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Remembering John Le Carré, British Spy Turned Best-Selling Novelist

Terry Gross

Le Carré, who died Dec. 12, worked for MI5 and MI6 early in his career and later drew on that experience in thrillers like The Spy Who Came in from the Cold . Originally broadcast in 1989 and 2017.

Hear The Original Interview

Novelist John Le Carré Reflects On His Own 'Legacy' Of Spying

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John le Carré (aka David Cornwell) was born in Dorset in 1931, and was educated at Sherborne School and the University of Berne, before reading modern languages at Oxford University. He taught at Eton from 1956-58, then spent five years in the British Foreign Service until 1964.

He started writing in 1961, and his first novel, a spy thriller, was Call for the Dead (1961), later made into the film The Deadly Affair starring James Mason. This was followed by A Murder of Quality (1962), a detective novel set in a boy's school, and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), the novel which brought him worldwide public attention, which tells the story of the last assignment of an agent who wants to end his espionage career.

Since then, John le Carré has written many novels, including a series which feature the character George Smiley: Call for the Dead (1961), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), The Honourable Schoolboy (1977), Smiley's People (1980) and The Secret Pilgrim (1991). Other novels, all of which have been made into successful films, are: The Looking Glass War (1965);  The Little Drummer Girl (1983); The Russia House (1989); The Tailor of Panama (1996); and The Constant Gardener (2001). In 2005 the film of  The Constant Gardner , starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz, opened the London Film Festival. The book won the 2006 British Book Awards TV and Film Book of the Year.

John le Carré's latest novel is A Delicate Truth   (2013). He worked with screenwriter Peter Morgan on a film adaptation of Tinker,Tailor, Soldier, Sp y, which was released in September 2011, starring Gary Oldman as George Smiley. Eight of his 'Smiley' novels have been dramatised for BBC Radio 4 and were broadcast during 2009 and 2010. He was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize in 2011.

Critical perspective

David cornwell, better known by his nom-de-plume john le carré, is, quite simply, a natural storyteller, a master..

In the enviable position of being a critically acclaimed writer who tops international bestseller lists he is, like Graham Greene, without whom there may never have been a Le Carré, able to combine complex, thrilling plots with a measured, formal narrative style.

Le Carré has always had an alchemical ability to make fictional gold out of his real life experience working in intelligence, creating some of the best spy fiction ever written. In his work, MI6 becomes the 'Circus'. That name alone informs us that Le Carré’s world is not that of Ian Fleming. 'What do you think spies are: priests, saints and martyrs?' Leamas asks Liz in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1963), the novel which established Le Carré’s reputation: 'they’re a squalid procession of vain fools, traitors, sadists and drunkards, people who play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives. Do you think they sit like monks in London, balancing the rights and wrongs?' The Spy Who Came In From The Cold has had extraordinary cultural resonance. Greene described it as 'the best spy story I have ever read'. Even those who haven’t read it are aware of its presence; it has become part of the culture. The tale of Leamas, forced to play the role of a lost, aimless, drifting ex-agent so as to be able to destroy the East German Mundt, someone whom the Circus have long wished to apprehend, is, from its stunning opening, full of a lingering sadness, both moral and intellectual. Terse, suspenseful, and powerfully gripping, it has an atmosphere of chilly, end of days darkness, and is arguably the best of Le Carré. Many consider what is often known as  The Karla Trilogy, to be Le Carré’s finest achievement, but, whilst its range and impact is undeniable, I do not think that any of the three novels has the black punch which makes The Spy Who Came In From The Cold a near flawless piece of work.

The Karla Trilogy gives centre stage to the iconic George Smiley, who appears in a minor role in the early novels. Out of retirement and acting head of the Circus, we follow his battle with Karla, his Russian nemesis, across continents and within his own establishment. The novels are engrossing and full of brilliant flashes - the relationship between Smiley and his team in all three and particularly in Smiley’s People (1980), the descriptions of an Asian continent ravaged by war in The Honourable Schoolboy (1977), the manner in which Smiley goes after the Russian mole in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974) - but the novels work best when George Smiley is present. When he is not there, they somehow fade. Described in Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy as 'small, podgy and at best middle-aged … one of London’s meek who do not inherit the earth', it is Smiley’s insularity, his meticulousness, his lack of physical grace and his undoubted brilliance as both a field man and head of the Circus, that draws us in; it is never less than fascinating to watch him operate. Smiley is a master spy, but a man with a personal life in free fall. Unlike Bond, who is of course a fantasy object, George Smiley is real and flawed; he elicits sympathy and awe. With no hint of exaggeration he is amongst the most memorable fictional characters of the 20th century.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Le Carré has written 19 novels. The majority concern themselves mostly with espionage but there has also been a love story, The Naïve and Sentimental Lover (1971), which was poorly received, a semi-autobiographical study of his troubled relationship with his father; A Perfect Spy (1986), considered by many to be his masterpiece; and an attack on Western greed in Africa, The Constant Gardener (2001), recently made into an Oscar winning film.

