Espionage stories

Disciplines > Storytelling > Plots > Classic story types > Espionage stories

Description | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Espionage stories tell of countries and companies spying on one another, gathering secret information about one another.

Spy stories often rotate around some secret or activity that one side wants to keep the other side from knowing. This can range from lists of agents to the development of nuclear super-weapons.

Spies are sometimes portrayed as glamorous adventurers, whilst others are close to the probable truth, being relatively grubby largely tedious.

In commercial espionage stories, companies typically spy on one another for commercial advantage or else a whistle-blower seeks to expose some secretive and illegal activity.

Example

Ian Fleming's James Bond is the classic spy story.
John le Carré's stories such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

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Discussion

The secrets being stolen are often MacGuffins in that what they tell is of relative unimportance to the plot. What their do, however, is give rise to adventure and chase.

Spies epitomize secrecy, which links to the fact that many of us have our own skeletons in the cupboard and things we would rather not tell. We are also curious about the secrets of others,

In business change stories, espionage stories can be used to illustrate the need to sustain company secrets.