Deighton has completed two trilogies and has begun a third in which he develops the character and social relations of his veteran field agent Bernard Samson, of Her Majesty's Secret Service, whose name suggests his double personality. St. Bernard of Claivaux was a monk who, on the one hand, devoted himself to solitude and contemplation, and on the other hand, was a man of action, who organized, for instance, the Second Crusade. Also, the Biblical Samson was, on the one hand, a reflective judge, and on the other hand, a fierce warrior, who killed a thousand Philistines with the jawbone of an ass. The first and second volumes of Deighton's third trilogy, Faith (1994) and Hope (1995) have surprises that contradict previous assumptions. For instance, rumors are circulating that Tess is still alive in East Germany.

What is to be made of such factual contradictions?

Deighton's psychodynamic studies...