One book stands out in Le Carré’s oeuvre, in the way in which it demonstrates the author’s natural flair for comic narrative, a facility Le Carré has perhaps never fully exploited. Whilst his sardonic humour is never absent from any of his novels, it is in The Tailor of Panama (1996), inspired by Greene’s Our Man in Havana , that he gives it a freer reign. Andrew Osnard, a young, headstrong agent, whose mission it is to keep an eye on the political manoeuvrings leading up to the handover of the Panama Canal on 31 December 1999, hires Harry Pendel, proprietor of Braithwaite Limitada. Osnard wants Pendel to supply him with vital information on the Panamanian underground and keep him abreast of the talk around town. Pendel, tailor to the great and the good, is a deliciously drawn protagonist, whose lies and betrayals eventually begin to get the better of him. Satirical and at times farcical, The Tailor of Panama is, like the novel it is a hymn to, full of a sense of impending political chaos; it amuses and entertains yet it also provokes and unsettles.

This last point is key to Le Carré. He is the most politically aware of authors. His fiction engages fully and passionately with the times. He enters charged arenas like the Arab/Israeli conflict in The Little Drummer Girl (1983), and offers not only a thrilling entertainment, but also a considered study of the situation. He gives warning while providing pleasure; his storytelling is fuelled with a need to take the world to task, to unearth failures of justice and abuses of power and privilege, to offer insights into the minds of those who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances.

This is particularly evident in Le Carré’s most recent novel, Absolute Friends (2004), as angry, passionate and complex a book as he has ever written. Absolute Friends is a deliberately provocative analysis of the current 'War on Terror', something which could have unseated a lesser writer. It is cogent, witty, tender, touching and, at its end, devastating both in what transpires and in the sudden brutal economy of the narrative. The story of Ted Mundy and Sasha, who first become friends in the Berlin of the late 60s, meet again as agents in the Cold War, then come together once more in the present day world of terror and lies, it is fuelled by a deeply engaged, moral sensibility. Whatever our politics we must answer the questions Le Carré poses. Allied to the bitter rage, there is a sober, rational, precise intelligence that cannot be ignored. This novel belongs at high table, with the very best of Le Carré’s work; it proves, if nothing else, that there’s not only life in the old dog yet, but new direction.  John Le Carré has, like, Arthur Conan Doyle, Raymond Chandler and Graham Greene, transcended a genre, and made literature. His work is notable for its meticulous construction and its immensely detailed, rich, elegant style. Le Carré has a gift for deep and subtle characterization. This from the opening of Absolute Friends : 'a failure at something – a professional English bloody fool in a bowler and a Union Jack, all things to all men and nothing to himself, 50 in the shade, nice enough chap, wouldn’t necessarily trust him with my daughter. And those vertical wrinkles above the eyebrows like fine slashes of a scalpel, could be anger, could be nightmare, Ted Mundy, tour guide'. In one paragraph - strangely reminiscent in its beat and rhythm to the opening of Nabakov’s Lolita - we have a full flavour of the character. Le Carré is to be cherished. He is, as The Observer says, 'a literary master for a generation'.

Garan Holcombe, 2006 

Bibliography

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• http://www.johnlecarre.com

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John Le Carre: Spy novelist and born storyteller who opened window on secret world

John le Carre was one of the most highly acclaimed spy novelists of our time, and arguably one of the most accurate chroniclers of Britain in the Cold War .

He brought the world of espionage – with all its secrecy, betrayal and treachery – into parallel with society, writing with the authority of a man who had lived and worked in the intelligence sphere.

His accuracy in research and technique relied on what was undoubtedly his greatest gift – that of a born storyteller.

Born as David Cornwell in Dorset in 1931, the Cold War author was brought up in a turmoil of insecurities.

His mother left the family home when he was just six and he and his brother were brought up by their grandparents in Poole, while his father, Ronnie Cornwell, was set on making money by fair means or foul.

Through his father’s dubious income, the novelist studied at Sherborne School before leaving aged 16 to attend the University of Berne to study German literature.

