born June 28, 1909, London, Eng.
died Oct. 22, 1998, London
British author of espionage and crime novels.
Among his works are The Dark Frontier (1936), Epitaph for a Spy (1938), A Coffin for Dimitrios (1939), Journey into Fear (1940; film, 1942), and The Light of Day (1962). In contrast to earlier British spy stories, in which xenophobic, romantic heroes defeated vast conspiracies to dominate the world, Ambler's tales were of ordinary, educated Englishmen thrust by chance or curiosity into danger. Notable for its gritty realism, Ambler's fiction was a major influence on writers such as Graham Greene and John Le Carré .