Regulars to this site will know of my weakness for a good Book Club edition to own alongside the first edition and those of the 1960s in particular.

The Book Club in all of its various guises published what were essentially more affordable versions of recent publications by the most popular authors of the day. From the Book Club Associates to The Thriller Book Club, World Books, The Companion Book Club and The Reprint Society amongst others, many of these editions were actually nicer versions than the originals.

Len Deighton was one such author who, alongside Ian Fleming and John Le Carrê, really captured the imagination of a readership very willing to escape into a world of intrigue and excitement and publishers used the skills of artists to draw readers in with their striking covers.

First up is Funeral in Berlin, the third in the series of what is generally regarded as the Harry Palmer novels of the sixties. Published by The Thriller Book Club shortly after the first edition by Jonathan Cape in 1964, it features a classic Book Club style cover, sadly uncredited. This cover is much different to the Raymond Hawkey monochrome photograph of the Cape edition and as much as I like the Hawkey covers, this is a welcome variant.

Billion Dollar Brain was the follow-up to Funeral in Berlin, this edition was published by The Companion Book Club in 1966 featuring the artwork of an established book cover artist, Mike Alan Charlton. His cover alludes to the film version of the series featuring Michael Caine as Harry Palmer, the cheeky, carefree and troublesome agent from British Intelligence. In the films, Caine wore black rimmed glasses and was a conscious alternative to Fleming’s James Bond. This cover is an acknowledgment that the unnamed central character in Deighton’s books was Harry Palmer.

Deighton’s next book, separate from the previous series and once again first published by Jonathan Cape was An Expensive Place to Die. The original first edition with another very good photographic cover also contained a ‘secret document’ booklet, which, if you have one, is now very collectible. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, The Companion Book Club edition never had one. The cover, by Stewart Irwin, is very distinctive in style from the period. Published in the same year as the first edition, Irwin’s cover is somewhat risqué and perhaps indicative of the move away from the conservative attitudes Britain had up until the latter half of the sixties.

The Book Club Associates continued to reprint Deighton’s novels in the seventies and eighties but, as with the first editions of most artists by then, publishers had sadly moved away from using artists for their covers, preferring the cheaper option of a photographer using models or still shots of a gun, some bullets and a passport for what seemed like every espionage thriller published!

Thankfully, the snobbery around these editions has, largely, eroded due, I suspect to the cost and lack of ‘true’ first editions. For me, these were often more attractive copies and worthy of a place on any collectors shelf.

Further reading:

In Appreciation of Roger Payne

Alistair MacLean Book Club Editions

Mike Charlton- Artist

Book Club Bond