Cornwell went on to serve in the army in Austria before returning to England and attending Lincoln College at the University of Oxford, where he gained a first in modern languages.

After leaving university, he taught at the prestigious boarding school Eton for a spell before joining MI5.

He began writing while working for the secret service, inspired to a large extent by fellow writer John Bingham, who was the basis for Cornwell’s most enduring character George Smiley.

In 1960, he was sent to work undercover at the British embassy in Bonn, where he worked in the intelligence records department with access to files that gave him insights into the workings of the secret service.

Cornwell was unable to write under his own name, according to Foreign Office rules, and so he used the name John le Carre – although his reasons for choosing that name remained a mystery.

His first novel Call For The Dead, which saw the first appearance of Smiley, was published in 1961, while A Murder Of Quality was published the following year.

His real breakthrough came in 1963 with The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, which told the story of Alec Leamas, an aging British intelligence agent forced to carry out one last operation in Berlin.

Writing in the Guardian on the novel’s 50th anniversary, Cornwell said: “I wrote The Spy Who Came In From The Cold at the age of 30 under intense, unshared, personal stress, and in extreme privacy.

“As an intelligence officer in the guise of a junior diplomat at the British Embassy in Bonn, I was a secret to my colleagues, and much of the time to myself.”

Like many of Cornwell’s later works, the book was adapted into a film of the same name in 1965, which was a box-office success.

Cornwell said his manuscript was approved by the secret service because they “rightly if reluctantly” concluded it was “sheer fiction from start to finish” and posed no security risk.

But he said the world’s press took a different view, deciding the book was “not merely authentic but some kind of revelatory Message From The Other Side”.

He left the service to pursue a full time career as an author and in 1971 tried a brief foray into romantic writing with The Naive and Sentimental Lover, based on the end of his marriage to Alison Sharp.

The following year he married Jane Eustace, with whom he had one son Nicholas, a novelist who writes as Nick Harkaway.

Cornwell found the real value of his anti-hero figure Smiley when he started writing the trilogy of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People.

He made a cameo as a drunk secret agent in the 2011 film version of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which starred Gary Oldman as Smiley – the part made famous by Alec Guinness in the TV series.

In 1986, he wrote The Perfect Spy, which many regarded as Cornwell’s way of putting to rest old ghosts because of the strong parallels with his own life.

The story was about a master spy Magnus Pym who writes a novel about his father, a con-man and fraudster, in order to sort out the questions in his own life.

Throughout his life, he was undeniably patriotic but showed disdain for the British establishment, turning down literary honours and a CBE.

In 2003, Cornwell penned an essay which was published in the Times called The United States of America Has Gone Mad, which criticised the invasion of Iraq.

Asked if he considered himself an Englishman in a 2017 US interview, he said: “Yes of course I’m born and bred English, I’m English to the core.

“My England would be the one that recognises its place in the EU. The jingoistic England that is trying to march us out of the EU, that is an England I don’t want to know.”

The author died aged 89 after a battle with pneumonia and is survived by his wife Jane and his sons Nicholas, Timothy, Stephen and Simon.

Additional reporting by PA Media

John Le Carre dies aged 89 after short illness

Lumley and Le Carré announce refusal to vote Labour over anti-Semitism

Exploring the London haunts in John le Carré's A Legacy of Spies

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The le Carré Cast

A podcast on the world of John le Carré

In Depth with Shaun McKenna: Adapting John le Carré for Radio

In this episode of The le Carré Cast, I interview acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Shaun McKenna. Sean discusses his journey into writing, his collaboration process for bringing le Carré’s complex characters to life on BBC Radio 4, and the challenges of adapting intricate novels for audio. about his adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and…

A Most Wanted Man by John Carré Explored Part 2

In this episode we continue our look at John le Carré’s 2008 novel, A Most Wanted Man. I’m pleased to welcome back poet Clarissa Aykroyd to the show. If you missed Part 1, you can find it here. We talk about parallels between the novel’s characters and another famous spy duo, Jackson Lamb and Catherine…

A Most Wanted Man by John Carré Explored Part 1

In this episode we look at John le Carré’s 2008 novel, A Most Wanted Man. I’m pleased to welcome poet Clarissa Aykroyd to the show. We talk through the motivations of the various players, whether le Carré succeeded at creating fully realized characters and le Carré’s difficult writing women. All that and more in this…

