Editing Harry Palmer (section)

=== Early novels ===
Len Deighton introduced the lead character in ''[[The IPCRESS File]]'', his first novel, published in November 1962. In that [[first person narrative|first-person]] novel, the intelligence officer is anonymous, although at one point he is greeted by someone saying "Hello, Harry"; he later says, "Now my name isn't Harry, but in this business it's hard to remember whether it ever had been."<ref name=ip2>{{cite book | last = Deighton | first = Len | title = The IPCRESS File | publisher = Ballantine | year = 1982 | pages = 31 | isbn = 0-345-30453-5}}</ref> Deighton's character is described as [[working class]], living in a back street flat and seedy hotels, and shopping in [[supermarket]]s. He wears [[eye glasses|glasses]], is hindered by [[bureaucracy]], and craves a pay rise. It is revealed in passing that he is from [[Burnley]], Lancashire, and that he was born in 1922 or 1923.<ref name="IPCRESS p25"/>

Further novels featuring this character followed, including ''[[Horse Under Water]]'' (1963), ''[[Funeral in Berlin]]'' (1964), ''[[Billion-Dollar Brain]]'' (1966), and ''[[An Expensive Place to Die]]'' (1967). Again, the lead character is never named, but they appear to be the same character in all of the books. In his 2009 afterword to ''Horse Under Water'', Deighton noted "Now, writing a second book, I found it an advantage to have an anonymous hero. He might be the same man; or maybe not. I was able to make minor changes to him and his background...I realized that...identifying him as a northerner would make demands on my knowledge that I could not sustain. It would be more sensible to give him a background closer to my own."

From the first novel onwards, the narrator shows knowledge of [[Gourmet|fine food]] and [[Alcoholic drink|drink]], [[painting]], [[Classical music|classical]] and [[20th-century classical music|20th-century]] music, [[jazz]], [[military history]], and [[Latin]]. In ''Horse Under Water'', he is described as an expert on world currency.