Licence to Spill is a Spybrary's Q&A series in which spy authors are grilled by spy thriller book fans.
Licence to Spill with author and former MI6 Operative Charles Beaumont
Welcome to Licence to Spill, Spybrary’s spy author Q&A series, where we put spy writers under the spotlight and ask them the questions spy thriller readers really want answered. This time it's spy thriller author and former MI6 man Charles Beaumont.
Charles Beaumont answers his interrogator, Spybrary's Shane Whaley – August 2026. You can also listen to Charles discuss his debut spy novel A Spy Alone on the Spybrary Spy Podcast.
- Take us back to the beginning — what was the book or author that made you think, “I want to write spy fiction”? For those new to your work, where do you recommend Spybrary readers start?
Inevitably, John le Carré played a major role, but he wasn’t the only one. I have been heavily influenced by Robert Littell and William Boyd as well.
1a For those new to your work, where do you recommend Spybrary readers start?
Not difficult! I’ve only published two novels, so start with the first: A Spy Alone
2. Walk us through your research process. Are you an “immerse yourself for months before writing” person? Do you visit and scope out locations?
I tend to write about places I know from my own professional life, including as a former intelligence professional, so I’m usually writing from firsthand knowledge but not from specific research trips.
3. Which era of espionage is your absolute favourite era to write in, and what makes it so irresistible?
I think the present day, with its bewildering, shifting alliances, the collective madness of the social media and AI era and the collapse of faith in western institutions all makes this a fascinating period to be writing in.
4. Which spy fiction book do you wish you had written yourself — and why?
So many! Perhaps The Looking Glass War, because it’s perfect. Or perhaps A Tale of Two Cities, because its cultural impacts have been immense.
5. What are you reading right now — and what's the one book in your TBR pile you keep meaning to get to but haven't yet?
I’ve been reading David Goodman’s Solitary Agents. One that I have been meaning to get to for ages and am excited to start is Beirut Station by Paul Vidich.
6. Great spy fiction lives or dies on its antagonists. What makes a truly great spy fiction villain — and how do you approach writing yours?
They have to be, in a strange way, sympathetic. A two-dimensional villain that is purely evil brings no interest or insight to the reader. I want to know why the antagonist is doing what s/he is doing.
7. What's the one detail — a location, a piece of tradecraft, a historical fact — you uncovered during research that was so good you had to put it in the book?
That there was a ring of Russian spies recruited in Oxford in the 1980s – 1990s that had a profound impact on British politics and society
8. What is the strangest or most unexpected place/situation/person/story you have ever taken inspiration for a plot or character from?
I was at school with two brothers who were named after motorway service stations. In tribute, I named one of my characters Leigh Delamere, which sounds rather grand, but is in fact a rather depressing pitstop on the M4 between Swindon and Bristol.
9. Which of your own characters would you most want running an operation you were part of — and which one would you absolutely not trust with your life?
I would want Vasya Morozov as he is clearly incredibly capable and (as long as he’s on your side) tends to get what he wants. But I would absolutely not trust him with my life!
10. Is there a spy fiction author working today who you think deserves far more attention than they're getting? And what's the one book of theirs you'd start with.
Merle Nygate. All her books are brilliant but I was particularly impressed with The Protocols of Spying
11. You're hosting the ultimate spy fiction dinner party — three guests, real or fictional, living or dead. Who's at the table?
I think it’s about people that would be fun to have dinner with, not necessarily the most important in the spying world. So I’d say
Jerry Westerby
Gertrude Bell
Richard Hannay
12.. What's next for you — and is there anything about your current project you can tease us with?
The third and final novel of the Oxford Spy Ring trilogy is currently in the editing machine – hopefully for release sometime in 2027.
Follow Charles Beaumont on BlueSky
More Spy Author Interviews – Licence to Spill
Simon Conway
Michael Frost Beckner on Writing Spy Fiction
Paul Vidich on Writing Spy Fiction
James Stejskal on Writing Spy Fiction
I.S. Berry on Writing Spy Fiction
Dan Fesperman on Writing Spy Fiction
Alex Gerlis on Writing Spy Fiction
Spy Book Reviewers Wanted.
Spybrary is an online magazine and espionage with one mission. To help fans of the spy genre discover great spy reads, revisit forgotten classics, and share insights with like-minded readers from around the world. Want to help us accomplish this important mission by writing spy book reviews and/or espionage-related articles and features? Details here.
Please note that any purchases made with an Amazon link earn Spybrary a small commission, which helps us pay our reviewers. Thank you for supporting Spybrary. The views expressed in our spy book reviews are those of the reviewer alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Spybrary.
