 1971 UK 1st Edition dustjacket (spine & front) | |
| Author | Frederick Forsyth |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Spy, Thriller, Historical novel |
| Publisher | Hutchinson & Co (UK) Viking Press (US) |
Publication date | 7 June 1971 (UK) 6 August 1971 (US) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 358 (first edition, UK) 380 (first edition, US) |
| ISBN | 0-09-107390-1 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC | 213704 |
| 823/.9/14 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.F7349 Day3 PR6056.O699 |
The Day of the Jackal (1971) is a political thriller novel by English author Frederick Forsyth about a professional assassin who is contracted by the OAS, a French dissident paramilitary organisation, to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France.[1]
The novel received admiring reviews and praise when first published in 1971, and it received a 1972 Best Novel Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. The novel remains popular, and in 2003 it was listed on the BBC's survey The Big Read.[2]
The novel begins as historical fiction: the OAS, as described, did exist and did conspire to commit the act, which the book opens with, giving an accurate depiction of the attempt to assassinate de Gaulle by Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry on 22 August 1962. The subsequent plot, however, is fiction.
- ^ "Fantastic Fiction.com The Day of the Jackal".
- ^ "BBC – The Big Read". BBC. April 2003, Retrieved 31 October 2012