Best spy books, from timeless classics to new releases

Features

From Bond to Argylle: how spy fiction has evolved

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News

New George Smiley novel from John le Carré’s son Nick Harkaway

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What re-reading John le Carré taught me

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Reading lists

Where to start reading  John le Carré’s books

Your first look at the TV adaptation of The Little Drummer Girl

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A brief history of George Smiley

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Explore Smiley’s London

John le Carré to publish new novel A Legacy of Spies with Viking Books

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Inside the secret pages of John le Carré’s new book

6 of our favourite author cameos in films – did you spot them?

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John le Carré on The Night Manager and other adaptations of his books

Four Novel Collection including The Night Manager, Our Game, The Tailor of Panama and Single & Single

John le Carré reads his 90s Masterpieces

Brought to you by Penguin. 
 
Penguin Audio presents a captivating collection of four John le Carré novels from the 90s, showcasing his mastery of suspense. 
 
 
Renowned for his espionage novels, John le Carré captured the essence of Cold War tension, moral dilemmas, and the personal sacrifices of intelligence operatives. This collection includes the very best examples of his 90s masterpieces, written between 1993 and 1999, and features more than 15 hours of captivating drama. It includes adaptations of his classic novels The Night Manager, Our Game, The Tailor of Panama, and Single & Single. 
 
 
The Night Manager is a suspenseful tale where former British soldier Jonathan Pine is recruited by intelligence operatives to infiltrate the inner circle of a dangerous international arms dealer, leading to a high-stakes game of cat and mouse. Our Game follows the story of retired British intelligence officer Tim Cranmer, who is drawn back into the world of espionage when his former colleague and friend disappears, leading to a complex web of intrigue and betrayal. The Tailor of Panama is a darkly comedic espionage novel where British spy Andrew Osnard recruits a tailor in Panama to gather intelligence, resulting in a tangled mess of lies, deceit, and political manoeuvring. Single & Single is a gripping narrative that follows British lawyer Oliver Single as he uncovers the dark secrets of his father's business dealings, leading to a dangerous confrontation with international criminals. 
 
 
Please note: This content is abridged. 
 
 
©The Night Manager - 1993 David Cornwell 
Our Game -1995 David Cornwell 
The Tailor Of Panama - 1996 David Cornwell 
Single & Single - 2010 David Cornwell 
 
(P)2025 Penguin Audio

Four Novel Collection including The Little Drummer Girl, A Perfect Spy, A Small Town in Germany and The Russia House

John le Carré reads his Espionage Classics

Six Stories including Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Looking Glass War, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Smiley's People

John le Carré reads George Smiley

Brought to you by Penguin. 
 
Penguin Audio presents a captivating collection of six John le Carré novels, each featuring the iconic character George Smiley. 
 
 
This collection includes the finest examples of le Carré's work, written between 1961 and 1979, and contains over 15 hours of unmissable drama. It includes captivating readings of his classic novels Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Looking Glass War, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Smiley's People, performed by the author himself. 
 Call for the Dead introduces George Smiley, a British intelligence officer, who investigates the suspicious suicide of a Foreign Office official, uncovering a web of espionage and deceit. In A Murder of Quality, Smiley is drawn into a murder investigation at a prestigious school, where he must navigate complex social dynamics to uncover the truth behind the crime. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold follows Alec Leamas, a disillusioned British spy, as he embarks on a dangerous mission to bring down an East German intelligence officer, with Smiley orchestrating the operation from behind the scenes. The Looking Glass War is a gripping tale of espionage and betrayal, where Smiley oversees a mission involving a former pilot sent to East Germany, highlighting the bureaucratic infighting within British intelligence. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sees Smiley called out of retirement to root out a Soviet mole within the highest ranks of the British Secret Service, leading to a tense and intricate investigation. Finally, Smiley's People concludes the collection with Smiley returning to track down his nemesis, Karla, the Soviet spymaster, in a final showdown that tests his skills and resolve. 
 
 
This definitive collection is a must-have for fans of John le Carré and lovers of espionage fiction, offering an immersive experience into the world of George Smiley. 
 
Please note: This content is abridged. 
 
 
© Call For The Dead - 1962 David Cornwell 
A Murder Of Quality - 1962 Le Carré Productions 
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - 1965 le Carré Productions 
The Looking Glass War - 1965 Le Carré Productions 
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - 1974 Le Carré Productions 
Smiley's People - 1979 David Cornwell 
 
(P)2025 Penguin Audio

Brought to you by Penguin. 
 
Penguin Audio presents a captivating collection of six John le Carré novels, each featuring the iconic character George Smiley. 
 