Tinker at 50 w/ Dominic Sandbrook

In this episode of the Le Carré Cast, Jeff interviews British historian Dominic Sandbrook. They delve into Sandbrook’s introduction to John le Carré’s works, particularly Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and discuss the author’s literary impact and historical context. The conversation covers le Carré’s influence during Britain’s 1970s cultural and political landscape, along with Sandbrook’s personal…

The BBC George Smiley Radio Dramas with Mac Rogers – Part 3

I’m excited to welcome back Mac Rogers, playwright and audio dramatist for the epic conclusion of our look at the BBC George Smiley radio dramas. In this third and final part we dig into The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley’s People and The Secret Pilgrim. The best way to find a corpse, how stories differ when told…

The BBC George Smiley Radio Dramas with Mac Rogers – Part 2

I’m excited to welcome back Mac Rogers, playwright and audio dramatist to continue to discuss the BBC George Smiley radio dramas. In this second of three parts we dig into some of the biggest of le Carré’s novels – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Plus we discuss…

The BBC George Smiley Radio Dramas with Mac Rogers

This episode I am pleased to welcome Mac Rogers, playwright and audio dramatist to discuss the BBC George Smiley radio dramas. In this first part we talk about Mac’s journey to writing for audio, reading le Carré and listening to the audio drams. Plus we dive into aspects of the audio format and the first…

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Shabby 70’s London Part 2

This episode I return with Phil Tinline and Bernard Hughes. We continue discussing Phil’s article in the New Statesman on the London of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré and how it’s different from the London of today. Topics include the le Carré and conspiracies, a discussion of Adam Sisman’s latest book, and…

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Shabby 70’s London Part 1

This episode I’m excited to welcome Phil Tinline and Bernard Hughes to the show. We discuss Phil’s article in the New Statesman on the London of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carré and how it’s different from the London of today. Topics include the political background of Tinker, whether Tinker was a case…

Adam Sisman on The Secret Life of John le Carré – Interview

This episode I’m excited to welcome John le Carré’s biographer Adam Sisman to the show. We discuss his latest book The Secret Life of John le Carré which looks at le Carré affairs which Sisman left out of his previous biography. Topics include why Sisman felt he needed to write this new book, the push…

A Private Spy: The letters of John le Carré Explored Part 3

We continue our three part look at A Private Spy: The letters of John le Carré edited by Tim Cornwell. In part 3 we’ll be talking about what we learned about le Carré’s novels. Returning to discuss the book is Guillam groupie, Matthew Bradford., we discuss le Carrê on James Bond, The Night Manager adapations,…

A Private Spy: The letters of John le Carré Explored Part 2

We continue our three part look at A Private Spy: The letters of John le Carré edited by Tim Cornwell. In part 2 we’ll be talking about what we learned about le Carré’s professional life. Returning to discuss the book is Circus cognoscente, Matthew Bradford. We discuss le Carré’s feudin’ and fightin’ with critics and…

A Private Spy: The letters of John Carré Explored Part 1

We’ll be taking a three part look at A Private Spy: The letters of John le Carré edited by Tim Cornwell. In this episode we’ll be talking about what we learned about le Carré’s personal life. Returning to the podcast to discuss the book is living le Carré encyclopedia Matthew Bradford. We discuss whether the…

Single and Single by John Carré Explored Part 2

In this episode we continue our look at John le Carré’s 1999 novel, Single and Single. Returning to discuss the book is espionage and nonfiction author Adam Brookes. We discuss Adam’s interactions with shady Russians in the 90’s, why le Carré just can’t quit Russia, and that wild ending. Plus, is there such a thing…

Single and Single by John Carré Explored Part 1

In this episode we look at John le Carré’s 1999 novel, SIngle and Single. Joining me to discuss the book is espionage and nonfiction author Adam Brookes. We discuss Adam’s first encounters with le Carré, the British boarding school system and tropes seen in le Carré’s female characters? Plus, whether the first chapter of the…

Secret And Beyond – Political Thrillers with Frank Sennett

Frank Sennett joins the show to talk about political thrillers and Mick Herron and John le Carré. We talk about US versus UK spy novels, Matt Helm, and favorite Herron and le Carré novels. Plus we talk about how to write politics in fiction without alienating readers and how one author used the nuclear option…

Guillam Coffee and Abdelraham Fathalla – Interview

We raised $1300 for Room to Read this holiday season. Thanks to everyone who donated. If you still wanted to donate, go here or share the link – http://tinyurl.com/spiesread We are back with a interview with founder of Guillam Coffee and le Carré superfan Abdelrahman Fathalla. We talk about why he named his business after…

