Alan Furst (; born 1941) is an American author of historical

spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellig ...

s. Furst has been called "an heir to the tradition of

Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 23 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books ...

and

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

," whom he cites along with Joseph Roth and

Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler (, ; ; ; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest, and was educated in Austria, apart from his early school years. In 1931, Koestler j ...

as important influences. Most of his novels since 1988 have been set just prior to or during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and he is noted for his successful evocations of

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

an peoples and places during the period from 1933 to 1944.

Biography

Furst was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and raised on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. His family has ancestors in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. His great-grandfather was drafted into the Russian army, and, as a Jew, was required to serve 20 years. He attended the

Horace Mann School Horace Mann School (also known as Horace Mann or HM) is an American private, independent college-preparatory school in the Bronx, founded in 1887. Horace Mann is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League, educating students from the New Yo ...

, received a B.A. from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1962, and an M.A. from

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

in 1967. While attending general studies courses at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, he became acquainted with

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist, author and speaker, who appeared frequently in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Col ...

, for whom he later worked. Before becoming a full-time novelist, Furst worked in advertising and wrote magazine articles, most notably for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', and as a columnist for the ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

''.

Early writings

Furst's papers were obtained by the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

at The

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. They include a 1963 letter from his grandfather, Max Stockman, which urged Furst to become a teacher and 'write as a sideline' in his spare time. The collection also includes early articles on a wide variety of topics, published in many magazines for which no common denominator can be found, including ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast ...

'', ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'', ''Esquire'', '' 50 Plus'', ''International Herald Tribune'', ''Islands'', ''New Choices'', ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''Pursuits'', ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'', and ''

Seattle Weekly The ''Seattle Weekly'' is an alternative biweekly distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as ''The Weekly.'' Its first issue was published on March 31, 1976, and it becam ...

''. The Ransom collection remarks: "Of note is the April 1984 ''Esquire'' article, 'The Danube Blues,' which sparked Furst's interest in writing espionage novels. Numerous slides of his 1983 Danube trip are also available. Unproduced

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

s include 'Heroes of the Last War' (1984), and 'Warsaw' (1992)." His early novels (1976–1983) achieved limited success. One item, held in the Ransom collection, includes the manuscript for "One Smart Cookie" (with Debbi Fields, 1987), a commissioned biography of the owner of the Mrs. Fields Cookies company. The year 1988 saw publication of ''Night Soldiers''—inspired by his 1984 trip to

on assignment for ''Esquire''—which invigorated his career and led to a succession of related titles. His output since 1988 includes a dozen works. He is especially noted for his successful evocations of

an peoples and places during the period from 1933 to 1944. While all his historical espionage novels are loosely connected (protagonists in one book might appear as minor characters in another), only ''The World at Night'' and ''Red Gold'' share a common plot. Writing in ''The New York Times'', the novelist Justin Cartwright says that Furst, who lives in

Sag Harbor Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiners Bay. The population was 2,772 at the 2 ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, "has adopted a European sensibility." Awarded a Fulbright teaching fellowship in 1969, Furst moved to

Sommières Sommières (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France, located at the border with the Hérault department. It lies from Nîmes, from Montpellier. Geography Sommières is to the south of the garrigues and on the edge of t ...

, France, outside of

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, and taught at the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier () is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous opera ...

. He later lived for many years in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, a city that he calls "the heart of civilisation" which figures significantly in all his novels. In 2011, the Tulsa Library Trust in

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

selected Furst to receive its Helmerich Award, a

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Man ...

given annually to honor a distinguished author's body of work.David Harper
"Spy novelist Alan Furst chosen for 2011 Helmerich Award"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

'', March 6, 2011. In 2012, he appeared in a documentary about the life and work of author

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

, ''Revealing Mr. Maugham''.

