Brian Freemantle Books In Order

Publication Order of Charlie Muffin Books

Publication Order of Cowley and Danilov Books

Publication Order of Sebastian Holmes Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Brian Freemantle is one of the most experienced authors alive. His authorship career has seen him work in 30 countries around the world. From the United States of America to every single country in the European Union and the Middle East, he has accumulated more experience than many other authors of his age. He has been a part of the iconic newspaper Daily Mail as a Foreign Editor and he known not only for his authorship but also for being the only person to have organized a British Rescue mission during the Saigon days. He started his career as a journalist and had a flair for writing from a young age. He has written 85 books throughout his career after leaving journalism and becoming a full time writer. He is well known for his two trilogies Red Star Rising and Red Star Falling. He is best known for his character Charlie Muffin which has a cult following in the United States and the character has been featured in 18 novels. Only five of his books deal with fictional events and the rest are completely based on his experiences as a journalist for the Daily Mail and also from events that were narrated to him by spies of intelligence agencies.

Ban from Russia and Controversies

One of the controversial situations Freemantle has been involved. He was banned by the Russians because he went undercover and exposed the Russian spy ring in Czechoslovakia. Another reason for the ban was due to his non-fiction work ‘KGB’ which had more information on the Russian spy ring. Ten copies of the books were stolen by intelligence agents.

In 1986, a Colombian drug lord ordered Brian’s murder which was foiled by the FBI. Jose O’Campo, the Colombian drug lord tried to seek revenge on Brian for exposing him in his book ‘The Fix’. The plan involved firebombing Brian’s vehicle during his trips to radio or television interviews. The payment for the contract was set at a kilo of pure cocaine for anyone who would manage to pull the contract off. Even though Freemantle was saved by the FBI, there were repeated enquiries about his itinerary by the drug lord but the situation cooled down over time.

Journalism career

Freemantle initially wanted to be a spy and he approached several intelligence agencies twice at Russian Satellite couriers that were under supervision of the Soviet KGB but he was not selected. He moved on to become a journalist for the Daily Mail and he was placed as a Foreign Editor for commenting on international events. There have been various attempts to force Freemantle into writing pro-communist content but he rejected the offers every time. He is often considered to be one of the most ethical journalists of all time. He has been brave in his attempts to expose several espionage missions and is famous for saving 100 kids during the Vietnam War.

Authorship

After being a journalist for years, he wanted to shift into writing. He always had the natural flair for writing and his entry into authorship was very difficult. He prepared multiple full length manuscripts but they kept on being rejected. He was rejected for a grand total of 16 times even before he could publish his first book and was often told by English publishers to stop wasting his time. His 17th attempt was finally accepted. ‘Goodbye to an old friend’, his first book was contracted in 5 countries, but it was never made into a film despite achieving massive success.

The total sales of his books amount to approximately 11 million copies across 13 countries. Most of his experience comes from his journalism career. He has worked in 30 different countries and most of his works are inspired from his experiences. Only five of his books are fiction and the rest are based on real events.

One of his most iconic books is the Vietnam Legacy where he posted his findings during his stay at Vietnam during the unwinnable war America faced. He talks about how the peace negotiations were held between the two countries. Freemantle was unfortunately caught in the crossfire at Highway 1. Due to health concerns, Freemantle quit his journalism career and left the Daily Mail as he would be unable to travel so frequently. In the episode of events he managed to rescue 100 orphans by calling in his Daily Mail team. The airlift was denounced as a kidnapping plot by other news media channels in UK. Freemantle met one of the orphans he had rescued in 2010. Viktoria Cowley was only 8 months old when she was rescued and she thanked him for saving her and the other children. The episode of events if referred to as the Saigon Mission by the BBC.

Several attempts have been made by Polish and Hungarian intelligence agencies to make Freemantle a spy but he refused both times. His experiences have been narrated in his books Ice Age and the King of Many Castles, both of which portray Charlie Muffin – the iconic character that Freemantle is famously known for. He portrays all the incidents he has faced during his career through Charlie Muffin. From ricing poisoning attempts to other attempts by drug lords and spies, the stories narrated by Brian are crisp and enthralling. All of his espionage novels are based on real events. Only a few of them had events as narrated to Brian by James Jesus Angleton of the CIA counter-espionage department.

Personal Life

Freemantle was born and brought up in Southampton, England and is married to Maureen Freemantle. He is a father to three children Victoria, Charlotte and Emma. He attainted double O levels from his secondary school and moved on to work as a provincial journalist at Fleet Street, London. He has worked for several national newspapers and also news gatherings. He left journalism in 1975 to become a full time author. Apart from writing Brian is known to be very charitable person and has raised money for several children’s charities. He is an official Freeman of the City of London and he often exercises his right to drive live sheep across the London Bridge.