Topkapi (novel)

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Topkapi is a novel by the British writer Eric Ambler . The book was first published in 1962 under the title The Light of Day . The first German translation was by Elsbeth Herlin and was first published in 1965 under the title Im first morning light . The title was changed to Topkapi from 1969 . In 1996 a revised new translation was published based on Herlin's translation by Nikolaus Stingl .

content

The main character is the journalist Arthur Abdel Simpson , a British born in Cairo who keeps his head above water in Athens , where he lives with his younger wife, with little rip-offs and as a tour guide . He is caught by businessman Harper trying to steal his travelers checks. Harper has him sign a confession. Harper blackmailed him into bringing a car, a Lincoln, to an acquaintance - Elisabeth Lipp - for him. Elisabeth Lipp lives in a villa on the Bosporus near Istanbul .

At the border between Greece and Turkey , Turkish customs become aware of Simpson because his passport has expired. The car is then searched and the customs officers discover weapons in the door panels. Simpson is arrested but released when he agrees to cooperate with Turkish intelligence. The secret service suspects that Harper and Miss Lipp intend to carry out an assassination attempt ; Simpson is supposed to find out what exactly they are planning.

Simpson lets Miss Lipp hire her as a tour guide and chauffeur. He moves into the villa, where he also meets the "business people" Fischer and Miller . When Fischer injures himself in a brawl, Simpson is forced to take his place in the Topkapi Seraglio break-in that Harper is planning to take.

meaning

Topkapi is Eric Ambler's most famous novel. The people involved are all more or less criminals, even Simpson, who involuntarily gets involved in the matter and is mortally afraid of the break-in on the roof of the Topkapi Seraglio.

The figure of Arthur Abdel Simpson also plays in another novel, Eric Ambler - Dirty Story (Dirty Story) - the leading role. Dirty Story , however, is not a sequel to Topkapi .

filming

The novel was filmed under the title Topkapi in 1964 by Jules Dassin with Peter Ustinov as Simpson, Melina Mercouri as Elisabeth Lipp, Maximilian Schell as Harper and Robert Morley . Peter Ustinov received an Oscar for his role . Unlike the novel, the film is an ironic comedy . The characters - especially Harper - are portrayed more sympathetically in the film.

expenditure

  • Eric Ambler: In the first morning light. Roman (Original title: The Light of Day ). Translated from the English by Elsbeth Herlin. Lichtenberg, Munich 1965, DNB 450064999 (German-language first edition).
  • Eric Ambler: Topkapi. Roman (Original title: The Light of Day ). Translated from the English by Elsbeth Herlin and Nikolaus Stingl. Diogenes, Zurich 1996, ISBN 3-257-20536-8