History Literature / Quiller

* NotMyDriver: In "Quiller's Run", Quiller gets picked up by a limousine outside the embassy where he's just been briefed on his target (who has already disposed of two previous agents) and barely escapes the subsequent ambush. He later lambasts himself for being so incredibly stupid as to fall for that trick, when he'd already been warned of how dangerous his target was.

* NotMyDriver: Happens in "Quiller's Run". Even though he escapes, Quiller is furious that he walked into so obvious a trap.

%%* FirstPersonSmartass
* FunWithForeignLanguages: Played straight in ''The Peking Target''. Quiller has been captured by the Soviets, who force him to make a radio transmission giving a false report to his base. Unknown to the Soviet BigBad, his translator is on Quiller's side. So the BigBad tells what he wants Quiller to say in Russian, the translator tells Quiller what the actual Soviet plan is in English, and Quiller must then transmit that information to his base in a manner that still sounds plausible (if the false information contains the words Seoul or Peking, for instance, the BigBad would be suspicious if he didn't hear those words). Unsurprisingly this chapter is entitled "Minefield".

* DrivenToSuicide: Shown as a rather disturbing NoodleIncident involving a shadow executive who cracks up under the strain.

** In the short story ''Last Rites'', a British double agent has hidden a tactical nuclear weapon on the QE2 to get revenge on Quiller and...everyone else, really. Quiller knows there's [[ColdBloodedTorture only one way]] to force him to reveal where he's hidden the bomb, only to find that he's anticipated this and taken cyanide.

* CyanidePill: Quiller refuses to carry one because he's Suffix 9 (Reliable Under Torture). He changes his mind in the later novels after he's been tortured a few times.

* HeroesWantRedheads: Quiller wants Inge.

* IncrediblyObviousBug: Quiller "listening for clicks" whenever he picks up the phone, even though the technology involved in phone tapping is a bit more sophisticated than that, even back in TheSixties.

* DemandingTheirHead: In ''Quiller's Run'', Quiller is played a wiretap recording of the villainess demanding his head. TheHandler tries to make light of it. "Once you're dead, you won't care where the thing is." It's not an idle threat, as a previous agent had [[FingerInTheMail his head delivered to his embassy]]. After Quiller bests a hitman who [[RazorFloss nearly takes his head off with a garotte]], he's told there was a head-sized box with a plastic bag found inside the hitman's car.

One of the books, ''The Berlin Memorandum'', was [[TheFilmOfTheBook adapted]] by director Michael Anderson and screenwriter Creator/HaroldPinter into the 1966 film ''The Quiller Memorandum''. Creator/GeorgeSegal starred as Quiller, and the cast also included Creator/AlecGuinness, Creator/MaxVonSydow, Senta Berger and Creator/GeorgeSanders.

In 1966, one of the books, ''The Berlin Memorandum'', was [[TheFilmOfTheBook filmed]] under the title ''The Quiller Memorandum''. Creator/GeorgeSegal starred as Quiller, and the cast also included Creator/AlecGuinness, Creator/MaxVonSydow, Senta Berger and Creator/GeorgeSanders. The screenplay was written by Creator/HaroldPinter.

* TruthSerums: Under the influence of one Quiller lets slip a few crumbs of information.

* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction / CloakAndDagger: The Bureau, which reports directly to the Prime Minister and handles jobs that no other agency will touch.

* TheChessmaster: London Control gets Quiller to volunteer for missions he'd normally refuse by making them appear to be something different.

* DeusExNukina: "The Tango Briefing"

* DrivenToSuicide: Shown as a rather disturbing NoodleIncident involving shadow executives who crack up under the strain.

* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction / CloakAndDagger: The Bureau
* TheHandler: Each shadow executive has a director-in-the-field who organises safehouses, communication, transport, identity papers, liaison with government officials -- in short, anything the agent needs for the mission. They have a right to refuse to work with a particular director, given that trust between the two is so important. Quiller's preferred director is Ferris, even though he's slightly creepy (he's rumored to strangle mice).
** A brief passage in one book sizes up two other directors, Loman ("brilliant but desperate for personal kudos, talk you into a suicide bid if it'll get him a medal, it wasn't his fault I'd come out of Tunis alive") and Thornton ("totally dependable, pull you out of the gates of hell if he can get there in time, but short on Rusk-think patterns and mission sense....").

* IncrediblyObviousTail: Played straight in "The Quiller Memorandum", as those following Quiller are trying to pressure him into making a mistake -- and "Quiller's Run", where he's being boxed in until a hitman catches up with him. Averted in most cases; though Quiller is good at picking up the subtle clues that show he's being followed, he does make the occasional mistake.