This collection includes the finest examples of le Carré's work, written between 1961 and 1979, and contains over 15 hours of unmissable drama. It includes captivating readings of his classic novels Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Looking Glass War, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and Smiley's People, performed by the author himself.Call for the Dead introduces George Smiley, a British intelligence officer, who investigates the suspicious suicide of a Foreign Office official, uncovering a web of espionage and deceit. In A Murder of Quality, Smiley is drawn into a murder investigation at a prestigious school, where he must navigate complex social dynamics to uncover the truth behind the crime. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold follows Alec Leamas, a disillusioned British spy, as he embarks on a dangerous mission to bring down an East German intelligence officer, with Smiley orchestrating the operation from behind the scenes. The Looking Glass War is a gripping tale of espionage and betrayal, where Smiley oversees a mission involving a former pilot sent to East Germany, highlighting the bureaucratic infighting within British intelligence. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sees Smiley called out of retirement to root out a Soviet mole within the highest ranks of the British Secret Service, leading to a tense and intricate investigation. Finally, Smiley's People concludes the collection with Smiley returning to track down his nemesis, Karla, the Soviet spymaster, in a final showdown that tests his skills and resolve. 
 
This definitive collection is a must-have for fans of John le Carré and lovers of espionage fiction, offering an immersive experience into the world of George Smiley. 
 
© Call For The Dead - 1962 David Cornwell 
A Murder Of Quality - 1962 Le Carré Productions 
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold - 1965 le Carré Productions 
The Looking Glass War - 1965 Le Carré Productions 
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - 1974 Le Carré Productions 
Smiley's People - 1979 David Cornwell 
 
(P)2025 Penguin Audio

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

From the master of spy thrillers, John le Carré's The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a gripping story of love and betrayal at the height of the Cold War, published as a beautiful Penguin Clothbound Classics edition for the first time 
 
Alec Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, he's been out in the cold for years, spying in the shadow of the Berlin Wall for his British masters. He has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last - but only after one final assignment. He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas's mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done. In le Carré's breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining. 
 
'A portrait of a man who has lived by lies and subterfuge for so long, he's forgotten how to tell the truth' 
TIME 
 
'He can communicate emotion, from sweating fear to despairing love, with terse and compassionate conviction. Above all, he can tell a tale' 
Sunday Times

John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 & 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021.

Alec Leamas is tired. It's the 1960s, he's been out in the cold for years, spying in the shadow of the Berlin Wall for his British masters. He has seen too many good agents murdered for their troubles. Now Control wants to bring him in at last - but only after one final assignment. He must travel deep into the heart of Communist Germany and betray his country, a job that he will do with his usual cynical professionalism. But when George Smiley tries to help a young woman Leamas has befriended, Leamas's mission may prove to be the worst thing he could ever have done. In le Carré's breakthrough work of 1963, the spy story is reborn as a gritty and terrible tale of men who are caught up in politics beyond their imagining.

A  John le Carré Novel

Karla's Choice

A gripping new novel set in the universe of John le Carré's most iconic spy, George Smiley, written by acclaimed novelist Nick Harkaway 
 
Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in the George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Nick Harkaway's Karla's Choice is an extraordinary, thrilling return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer, John le Carré. 
 
It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West's spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall – unconfirmed and a little scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy. 
 
But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come, and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy…

‘Is this new ‘le Carré’ novel even better than the master himself? Harkaway has done an extraordinarily good job with his father’s legacy. Karla’s Choice is note-perfect.’

What a treat! Karla's Choice expertly evokes the atmosphere of the originals

A loving tribute as well as an excellent novel in its own right

It is difficult to encapsulate what a remarkable achievement this novel is. Karla’s Choice is absolutely first rate, as both a homage to le Carré and as a work in its own right

Karla’s Choice breathes new life into the murky world of the Circus. If you haven’t read any Smiley books, then this wouldn’t be a bad place to start

An accomplished and welcome addition to le Carré's oeuvre. Harkaway has drawn on his deep knowledge of his father's work to produce a tale faithful to the originals, while subtly adding a lighter, more modern touch.

Harkaway is a fine writer and he has resurrected his father’s books brilliantly

Brilliant – every bit as suspenseful and knowing as the original, and often more humorous

A satisfyingly intricate tale filled with intrigue and suspense. Karla's Choice is an accomplished homage and a captivating thriller.

Tense and atmospheric, meditative and moving. Fans of le Carré will have much to rejoice about

Gripping, clever, and full of tension, Karla’s Choice bridges the gap in the Smiley saga perfectly. Fans of John le Carré will not be disappointed.

Elegant as smoke, ruthless as steel, Karla’s Choice is a love letter to fans of Smiley, but it’s also got le Carre’s furious humanity and Harkaway’s playful intellect. A genuinely surprising treat.

Every reader of John le Carré will love this brilliant book

It’s thrilling to be back with old friends and enemies. Smiley’s tested, essential goodness sings through the pages. I couldn’t put it down.

Scott Mariani, Number One Sunday Times Bestselling author of the Ben Hope series

Nick Harkaway (Author) 
Nick Harkaway was born in Cornwall in 1972. Author of the novels The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker and Tigerman, he lives in London with his wife and two children. 
 
