away from this time-line by showing the youthful exploits of Audley and Butler during and after the Second World War. An unusual feature of the plots is that they are all somehow connected with one or more important events in military history, with most containing a strong element of archeology.
Chessgame
, a six part television series based on his first three novels appeared on British independent television in late 1983, and was re-shown in 1986 as three TV movies. Audley and Roskill are given the central roles, with the character of Butler replaced and renamed in order that he could appear in all three stories. The Labyrinth Makers and Other Paths To Glory have also been produced as one-off mystery dramas by BBC Radio, the latter featuring Martin Jarvis as Paul Mitchell.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
thrillers.
Life and work
Price attended The King's School, CanterburyThe King's School, Canterbury
The King's School is a British co-educational independent school for both day and boarding pupils in the historic English cathedral city of Canterbury in Kent. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group....
and served in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
from 1947 to 1949, reaching the rank of Captain. He then studied at Merton College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
until 1952, earning the MA
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degree. Price was a journalist with the Westminster Press
Westminster Press
Westminster Press refers perhaps to one of these:* Westminster Press was a printing company in London run by Gerard Meynell, printer of the Imprint...
from 1952 to 1988, as well as an editor with the Oxford Times from 1972 to 1988.
He is the author of nineteen novels in the Dr David Audley/Colonel Jack Butler series. These books focus on a group of counter-intelligence agents who work for an organization modeled on MI5. They usually refer to their employer obscurely as "the Ministry of Defence", though it becomes clear in Our Man in Camelot that their specific department is rather like MI5. Other Paths to Glory mentions that the secret agency's budget is hidden under "Research and Development". The agency is headed by Sir Frederick Clinton and then by Colonel Jack Butler. Its best agent is David Audley, a historian turned spy. Audley is known for his unorthodox tactics and perhaps surprisingly his fondness for quoting Kipling, especially Stalky & Co.
Stalky & Co.
Stalky & Co. is a book published in 1899 by Rudyard Kipling, about adolescent boys at a British boarding school. It is a collection of linked short stories in format, with some information about the charismatic Stalky character in later life. The character Beetle, one of the main trio, is partly...
.
Audley appears in each of the novels, but is not always the "point of view" character. In the first novel, The Labyrinth Makers, in which Audley meets his future wife, he is the central character, but other operatives are introduced and later have books of their own, including Jack Butler (Colonel Butler's Wolf), Squadron Leader Hugh Roskill (The Alamut Ambush), and historian Paul Mitchell, whom Audley first recruits in Other Paths to Glory. As in John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
's Smiley novels, there are rivalries and enmities within the department, but Price takes this further by telling whole books through the eyes of those who oppose or dislike Audley: notably Sion Crossing, in the voice of Oliver Latimer. Price's fictional spy service belongs to a more recent Britain than le Carré's, and includes women among its active agents: first Frances Fitzgibbon and later Elizabeth Loftus. Audley's Russian opponent, Professor Panin, also makes repeated appearances, and a recurring plot in the later novels concerns the "Debrecen List" of people who may, or may not, have attended a spy school in Debrecen
Debrecen
Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :...
, a city in eastern Hungary.
The novels traverse "real time", in that the characters change and evolve with each episode, with approximately twenty years elapsing between the first and last novel; a few titles cut away from this time-line by showing the youthful exploits of Audley and Butler during and after the Second World War. An unusual feature of the plots is that they are all somehow connected with one or more important events in military history, with most containing a strong element of archeology.
Chessgame
Chessgame
Chessgame is a British television series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network in 1983.Based on a series of novels by Anthony Price, the series dealt with the activities of a quartet of counter-intelligence agents: David Audley , Faith Steerforth , Nick Hannah and Hugh Roskill .One...
, a six part television series based on his first three novels appeared on British independent television in late 1983, and was re-shown in 1986 as three TV movies. Audley and Roskill are given the central roles, with the character of Butler replaced and renamed in order that he could appear in all three stories. The Labyrinth Makers and Other Paths To Glory have also been produced as one-off mystery dramas by BBC Radio, the latter featuring Martin Jarvis as Paul Mitchell.
Novels
- The Labyrinth Makers (1971); winner of Silver Dagger Award
- The Alamut Ambush (1972)
- Colonel Butler's Wolf (1972)
- October Men (1973)
- Other Paths to Glory (1975); winner of Gold DaggerGold DaggerThe Gold Dagger Award was an award given annually by the Crime Writers' Association for the best crime novel of the year.For its first five years, the organization's top honor was known as the Crossed Red Herring Award....
Award - Our Man in Camelot (1975)
- War Game (1977)
- The '44 Vintage (1978)
- Tomorrow's Ghost (1979)
- The Hour of the Donkey (1980)
- Soldier No More (1981)
- The Old Vengeful (1982)
- Gunner Kelly (1983)
- Sion Crossing (1984)
- Here Be Monsters (1985)
- For the Good of the State (1986)
- A New Kind of War (1987)
- A Prospect of Vengeance (1988)
- The Memory Trap (1989)
Non-fiction
- The Eyes of the Fleet: A Popular History of Frigates and Frigate Captains 1793-1815 (1990)
External links
- Addenda to CRIME FICTION IV: Anthony Price, Otto Penzler & others.
- Review of the Audley series by Jo WaltonJo WaltonJo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002 and the World Fantasy award for her novel Tooth and Claw in 2004. Her novel Ha'penny was a co-winner of the 2008 Prometheus Award...