Dame Stella Rimington. Credit: Bloomsbury

British author and former director general of MI5 Dame Stella Rimington told RNZ her 12th and latest novel, The Hidden Hand, may be fictional CIA agent Manon Tyler’s last outing.

At 90 years old, Rimington said she’s finding it harder to keep up-to-date and feel inspired by world events, plus writing is becoming harder as her dry macular degeneration (MD) progresses. “My eyesight has been gradually deteriorating over the last few years. When I started the book, I could still use the typewriter and could read what I wrote but, as the book went on, I had to recruit members of the family to type what I was dictating. I’m not sure they’re keen on or well placed to continue to do that.

“I expect the longer I go on living, the worse my eyesight will become. At the moment, my eyesight is blurry. I can see, but it’s not detailed; apart from very close, everything is blurred and it’s very difficult to get glasses that can solve that problem. I hope that one day they will have a cure for MD.”

Rimington was the first woman in charge of MI5 (1992–96) and the first director general whose name was publicised upon appointment. Her role in the service was considered a model for Dame Judi Dench's portrayal of the first female M in the James Bond franchise, first appearing in 1995’s GoldenEye.

In 2011, Rimington published her memoirs, Open Secret, followed by her first novel, At Risk (2004) about female intelligence officer Liz Carlyle.