Secret and Beyond – John le Carré’s battle with book titles

Donate to Room to Read here or share the link – http://tinyurl.com/spiesread We are back with a look at some of John le Carré’s unused book titles. These have been gathered from Adam Sisman’s biography, John le Carré: A Life, as well as a few from A Private Spy: The letters of John le Carré.…

Top 5 letters in A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré

Donate to Room to Read here or share the link – http://tinyurl.com/spiesread We are back with a look at the new release A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré. I’m pleased to welcome Steven Ritterman, one of the foremost collectors of le Carré in the world, to the show. Steven reveals his top…

Dead Drop – Letters in Spy Fiction and Reality Part 2

We are back with part 2 of our look at the letter in spy fiction and reality. Listen to part 1 here. We talk about the novel to read if you want to imagine you’re a CIA analyst, the first techno-thriller and learn about how real spies are communicating right now! All that and much…

John le Carré’s London

We talk with Richard Hutt the writer of the new map titled John le Carré’s London from Herb Lester Associates. We talk about his previous map, The Secret City, reading le Carré in lockdown, the difficulties and joys in finding locations le Carré used in his novels and challenge the listener to find le Carré’s…

The Secret History of Spy Letters

The book A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré has just been released in the UK. We’ll be taking a look at that book once it’s released in the US in December, but this is a perfect time to take a look at the usage of the humble letter in espionage. We talk…

A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré Explored Part 2

In this episode we finish our look at A Small Town in Germany, John le Carré’s fifth novel. Returning to discuss the book is espionage author James Wolff. We discuss how his treatment of female characters, whether this is a Agatha Christie novel in disguise and whether this could ever be adapted for television? Plus,…

A Small Town in Germany by John le Carré Explored Part 1

In this episode we look at A Small Town in Germany, the novel that comes midway between John le Carré’s breakout success – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – and the novel that solidified his place as one of the world’s best spy novelists – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I’m joined to…

Collecting John le Carré

We talk with one of the foremost collectors of John le Carré novels, Steven Ritterman, whose collection of pristine le Carré editions numbers over 300 items. We learn about the Haycroft-Queen list, rare signed editions, and Steve’s undercover mission to meet le Carré himself.  All that plus talk on champagne toasts with Otto Penzler, meeting Eric Ambler,…

The Looking-Glass War by John le Carré Explored Part 2

Find Part One Here. In this episode we continue to take a deep dive into the intricacies of one of John le Carré’s most unjustly overlooked novels – The Looking-Glass War. I’m again joined by critic and author Jeremy Duns. We talk class and Britain’s role in the world, how the book could be adapted…

The Looking-Glass War by John le Carré Explored Part 1

In this episode we take a deep dive into the intricacies of one of John le Carré’s most unjustly overlooked novels – The Looking-Glass War. I’m joined by critic and author Jeremy Duns. We talk about weird relationships, how the book is a proto-Slow Horses, and get the first ever comparison of le Carré and…

Laura Marsh on John le Carré – Episode 13

In this episode I speak to Laura Marsh about her essay on le Carré and Silverview in the February 10th edition of The New York Review of Books. Laura is currently the literary editor at the The New Republic and previously wrote for and was an editor at The New York Review of Books. Her…

John le Carré in The Spy Writers Club – Episode 12

In this episode we explore what happens when you get a whole gaggle of Cold War spy novelists together in one room. This is an adaption of an earlier piece that can be found here with links to various sources. Also there is a photo of the attendees. Find more podcasts like this in the…

Silverview by John le Carré Explored Part 4 – Episode 11

In the final episode of this four part look at Silverview Matthew Bradford and I continue to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. We discuss the climatic conclusion of Silverview! We also talk about where Silverview fits among le Carré’s work and some talk on collecting the book. All that and much more in…

Silverview by John le Carré Explored Part 3 – Episode 10

In Part three of this four part look at Silverview Matthew Bradford and I continue to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. In this third part we explore the plot and espionage in the novel. We discuss the way betrayal is different in this novel, what’s up with Edward’s creepy obsession with basements, and…

Silverview by John le Carré Explored Part 2 – Episode 9

In Part two of this four part look at Silverview Matthew Bradford and I continue to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. In our second part we talk about the settings of the novel. We discuss le Carré success in capturing life in a coastal town, the connection between W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of…

Silverview by John le Carré Explored Part 1 – Episode 8

In Part one of this four part look at Silverview I welcome back Matthew Bradford to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. In our first part we talk about the main characters in this novel. We discuss surprise over the speedy release of the novel, how this novel revisits many of le Carré’s favorite…

