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and Josef leaves. Nicolas sees that there is a document made of rice-paper hidden in the spine of the book. Reading it, he sees that it concerns
British nuclear secrets, and he realises that he has been a patsy. Instead of smuggling glass-making secrets out of Prague, Cunliffe is using Nicolas as a courier to smuggle British nuclear secrets out of England. On the second trip, Nicolas left the wrong Norstrund in the glass factory, which was empty. Josef then attempted to retrieve the document from Nicolas's room.
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344:. He is given a tour of the Czech glass-making industry, and spends the night with his guide Vlasta Simenova. He takes with him a "Norstrund" guidebook, which he is to leave on a desk in the glass factory during his tour. The formula is hidden inside the book, which he collects at the end of his tour.
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On the second trip, Maura gives him another
Norstrund as a present, so he has two. He tours the glass factory as before, and returns to his hotel. His waiter Josef attempts to drug him, and while Nicolas pretends to sleep, Josef finds one of the Norstrunds and starts to cut it open. Nicolas "wakes",
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and left him a fortune. He goes to see
Cunliffe, who forwards him a sum of £200 to tide him over until such time as he can begin to enjoy the fruits of his new estate. However, Nicolas manages to spend this allowance in a matter of days, and returns to Cunliffe's office to request a further advance.
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However, Cunliffe now declares that Uncle Bela is very much alive; that he, Cunliffe, is in fact a moneylender, and that
Nicolas owes him £200, with the MG as security. The distraught Nicolas is told that he can discharge his debt if he is willing to carry out a simple assignment in
309:, a witty wastrel and the novel's archetypal anti-hero. He hates his job in his late father's glass-making business, where he works under the odious Nimek in anticipation of making full partner one day. He dreams of inheriting untold riches from his Uncle Bela in
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In a panic, Nicolas flushes the document down the toilet. He leaves the hotel and tries to get to the
British embassy. However, he realises he has left his wallet and passport in the hotel room. He returns to the hotel where he is beaten up by
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Nicolas escapes, and hides out in Prague. He stays with Vlasta, but realises she is an StB agent because she has knowledge of him that he had not revealed to her. Eventually he is able to get to the
British Embassy disguised as a milkman.
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In the
Embassy, he is interrogated and debriefed for ten weeks, and finally made to sign the Official Secrets Act. His knowledge allows the British to capture the Czech network in Britain, and Nicolas is sent home in a
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Returning to
England, Nicolas's debt is written off and he is paid a further £200. However, Cunliffe informs him that the formula is incomplete and requests him to make a second trip. He takes a new Norstrund.
337:. He is to bring back a formula for a glass-making process from a glass factory that used to belong to Pavelka, an associate of Cunliffe's who also happens to have been a wrestler in the past.
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Finally, Nicolas receives a letter from his Uncle Bela, who is dying and wants
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describes the reluctant adventures of Nicolas Whistler, a dissolute young man of mixed
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parentage who finds himself caught up against his will in
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51:introducing citations to additional sources
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291:. It was filmed in 1964 under the title
41:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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16:1960 thriller novel by Lionel Davidson
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1379:British novels adapted into films
567:The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
34:relies largely or entirely on a
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698:The Defection of A. J. Lewinter
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289:Author's Club First Novel Award
1198:Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
662:Young Man I Think You're Dying
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279:espionage. The novel won the
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7:
722:The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
10:
1410:
793:The Murder of the Maharaja
591:The Far Side of the Dollar
281:Crime Writers' Association
1384:Victor Gollancz Ltd books
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948:The Way Through the Woods
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305:Nicolas is a 24-year-old
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1342:The Kingdoms of Savannah
746:The Honourable Schoolboy
615:Murder Against the Grain
397:Stop, You're Killing Me!
