S – Portrait of a Spy

The correct title of this article is S: Portrait of a Spy. The substitution of the colon is due to technical restrictions.

S: Portrait of a Spy is a controversial 1978 spy novel by Canadian writer Ian Adams.^[1][2][3] Adams was sued by a former counter-intelligence official on the grounds the novel's main character bore too close a resemblance to his own life. Former Minister of National Defence Paul Hellyer wrote that information in the novel seemed sufficiently credible to alter the mandate of a high-profile inquiry into wrongdoing by the RCMP Security Service.

Synopsis

In the novel S is employed as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's official in charge of countering attempts by the Soviet Union to spy on Canada.^[1] In the novel S is a triple agent—a Soviet mole who has been recruited by the United States's Central Intelligence Agency. S has a long run, decades, as a successful spy. When his run does come to an end, he manages to evade Canadian authorities, and leave Canada.

Peter Worthington and James Leslie Bennett

Shortly after the novel was written Peter Worthington, a founding editor of the Toronto Sun, wrote to Leslie James Bennett, that he thought Bennett should consider suing Adams, as the novel too closely paralleled his own life.^[1] Worthington told Bennett that the character of the publisher of a tabloid newspaper had enough parallels that he could sue Adams. He told Bennett his lawyer, Julian Porter, thought Bennett had grounds to sue.

Bennett did sue Adams.^[1][4] According to the Windsor Star Bennett was surprised to learn that it was a column by Worthington himself which first suggested the character of S was based on Bennett.

Paul Hellyer's review

In a 1977 review Paul Hellyer, a former Minister of National Defence, suggested other characters were strongly based on John Starnes, Bennett's boss, Solicitor General Jean-Pierre Goyer, Karl Kristian Ring, who he identifies as an arms dealer.^[2] Hellyer suggested he may have been the model for another character, Hellyer suggested the information in the novel was so explosive that the mandate of the MacDonald Commission that was then investigating wrongdoing on the part of the RCMP Security Service should be expanded to confirm or refute whether clandestine wrongdoing described in the novel actually took place.

Play and film

Rick Salutin would later write an essay on the trial, which was published together with the novel in a second edition. In 1984 Adams and Salutin collaborated on a play based on the novel. A script for a feature film based on the book is in development.

References

1. "Editor urged Mountie to sue spy novelist". Windsor Star. 1980-12-17. p. 26. Retrieved 2013-12-01. Toronto Sun editor Peter Worthington was told he had ground for suing novelist Ian Adams in 1977 but instead suggested to former RCMP counter-intelligence chief Leslie James Bennett that he sue Adams for libel, it has been disclosed.
2. Paul Hellyer (1977-11-27). "Characters are thinly veiled in our very own spy thriller". Ottawa Citizen. p. 12. Retrieved 2013-12-01. But Kling is a minor figure in the book, which is a fascinating, mischievous and sometimes dangerous mixture of fact, fiction and innuendo. "Au" as author Adams describes himself, uses poetic license and the practice of putting words into other people's mouths as subtle vehicles to discredit the RCMP and especially the CIA.
3. Brian Busby (2010). Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit. Random House. ISBN 9780307368584. Retrieved 2013-12-01. The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court in December 1980. Bennett received $30,000, little more than enough to cover his legal costs, in exchange for dropping the suit. He also signed a release not to launch further actions against the book and any theatrical or film adaptations.
4. "Adams get support". The Sherbrooke Forum. 1980-09-22. p. 16. Retrieved 2013-12-01. In court, Adams has been ordered to reveal his sources for the book, while Bennett was allowed to hide behind the Official Secrets Act to avoid talking.