Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal is one of the most acclaimed political thrillers ever written—a meticulous, high-tension novel that revolutionised the modern spy genre.
 
First published in 1971, the story follows a hired assassin, known only as The Jackal, contracted by a covert French paramilitary organisation to kill President Charles de Gaulle.
 
Forsyth’s background as a journalist informs the book’s extraordinary realism: from weapon design and forged documents to operational surveillance, the narrative reads like authentic reportage. Fast-paced, intelligent, and chillingly plausible, the novel is widely regarded as one of the finest thrillers of the 20th century and remains a staple for collectors and espionage-fiction enthusiasts.
 
This 1973 Corgi Books reprint retains the original early-1970s cover design and typography, characteristic of the era’s classic paperback thrillers.
 
Early Corgi paperbacks (1971–1973) are increasingly collectible, especially with the original artwork.