Books
The former journalist and pilot, who was born in Ashford in Kent, wrote over 25 books including "The Odessa File" (1972) and "The Dogs of War" (1974) and sold over 75 million copies worldwide. His other books include 'The Fourth Protocol', 'The Devil's Alternative', 'The Fist of God', 'Icon', 'The Veteran', 'Avenger', 'The Afghan', 'The Cobra' and 'The Kill List' to name a few.

A sequel to "The Odessa File", entitled "Revenge Of Odessa", on which he worked with thriller writer Tony Kent, is due to be published in August

Secret agent
Forsyth, who was a secret agents, was also one of the youngest ever RAF pilots and even worked as an operative for the MI6.

He attributed much of his success to "luck", recalling how a bullet narrowly missed him while he was covering the bloody Biafra civil war between 1967 and 1970

Journalist
After his time working for the government, he turned to journalism, using his gift for languages in German, French and Russian to become a foreign correspondent in Biafra (in Nigeria)

Awards and recognition
He also won some of the most notable included the United Kingdom's Cartier Diamond Dagger Award given to him by the Crime Writers Association, as well as the Mystery Writer's of America's Edgar award for his works over the years. 

Forsyth was also appointed as the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1997

Film adaptations
Apart from the most recent series 'The Day of the Jackal', where the main character was played by Eddie Redmayne (in picture), the movie has been made twice previously in 'Jackal' (1997) and 'The Day of the Jackal' (1973). The books that were converted into films include 'The Fourth Protocol' (1987), 'The Dogs of War' and 'The Odessa File' (1974) among others