62:"The Night of Wenceslas"
1374:British thriller novels
1234:This Dark Road to Mercy
1032:A Small Death in Lisbon
817:The False Inspector Dew
287:Award in 1960, and the
117:The Night of Wenceslas
531:The Night of Wenceslas
241:The Night of Wenceslas
936:King Solomon's Carpet
496:Someone from the Past
1115:Silence of the Grave
1079:The Athenian Murders
984:The Mermaids Singing
710:Other Paths to Glory
603:A Long Way to Shiloh
484:The Colour of Murder
47:improve this article
1369:1960 British novels
1318:We Begin at the End
1120:Arnaldur Indriðason
1055:Motherless Brooklyn
758:The Chelsea Murders
294:Hot Enough for June
118:
1389:British spy novels
1347:George Dawes Green
1306:Good Girl Bad Girl
1084:José Carlos Somoza
972:The Scold's Bridle
734:A Demon in My View
579:The Perfect Murder
128:First edition (UK)
116:
1394:1960 debut novels
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965:Patricia Cornwell
960:Cruel and Unusual
924:Bones and Silence
901:The Wench Is Dead
877:A Fatal Inversion
841:The Twelfth Juror
829:Accidental Crimes
810:Martin Cruz Smith
639:A Pride of Heroes
445:Gold Dagger Award
393:"Lionel Davidson"
370:prisoner exchange
237:
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190:Publication place
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1311:Michael Robotham
1251:Michael Robotham
1168:William Brodrick
1163:A Whispered Name
1151:Blood from Stone
1139:The Broken Shore
1008:Black & Blue
798:H. R. F. Keating
679:James H. McClure
584:H. R. F. Keating
555:When I Grow Rich
460:The Little Walls
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1060:Jonathan Lethem
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1025:James Lee Burke
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632:Peter Dickinson
608:Lionel Davidson
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45:. Please help
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64: –
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58:Find sources:
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36:single source
32:This article
30:
26:
21:
20:
1340:
1335:Ray Celestin
1330:Sunset Swing
1328:
1316:
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1299:M. W. Craven
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1280:
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1263:Bill Beverly
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1203:Tom Franklin
1196:
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1178:2010–present
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1144:Peter Temple
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989:Val McDermid
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953:Colin Dexter
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941:Barbara Vine
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906:Colin Dexter
899:
887:
882:Barbara Vine
875:
870:Ruth Rendell
863:
851:
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803:
791:
775:Dick Francis
768:
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739:Ruth Rendell
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686:The Levanter
684:
672:
667:Joan Fleming
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560:Joan Fleming
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400:. Retrieved
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301:Plot summary
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1275:Jane Harper
1227:Mick Herron
1132:Ann Cleeves
1127:Raven Black
1067:Sidetracked
834:John Hutton
691:Eric Ambler
620:Emma Lathen
513:Eric Ambler
285:Gold Dagger
246:debut novel
158:crime novel
1363:Categories
1239:Wiley Cash
1222:Dead Lions
1186:Blacklands
1013:Ian Rankin
865:Live Flesh
846:B. M. Gill
805:Gorky Park
548:Mary Kelly
379:References
73:newspapers
1103:Blacklist
1047:2000–2009
1001:Ben Elton
916:1990–1999
785:1980–1989
770:Whip Hand
654:1970–1979
627:Skin Deep
523:1960–1969
452:1955–1959
311:Vancouver
209:Paperback
205:Hardcover
164:Publisher
43:talk page
1282:The Liar
1210:The Rage
1091:Fox Evil
307:Londoner
277:Cold War
253:thriller
168:Gollancz
144:Language
103:May 2024
1270:The Dry
1258:Dodgers
996:Popcorn
889:Ratking
269:English
263:. This
259:writer
250:British
244:is the
232:8479936
203:Print (
148:English
87:scholar
1349:(2023)
1337:(2022)
1325:(2021)
1313:(2020)
1301:(2019)
1289:(2018)
1277:(2017)
1265:(2016)
1253:(2015)
1241:(2014)
1229:(2013)
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515:(1959)
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479:(1956)
467:(1955)
402:10 May
335:Prague
326:Canada
219:224 pp
207:&
134:Author
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315:Irish
273:Czech
257:crime
216:Pages
154:Genre
94:JSTOR
80:books
404:2024
271:and
255:and
226:OCLC
185:1960
175:(US)
170:(UK)
66:news
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358:StB
283:'s
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319:MG
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91:·
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77:·
70:·
53:.
39:.
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