ames Fenimore Cooper is one of my favourite writers from 19th-century American literature. His novel The Last of the Mohicans was adapted into a critically acclaimed feature film that won multiple awards, including an Oscar. Beyond historical fiction, Cooper is also credited with writing some of the earliest American spy novels.

The Spy (1821) and The Bravo (1831) are among the first examples of espionage fiction in the early 19th century. From Cooper to Frederick Forsyth who passed away on June 9, 2025 there exists a long lineage of American and British authors who have captivated readers with tales of espionage.

Forsyth distinguished himself as one of the few whose novels were not only bestsellers but also successfully adapted for film and television. Other notable names include John le Carré (The Constant Gardener), Len Deighton (The Ipcress File), Joseph Kanon (The Good German), Eric Ambler (Topkapi), Ian Fleming (From Russia with Love), Graham Greene (The Third Man) and David Ignatius (Body of Lies).

Several of Forsyth`s novels were adapted for the screen, including The Day ofthe Jackal (1973 and 2024), The Odessa File (1974), The Dogs of War (1980), and The Fourth Protocol (1987). Each adaptation brings its own thematic focus and cinematic texture, offering diverse experiences to audiences.

THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (1973 AND 2024) This Forsyth classic holds the rare distinction of being adapted twice: first as a feature film in 1973 and, more recently, as a TV series in 2024. While the series offers a more expansive narrative, I personally prefer the 1973 film. Directed by Fred Zinnemann acclaimed for High Noon (1952), From Here to Eternity (1953), The Nun`s Story (1959), and A Man for All Seasons (1966) this was his first foray into the spy thriller genre, and he executed it masterfully.

Forsyth penned the novel during a period of unemployment, uncertain whether his journalistic research skills could translate into fiction. The outcome was extraordinary a blend of realism and suspense. Drawing on his experience as a Reuters correspondent in France during the early 1960s, he recreated the tense postindependence atmosphere of Algeria and the 1962 assassination attempt on President Charles de Gaulle by the paramilitary group OAS (Secret Army Organisation).

The novel unfolds like a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, grounded in firsthand reports and intelligence briefings. Zinnemann`s film delivers a cool, methodical portrayal of the assassin played by Edward Fox with meticulous attention to detail. The character development is remarkable, the cinematography sharp, and the suspense masterfully sustained.

The film grabs your attention from the very first frame. The opening scenes are almost devoid of dialogue, relying instead on visual storytelling, which arguably makes them even more gripping than the novel`s introduction. For two straight hours, the film commands your full attention. It is, without doubt, one of the finest book-toscreen adaptations. The screenplay is coherent and compelling, and the novel itself remains one of the strongest debut works in the thriller genre.

T HE ODESSA FILE (1974) Though titled after the Ukrainian port city of Odessa where I lived for a year in 1987-88 during the Soviet era the novel has little to do with the location itself. The story begins with the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, whose diary ends up in the hands of a journalist.

Within its pages lie clues about a former SS captain who once commanded a Nazi concentration camp, prompting the journalist to launch an investigation.

After World War II, many Jewish survivors resettled in America and, with support from Britain and other Western nations, helped establish the state of Israel. The Zionist movement ensured that the Holocaust`s atrocities were never forgotten, leveraging literature, film and art to immortalise its horrors. Since Israel`s founding and the subsequent displacement of Palestinians in 1948 numerous films and novels have depicted concentration camps and Holocaust experiences, often with nuanced messages and sophisticated storytelling.

These narratives were not exclusively written by Jewish authors. Many non-Jewish writers also contributed to this body of literature. While it`s impossible to prove, one might speculate that some writers were incentivised to focus on Jewish suffering while downplaying Israel`s treatment of Palestinians. I`m not suggesting Forsyth wrote The Odessa File under such influence, but the possibility remains.

