‘The spy is a uniquely characteristic and significant figure of our time’
(from Kingsley Amis’s The Anti-Death League, 1966)
Edinburgh Spy Week: 6-12 April 2014
What accounts for the immense appeal of spy fiction? And what does it say about issues of identity and politics in the modern world? Edinburgh Spy Week is a series of events taking place 6-12 April 2014, organised by the Department of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh exploring the fascinating world of fictions of espionage in literature and film – from screenings of classic spy films at the Edinburgh Filmhouse to a discussion of ‘John Buchan and the Scottish Spy Story’ at the National Library of Scotland to a spy-themed quiz at Blackwell’s Bookshop. Leading spy fiction writers including Charles Cumming, Jeremy Duns and Tim Stevens are taking part in a round-table conversation about the genre, and celebrated author and former director of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington will give a special public lecture on ‘Espionage in Fact and Fiction’.
This site provides further information on all these events, most of which are free but ticketed. To book your place for any of the events, please follow the links in the programme pages.