Works

Stand-alone novel

*''Shadow Trade'' (1983)

Roger Levin

#''Your Day in the Barrel'' (1976) #''The Paris Drop'' (1980) #''The Caribbean Account'' (1981)

''Night Soldiers'' novels

#''Night Soldiers'' (1988) #''Dark Star'' (1991) #'' The Polish Officer'' (1995) #'' The World at Night'' (1996) #''Red Gold'' (1999) #'' Kingdom of Shadows'' (2000) #''Blood of Victory'' (2003) #''Dark Voyage'' (2004) #''The Foreign Correspondent'' (2006) #'' The Spies of Warsaw'' (2008) #''Spies of the Balkans'' (2010) #''Mission to Paris'' (2012) #'' Midnight in Europe'' (2014) #''A Hero of France'' (2016) #''Under Occupation'' (2019)

Crossovers

Secondary characters who appear in more than one Furst novel include: * Ilya Goldman, NKVD (''Night Soldiers'', ''Dark Star'', ''Kingdom of Shadows'', ''The Foreign Correspondent'') * Sascha Vonets, NKVD (''Night Soldiers'', mentioned in ''Dark Star'') * Ivan Ivanovich Agayants, NKVD ''(Night Soldiers, Dark Star'') * Colonel Vassily Antipin (''Night Soldiers'', ''Red Gold'') * General Bloch, GRU (''Night Soldiers'', ''Dark Star'') * Renate Braun, Comintern foreign specialist (''Night Soldiers'', ''Dark Star'') * Maltsaev, NKVD (''Night Soldiers'', ''Dark Star'') * Voyschinkowsky, The Lion of the Bourse (''Night Soldiers'', ''Dark Star'', ''The Polish Officer'', ''Kingdom of Shadows, The Foreign Correspondent'') * Colonel Anton Vyborg, Polish military intelligence (''Dark Star'', ''The Polish Officer'', ''The Spies of Warsaw'') * Captain Degrave (''The World At Night'', ''Red Gold'') * Count Janos Polanyi (''Kingdom of Shadows'', ''Blood of Victory'', ''The Foreign Correspondent'', ''Mission To Paris'', ''Midnight in Europe'') * S. Kolb, British agent (''Dark Voyage'', ''The Foreign Correspondent'', ''Spies of the Balkans'', briefly in ''Midnight in Europe'', ''A Hero of France'') * Max de Lyon, spy and owner of Le Cygne night club (''Midnight in Europe'', ''A Hero of France'') * Stavros, spy and friend of Max de Lyon (''Midnight in Europe'', ''A Hero of France'') * Dr. Lapp, Abwehr (''Kingdom of Shadows'', ''The Spies of Warsaw''; mentioned in ''Blood of Victory'') * Boris Balki, Russian emigre bartender in Paris (''Kingdom of Shadows'', mentioned in ''Blood of Victory'') * Mark Shublin, Polish painter (''Kingdom of Shadows'', ''The Spies of Warsaw'') * Louis Fischfang, screenwriter (''The Foreign Correspondent, The World at Night''; is mentioned a few times, but does not appear, in ''Red Gold'') * Lady Marensohn, American/British agent (''Night Soldiers'', ''The World at Night'') * Jean Casson, a film producer and protagonist of ''The World At Night'' and ''Red Gold'', is mentioned, but does not appear, in ''Mission To Paris'') * Ivanic, NKVD assassin (''The World At Night'', ''Red Gold'') * Cara Dionello, Nicholas Morath's Argentine girlfriend (''Kingdom Of Shadows'', ''The Foreign Correspondent'') * British intelligence operatives in Europe (mainly Paris), such as ** Lady Angela Hope (appears in ''Night Soldiers'' and ''Dark Star''; mentioned in ''Red Gold'', ''The Foreign Correspondent'', ''Kingdom of Shadows'', ''Blood of Victory'') ** Roddy Fitzware (''Night Soldiers'', ''Dark Star'') ** Mr. Brown (''Night Soldiers'', ''Blood of Victory'', ''Dark Voyage'', ''The Foreign Correspondent'') * Momo Tsipler & his Wienerwald Companions, a night-club act (''Dark Star'', ''Blood of Victory'' and ''The Foreign Correspondent'') * Brasserie Heininger, Paris restaurant (every book; inspired by the real-life Bistro Bofinger) * ''Nicea'', a tramp freighter (''Dark Star'', ''The Polish Officer'')

References

External links

Alan Furst.net

Our Best Thriller Writer

Inventory of Alan Furst Papers 1961-2005
at the

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

at the

.
Writers Reflect
with Alan Furst at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furst, Alan 1941 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American historical novelists American male novelists American spy fiction writers Horace Mann School alumni Jewish American novelists Living people Novelists from New York (state) Oberlin College alumni Pennsylvania State University alumni People from Sag Harbor, New York People from the Upper West Side Writers from Manhattan Alan Furst