Directed by Ronald Neame known for classics such as BriefEncounter (1945) and Great Expectations (1946) the film stars Jon Voight as the investigative journalist. With realistic portrayals of events such as the 1941 Riga massacre, the film highlights genuine Nazi atrocities. The villain, based on SS officer Eduard Roschmann, spurred real-world efforts to locate war criminals.

Roschmann was eventually found in South America and died in Paraguay in 1977.

THEDOGSOFWAR(1980) If you`re curious about the inner workings of mercenary operations, The Dogs of War offers a stark portrayal. Christopher Walken, fresh off his Oscar win for The Deer Hunter, plays Shannon a seasoned mercenary sent to the fictional African nation of Zangaro. After being captured and deported, he returns on a second mission, bent on revenge.

Directed by John Irvin, known more for television than film, this adaptation doesn`t do full justice to Forsyth`s novel. Unlike the tight narratives of The Day of the Jackal or The Odessa File, this film leans heavily on violence, focusing on a corrupt dictator and the foreign mercenaries plotting to overthrow him. The novel presents a simplistic and dated image of Africa as chaotic and degenerate, with the white mercenary cast as a reluctant saviour.

The action scenes lack energy, and the plot is overly linear.

Forsyth`s depiction of mercenaries toasting `Long live death, long live war` may reflect Western policies toward the Global South but comes off as heavy-handed. Africa is portrayed as a lost cause, reinforcing colonial stereotypes. Though there are large-scale battles and explosions, the story lacks the depth and complexity to qualify as a standout thriller. Over-reliance on direct dialogue from the novel makes the film feel laboured. Ultimately, it`s a mediocre film based on an average war novel, rather than a compelling espionage story.

THE FOURTH PROTOCOL (1987) Slightly better than The Dogs of War, The Fourth Protocol plays into Cold War anxieties. The plot follows British agent John Preston (Michael Caine), who must thwart a Soviet plan to detonate a nuclear device near an American airbase in the UK an attempt to fracture US-UK relations.

Directed by John Mackenzie, who also had a stronger footing in television, the film never truly finds its rhythm. Pierce Brosnan, long before his James Bond fame, plays Soviet agent Valeri Petrofsky. The story draws its title from a supposed Cold War treaty that included a `fourth protocol`, prohibiting the placement of nuclear weapons in enemy territories.

The plot involves a string of assassinations aimed at erasing all traces of the operation`s masterminds. While this is a staple of spy fiction, the film lacks the polish of stronger works in the genre. Forsyth comes across as a staunch Cold War conservative, exaggerating Soviet threats and largely ignoring the flaws of Western politics.

Character development is weak and the political themes murky. In comparison to Bridge of Spies (2015), directed by Steven Spielberg, The Fourth Protocol illustrates the stark difference between an average director and a master of the craft. Brosnan`s portrayal of Petrofsky is unconvincing, especially when compared to his later Bond roles. Michael Caine, by contrast, delivers a solid performance that anchors the film.

FINAL THOUGHTS Frederick Forsyth was part of a group of conservative writers who shaped Cold War narratives, often depicting communists and leaders of developing nations as villains, while seldom critiquing the capitalist West. He admitted in his 2015 memoirs that he had been an MI6 asset from 1968 to 1988. His novels are rich in suspense but firmly rooted in a worldview heavily influenced by Cold War ideology.

Many obituaries published around the world have lavished praise and admiration on Forsyth, yet few have acknowledged his role in `manufacturing consent` promoting anti-communist sentiment and casting the Third World in a negative light, while generating sympathy for the Jewish cause.

His first novel was also his best; from that point on, he became a prolific author, producing nearly two dozen books, though none reached the level of a true masterpiece. Still, his storytelling skill is undeniable. For me, The Day ofthe Jackal remains his finest work a remarkable debut and a high point in the spy thriller genre.

The reviewer is a columnist and educator.

He can be reached at Mnazir1964@yahoo.co.uk X: @NaazirMahmood