Hollywood silly money? I’d only have stuffed it under the bed, says thriller writer Gerald Seymour

Gerald Seymour shot to fame with Harry’s Game, his gripping 1970s book set against a backdrop of the Northern Ireland Troubles, which became a hit TV drama, writes York Membery. 

Several of the 82-year-old’s other thrillers – including The Glory Boys and Red Fox – have also been adapted for the small screen. 

The father-of-two, who lives in Oxfordshire with wife Gillian, has sold three million books. He’s just published his 40th novel.

What did your parents teach you about money?

That it’s hard to get your hands on and is easy to lose. My father, William, who fought in World War I, was in his 50s when I was born. He was a retired bank manager for most of my childhood. But even if cash had been freely available, he would never have blown it in a betting shop or on fine wines.

My mother Rosalind was a novelist, not always the best paid profession.

Yes, I was sent to boarding school aged 13, but my father bargained and got a special deal, £60 a term. My pocket money was a weekly 3 shillings and 6 pence postal order.

There were no family extravagances, and during the holidays I had gardening jobs in Ewhurst, the Surrey village where my brother and I grew up and did Royal Mail parcel delivery work at Christmas.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

I became a trainee reporter at ITN at 21, on £875 a year, and when I married Gill a year later in 1964 my salary was £1,000. We were often on the edge financially. I took on Sunday night stints as a newscaster to earn some extra money. 

The last story one night was about a dad who tried to get a court order to stop his daughter marrying as her intended had just £10 in the bank. As a sign-off, I quipped ‘That’s more than I have!’ which was true.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

Never. I’ve had six books made for British and US television. And Hollywood bought options on stories and talked about a part being ‘just right’ for Tom Cruise or Michael Caine – but this was never translated into the magic moment when the camera rolls. I’d never have known what to do with ‘silly money’ anyway – I’d only have stuffed it in a biscuit tin under the bed.

What was the best year of your life, financially?

Probably 1995 or 1996. After Harry’s Game came out I was fashionable for a while, and a 1990s novel netted me a six-figure advance. That funded trips to places including South Africa and the north-west frontier of Pakistan to research my books. I even visited communist East Germany where the border goons stamped my visa ‘007’, which was a bit of a bonus.

The most expensive thing you have done for fun?

Four debenture seats at Twickenham rugby stadium. I reckon I must have paid around £100,000 over the years to see England home games. But I now prefer to watch village soccer.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

Buying a Range Rover for my wife to replace her Discovery. Both had plenty of ‘teething problems’, and were a disaster. The biggest cheque I’ve ever written out for a car, a second-hand Fiat 127, was for just over £1,000 in the 1980s but it was reliable.

The best money decision you have made?

When I came home from reporting on the Yom Kippur war in the Middle East in 1973, ITN suggested I take a three-week break, so I decided to write a thriller. The book became Harry’s Game, later adapted for TV.

Do you have a pension?

Yes, but I’m fortunate enough to still be paid for my writing.

Do you own any property?

A three-bedroom 1860s cottage in the Thames Valley, which my wife and I bought for a six-figure sum in the Noughties.

If you were Chancellor what would you do?

I’d find a way to cut VAT, because that tax always seems to throw my cost estimates.

What is your No. 1 financial priority?

To be able to pay my own way, and not be a burden – while remembering the old adage that ‘shrouds have no pockets’. Meanwhile I have another chapter to write…

• The Best Revenge, by Gerald Seymour, (Hodder & Stoughton) is out now.