Novels depicting espionage and world wide fight via an "undercover agent" is normal in today's sense. It can be in literature, movies, video games, tv shows, music, and so much more. This genre stems from novel literature of the early 1900's. This sub genre known as spy fiction has popularized to common knowledge. Even though it has been regarded as a bit of pop culture excitement from movies and the like, the early novels that began the hype of this genre had real life consequences.
The novel The Riddle of the Sands, was had real life reprecussions due to the story. The plot is about how two friends go on a boating holiday and end up discovering German ships prepped for battle. Great Britain credited the author of this novel to increased naval protection on various sides of the nation. The author, Erskine Childers had direct experience as a sailor in the area and his novel's accuracy of the area proved this to be fact. This was also the first spy novel and set the standard for the way that spy novels were to be written. This includes a great deal of detail and a large amount of real life accuracy.
The novel Greenmantle by John Buchan plays along the same lines. It sets the global stage for the story of espionage. In this story the main character brings along his friend on an adventure to uncover some rumors of Germans. The rumor is that they are plotting an uprising in the Muslim world. It would put all of the Middle East, India and North Africa into turmoil. The characters uncover the truth, are chased down by the bad guys, and end up winning in the end due to Russian forces. The characters are not the best suited for the job and yet still accept on grounds of "duty". They must then use any means necessary to complete the mission. Breaking into houses, stealing cars and more is all expected. Also, for the most part their own well being is disregarded by themselves because they have been tasked with something that "must be done". These are all common characteristics found in most spy novels. This novel helped set the stage for how this genre is approached.
Against the Day
These novels are only mentioned once. This was on page 632 when Kit is speaking with Lionel Swome from T.W.I.T. and the plan for Kit to move into Inner Asia. The mentioned part is when Swome is mentioning the idea of pulling Kit out of the "mission" at any moment and that if every way of pulling him out was thought up, then a spy novel could be made.
What can be pulled from this section would've been the themes of the characteristics of a spy novel. The following of the characters as the have secret meetings, the two N's reporting back to headquarters on Lew's progress, and Yashmeen and Kit's undercover alias as newlyweds in order to get out of the city. Cyprian's escape from Vienna follows this same ploy of that of a spy novel. He has a friend who has "connections" sneak him out through a sewer system in a hotel. This is all lead by his liasson who is basically his handler and sets him up to be assigned somewhere. Yashmeen is set up to be a dressmaker nearby which is an undercover bit for the T.W.I.T. And then Kit following through with his mission to Mr. Halfcourt's home. This novel has increasing number of characteristics that would set it up to be a spy novel.
Sources:
Fowler, Carol. "Erskine Childers' Log Books." Sailing Today 80 (2003): n. pag. : Maritime History In-depth : Sea & Ships : Explore Online : RMG.
National Maritime Museum, 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/sea-and-ships/in-depth/erskine-childers/>.
Knightley, Phillip. The Second Oldest Profession: Spies and Spying in the Twentieth Century. London: Pimlico, 2003. Print.
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