Frederick Forsyth was just over thirty years old when, from his first novel, Day of the Jackal –Available in Spanish at Plaza & Janés with the title Jackal-, managed to sell millions of copies around the world. Jackal It was rejected by several publishers due to the project's poor commercial viability, given that de Gaulle had survived the attack. Published in 1971, the novel's success caught the attention of Hollywood, which quickly adapted it: Fred Zinemman directed the project, starring Derek Jacobi, Edward Fox, and Michael Lonsdale, and released in 1973.