Matthew Vaughn’s latest film, Argylle, is finally in theaters and while the film’s big mystery was the identity of the real Agent Argylle there was another mystery that was got lots of attention: the identity of Elly Conway, the author of the newly released book Argylle was based on. After months of theories and speculation about Conway’s identity — including some wild theories that Taylor Swift or even J.K. Rowling was the writer behind the story — much like the identity of Agent Argylle, the truth about Conway has finally been revealed — and no, it’s not Swift. In an interview with The Telegraph, the identity of Conway was revealed to actually be two authors: Terry Hayes and Tammy Cohen.
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As was revealed in the interview, Vaughn approached Hayes in 2021 after efforts to adapt the author’s novel I Am Pilgrim fell through and presented Hayes with an idea for Argylle. According to Hayes, Vaughn had the idea that Hayes should write a novel that wasn’t the book of the film’s story but a book that the film’s main character would have written. Hayes then took the idea to his publisher who also liked the idea — except Hayes was already well past due on a project of his own. That led to Cohen being brought in.
“I like to think, rather than that I was cheap and available, it’s because I’m very much interested in characterization and motivation and dynamics,” Cohen said. “Bill thought that would be a good mix with Terry, whose vision is very filmic; he’s also so good on plot and narrative pace and action.”
Cohen ultimately wrote most of the novel with Hayes offering what he described as “connective tissue”. The authors also revealed that both Apple and Universal Studios had in put on the book’s story. As for the theories that Swift was behind the novel? Cohen said that she hopes fans aren’t too disappointed.
“God, I hope all the people that pre-ordered on the basis that Taylor wrote it aren’t disappointed,” Cohen said.
Why Was Elly Conway’s Identity A Mystery?
Early on, many suspected that “Elly Conway” was an alias for someone else. Some of the early hints that something might be unusual about Conway came with a discrepancy about the author’s name. In the official announcement about the deal for the Argylle film, Conway’s name is listed as “Ellie Conway” and, at one point, that is also how it was spelled on the Penguin Random House website. There’s also the matter of the author’s official bio on the publisher’s website which is extremely brief, reading “Elly Conway was born and raised in upstate New York. She wrote her first novel about Agent Argylle while working as a waitress in a late-night diner.”
Conway’s social media presence also fueled some questions about Conway as both their Instagram and Twitter/X accounts are relatively new (Instagram started in 2022 and Twitter/X in 2023) and had very few posts, all of which are fairly vague — though the first post to Conway’s Instagram has helped fuel one of the bigger theories about their identity. The film’s plot also fueled some of the mystery.
Per the movie’s description, in Argylle, Elly Conway, an introverted spy novelist who seldom leaves her home, is drawn into the real world of espionage when the plots of her books get a little too close to the activities of a sinister underground syndicate. When Aiden, an undercover spy, shows up to save her from being kidnapped or killed, Elly and her beloved cat Alfie, are plunged into a covert world where nothing, and no one, is what it seems.
Are you surprised by the real identity of Elly Conway? Let us know in the comments.
Argylle is now in theaters.
