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Two very different books reveal the relationship between the former spy and his fiction
John le Carré is hotter than ever — but, boy, did he leave me cold
We asked you to share and recommend what you’ve been reading — and here’s what you told us
Le Carré’s ability to inhabit the deepest recesses of his characters is on sparkling display in his final completed book
His spy novels excelled at capturing ‘the last beat of the secret English heart’
The spy fiction master ventured well beyond the shadows of espionage to become one of the most perceptive and enduring writers of his age
A selection of the legendary spy writer’s unforgettable classics
Writer of exquisite spy novels who probed the ethical boundaries of espionage and empire
Former intelligence officer elevated hard-boiled genre to a literary form exploring ethical and political dilemmas
The author John le Carré believes spooks will not be short of work in a world of ‘fluid allegiances’
The author’s new spy thriller confronts topical issues, but relies on clunky dialogue
Investigating a Nazi fugitive’s death in Rome, Philippe Sands sought advice from the author
George Smiley returns in a novel that delivers an uncoded blast at Brexit Britain
The 85-year-old author evokes an era that now seems weirdly reassuring
The other day, I performed a minor act of theft. He was sitting two rows ahead of me at a book launch
The novelist is a peerless observer of human nature, including his own, writes Tony Barber
The great spy novelist opts for selective disclosure in his memoir but it is richly satisfying nonetheless
A John le Carré adaptation enlivened by Damian Lewis and Stellan Skarsgård
George Smiley’s creator is more than a genre specialist — he is one of the most accomplished postwar British novelists
The worldwide 2003 protests against the Iraq war are recalled in this documentary
The master novelist discusses spooks, the ‘secret world’, Edward Snowden and Syria with his neighbour Philippe Sands
Spooks, oligarchs and spin in Le Carré’s modern-day London
John Lithgow labours as a gay pundit exposed in 1960s America but finds a character of diminishing interest
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