Slough House is a series of spy novels by the British Author Mick Herron. He began writing the first volume, Slow Horses, in 2008, and published it in 2010.
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Author | Mick Herron |
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Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Genre | Spy fiction |
Publisher | Penguin Random House |
Published | 1 June 2010 |
No. of books | 8 |
The series follows River Cartwright and his coworkers, a group of humiliated MI5 agents, who have been relegated to pushing paper in a desk job. They serve under a crude aging Cold War era agent, Jackson Lamb, and will do anything to get back into the game.
Inspiration and writing
editGenre
editHerron has been referenced as having a broad range of influences from John le Carré, Len Deighton,[1] Charles Dickens to Reginald Hill[2] and P. G. Wodehouse.[3] Herron began reading le Carré at the age of 14[4] and stated he "gave me permission to become a writer ... He showed me you could invent an entire world, invent its language too."[5] Herron stated that le Carré's A Perfect Spy, was the only "masterpiece" by one of his influences that he was able to read as a newly released publication.[6]
Herron has stated that one of the series' protagonists Jackson Lamb, was influenced by Reginald Hill's Andy Dalziel.[2] While Herron has denied intentionally making Lamb's name a homage to le Carré, he has acknowledged he certainly read the character's initials "J. Lamb" in Smiley's People.[6]
While many of England's famous espionage writers like le Carré and Ian Fleming had previously been members of the secret service, Herron has had no militiary or intelligence experience.[3] When speaking about his previous experience working in a legal department of an employment research centre, Herron said "People say write what you know... So I wrote about people who are failures."[3]
Derived works
editTV series
editSlow Horses is a British spy thriller television series based on the Slough House series of novels. The series premiered on Apple TV+ on 1 April 2022.[7] The second series, Dead Lions, premiered on 2 December 2022.[8] In June 2022, the series was renewed for a third and fourth series.[9] The third series premiered on 29 November 2023.[10] The fourth series is set to premiere on 4 September 2024.[11] In January 2024, it was renewed for a fifth series, which will be based on the fifth book in the series, London Rules.[12]
References
edit- ^ Steffens, Daneet (10 June 2019). "Mick Herron on the Art of the Misfit Spy Thriller". crimereads.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2024.
- ^ a b Mick Herron. "Crime writer Mick Herron: 'I don't know my hero's backstory yet' | Books". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- ^ a b c "Is Mick Herron the Best Spy Novelist of His Generation?". The New Yorker. 28 November 2022. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024.
- ^ Thomson, Graeme (12 February 2017). "SO REAL IT'SPOOKY: Mick Herron is the new king of the spy thriller... can he truly be making it all up?". ProQuest. London: Mail on Sunday.
- ^ Higgins, Charlotte (15 January 2021). "Mick Herron: 'I look at Jackson Lamb and think: My God, did I write that? My mother reads this stuff!'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023.
- ^ a b Mick, Herron (18 October 2021). "What re-reading John le Carré taught me". Penguin.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Trailer for new Apple Original espionage drama "Slow Horses", starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, debuts ahead of global premiere on April 1, 2022". Apple.com. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 27 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Apple's hit espionage drama "Slow Horses" debuts season two trailer". Apple.com. 19 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ Porter, Rick (1 June 2022). "'Slow Horses' Renewed Through Season 4 at Apple TV+". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ Morgan, Anna (7 November 2023). "'Apple's acclaimed espionage drama "Slow Horses," starring Academy Award winner Gary Oldman, unveils trailer for season three". Apple TV+. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (27 June 2024). "Slow Horses Gets Season 4 Premiere Date at Apple TV+ — See First Photos". TVLine. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Schwartz, Ryan (2 January 2024). "Slow Horses Renewed for Season 5 at Apple TV+; Season 4 Premiere Date TBA". TVLine. Retrieved 2 January 2024.