Slough House (novel series)
 Cover of Slow Horses the first book in the series. | |
| |
| Author | Mick Herron |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Spy fiction |
| Publisher | Penguin Random House |
| Published | 1 June 2010 |
| No. of books | 8 |
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.
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
[edit]Genre
[edit]Herron 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
[edit]TV series
[edit]Slow 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]
Books in the series
[edit]The Slough House series comprises nine novels and four novellas ordered by publication date:
| Title | First published | ISBN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow Horses | 2010 | 9781473674189 | |
|
Introduces the team of sidelined and disgraced agents - the slow horses - relegated to Slough House under the leadership of Jackson Lamb. When a young man is abducted by extremists who threaten to execute him live on the internet, the agents see a chance to redeem themselves, uncovering a web of political intrigue that suggests the kidnapping may not be what it seems. | |||
| Dead Lions | 2013 | 9781616952259 | |
|
After the suspicious death of a former Cold War spy, the rejects at Slough House are drawn into a conspiracy involving sleeper agents. | |||
| The List (novella) | 2015 | 9781616957452 | |
|
John Bachelor is an agent responsible for keeping track of retired assets, but when a former informants dies, Bachelor discovers a hidden notebook containing sensitive information. | |||
| Real Tigers | 2016 | 9781616956127 | |
|
When one of the slow horses is kidnapped, the rest of the team mount an unsanctioned rescue operation. | |||
| Spook Street | 2017 | 9781473621299 | |
| London Rules | 2018 | 9781473657403 | |
| The Drop (novella) | 2018 | 9781473678309 | |
| Joe Country | 2019 | 9781473657441 | |
| The Catch (novella) | 2020 | 9781529331707 | |
| Slough House | 2021 | 9781529378641 | |
| Bad Actors | 2022 | 9781529378702 | |
| Standing By The Wall (collection) | 2022 | 9781641295031 | |
|
A collection of Slough House novellas, comprising The List, The Drop, The Catch, The Last Dead Letter, and Standing by the Wall. | |||
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.