Call for the Dead by John le Carré Explored Part 2 – Episode 7

In Part Two of this deep dive into Call for the Dead I welcome back guest Bee to discuss John le Carré’s first novel. We continue to get lots of hot takes on the novel from someone who has done a very close reading of le Carré’s work, but especially Call for the Dead. We…

John le Carré – His Lips are Sealed – Episode 6

In this episode we explore a previously hidden chapter of le Carré’s life. Was this the moment everything changed for him? Listen for answers to that and much, much more. Previous discussion of this topic is here. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on Spotify RSS Feed 

Call for the Dead by John le Carré Explored Part 1 – Episode 5

In Part One of this deep dive into Call for the Dead I welcome guest Bee to discuss John le Carré’s first novel. In this provocative conversation we get plenty of hot takes on the novel from someone who has done a very close reading of all of le Carré’s work, but especially Call for…

A Murder of Quality by John le Carré – Explored – Episode 4

In this episode I am joined by Matthew Bradford of doubleOsection.blogspot.com to do a deep exploration of the sometimes overlooked John le Carré novel A Murder of Quality. We discuss private schools, religion in the UK and just how deep George Smiley’s cruel streak runs. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on…

John le Carré – A rememberance – Episode 3

Just after the passing away of John le Carré in December 2020, I spoke with Matthew Bradford of double0section.blogspot.com about le Carrê’s impact on espionage fiction. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on Spotify RSS Feed 

His Secret Sharer – The hidden truths of John le Carré – Episode 2

In this episode I provide an introduction to the world’s most famous spy writer. John le Carré began writing novels as a way to relieve the boredom of his duties as an upper-class raised British diplomat. That was what the world was told. The reality was that he wrote under a pseudonym; in truth he…

An introduction – Episode 1

I’m quite excited to launch something that has been in the process for awhile, a podcast dedicated to the works of John le Carré. The goal of this podcast is to do deep dives on each of his works, round table discussions on various topics related to the novels. films and TV programs. I hope…

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10 things you should know about John Le Carré

When talk inevitably turns to The Night Manager at your next dinner party, here's what to say about its writer. By Clare Bennett...

There is no John le Carré. His real name is David Cornwell and he lives in St Buryan**,** Cornwall. DON'T TELL ANYONE.

He went to Sherborne and was the French and German master at Eton for a couple of years in the Fifties. checks the phone for bugs

He started working for MI5 while he was still at student at Oxford (where he got a first, obvs) because THAT is how good he was, and remains, at keeping secrets. Then he transferred to MI6. Ssssshhhh.

Apart from spying and writing, he lists his other notable achievements as selling bath towels, washing elephants, running away from school and decimating a flock of Welsh sheep with a 25-pound shell, 'because I was too stupid to understand the gunnery officer's instructions'.

He writes all his books by hand and his wife types them up. FYI, they are not insider revelations on British spying. It makes him wild when people say that. They're made up. And this message will self-destruct in five seconds.

He made up the word 'honeytrap' and introduced the KGB term 'mole' into everyday vernacular. 'Mole' as in 'a double agent who burrows into a foreign organisation', not the furry things that burrow their way through your lawn. John le Carré did not invent those. OR DID HE? It could be a double bluff… trust no one.

It took him five weeks to write The Spy Who Came In From The Cold . FIVE WEEKS. Try not to get disheartened, first-time novelists. Just because he was only 30 at the time. And Graham Greene described it as 'the best spy story I have ever read', and it has sold millions. finds fake passport, leaves the country forever

Keen on cameos, he crops up in the film adaptations of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Little Drummer Girl . He was also the outraged guest whose dinner companion had her lobster salad flung across the room by Tom Hollander, only for Tom Hiddleston to step in and pick up the tab in The Night Manager . We seek him here, we seek him there…

Hugh Laurie went as Stephen Fry's date to JlC's 70th birthday party in a restaurant in Hampstead, which, he says, was rammed to the rafters with such esteemed guests as the head of the CIA, the head of the KGB and a whole bunch of armed bodyguards. He was poised to start playing 'Happy Birthday' on a piano when the restaurant switched the lights off to bring the cake in and all hell broke loose. Thanks to the panicking security, Hugh Laurie ended up with a gun to his head, protesting, 'I'm LITERALLY only the piano player'. Spies get nervous in the dark. Remember that.

Sir Alec Guinness stayed with him once and got the heebs because he thought the house was bugged. Of course he did!