Frederick Forsyth (1938-), Novelist

Sitter in 3 portraits
Author and political commentator best known for thrillers such as The Dogs of War and The Odessa File. Educated at Tonbridge School and University of Granada, Spain. After a stint in the RAF (1956 to 1958), Forsyth worked as a reporter, first for the Norfolk Eastern Daily Press (1958 -1961) and then in 1961 for Reuters. He joined the BBC in 1965 as Assistant Diplomatic Correspondent. Three years later he left, after a dispute about his reporting of the Biafran War. His first non-fiction book, The Biafran Story, was published in 1969, and his first novel, The Day of the Jackal, in 1971. He has continued to write novels since then, many of which have been turned into films.