John le Carré (Author) 
John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 & 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021.

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West's spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall – unconfirmed and a little scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy. 
 
But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come, and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy… 
 
Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in the George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Nick Harkaway's Karla's Choice is an extraordinary, thrilling return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer, John le Carré.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

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'A stunning story' Wall Street Journal 
 
A mole, implanted by Moscow Centre, has infiltrated the highest ranks of the British Intelligence Service, almost destroying it in the process. And so former spymaster George Smiley has been brought out of retirement in order to hunt down the traitor at the very heart of the Circus - even though it may be one of those closest to him. 
 
The first part of le Carré's acclaimed Karla Trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sees the beginning of the stealthy Cold War cat-and-mouse game between the taciturn, dogged Smiley and his wily Soviet counterpart. 
 
'A great thriller, the best le Carré has written' Spectator 
 
THE FIFTH GEORGE SMILEY NOVEL

John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 &amp; 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021.

A mole, implanted by Moscow Centre, has infiltrated the highest ranks of the British Intelligence Service, almost destroying it in the process. And so former spymaster George Smiley has been brought out of retirement in order to hunt down the traitor at the very heart of the Circus - even though it may be one of those closest to him. 
 
The first part of le Carré's acclaimed Karla Trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy sees the beginning of the stealthy Cold War cat-and-mouse game between the taciturn, dogged Smiley and his wily Soviet counterpart.

The Night Manager

WATCH THE NEW BBC SERIES OF THE NIGHT MANAGER: 1 JANUARY 2026 
 
To catch a criminal, he must become oneJonathan Pine, night manager of a luxury Swiss hotel, has a secret. He knows that the guest he awaits, billionaire trader Richard Roper, is ‘the worst man in the world.’ And he knows why. Pine will do whatever it takes to help the Intelligence services bring Roper down – even if it means going deep undercover into a ruthless, lawless world, up against forces more dangerous than he can imagine.

One of those writers who will be read a century from now.

Complex and intense ... page-turning tension.

At the start of it all, Jonathan Pine is merely the night manager at a luxury hotel. But when a single attempt to pass on information to the British authorities - about an international businessman at the hotel with suspicious dealings - backfires terribly, and people close to Pine begin to die, he commits himself to a battle against powerful forces he cannot begin to imagine. 
 
In a chilling tale of corrupt intelligence agencies, billion-dollar price tags and the truth of the brutal arms trade, John le Carré creates a claustrophobic world in which no one can be trusted.

Call for the Dead

'The new crime and espionage series from Penguin Classics makes for a mouth-watering prospect' Daily Telegraph 
An apparent suicide. A deepening mystery. A letter from a dead man... 
Secret agent George Smiley is in trouble. A Foreign Office civil servant, Samuel Fennan, has killed himself, and Smiley realizes that Intelligence head Maston is going to set him up to take the blame. Beginning his own investigation, Smiley is shocked to receive an urgent letter from the dead man, and slowly uncovers a network of deceit and betrayal. Le Carré's debut novel was also the first of his many books to feature the tenacious, unassuming and singular George Smiley.

John le Carré was born in 1931. After studying at the university of Bern and Oxford and teaching at Eton, he began a short career in British Intelligence (MI5&6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a civil servant, and acclaim swiftly followed, consolidated by The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. He died on 12 December 2020.

After a routine security check by George Smiley, civil servant Samuel Fennan apparently kills himself. When Smiley finds Circus head Maston is trying to blame him for the man's death, he begins his own investigation, meeting with Fennan's widow to find out what could have led him to such desperation. But on the very day that Smiley is ordered off the enquiry he receives an urgent letter from the dead man. Do the East Germans - and their agents - know more about this man's death than the Circus previously imagined? 
 
Le Carré's debut novel, Call for the Dead, introduced the tenacious and retiring George Smiley in a gripping tale of espionage and deceit.

The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020

A Private Spy

John le Carré was a defining writer of his time. This enthralling collection letters - written to readers, publishers, film-makers and actors, politicians and public figures - reveals the playfully intelligent and unfailingly eloquent man behind the penname. 
_____ 
 
'The symbiosis of author and editor, father and son, has resulted in a brilliant book, le Carré's final masterpiece' 5*, Jake Kerridge, Sunday Telegraph 
_____ 
 
A Private Spy spans seven decades and chronicles not only le Carré's own life but the turbulent times to which he was witness. Beginning with his 1940s childhood, it includes accounts of his National Service and his time at Oxford, and his days teaching the 'chinless, pointy-nosed gooseberry-eyed British lords' at Eton. It describes his entry into MI5 and the rise of the Iron Curtain, and the flowering of his career as a novelist in reaction to the building of the Berlin Wall. Through his letters we travel with him from the Second World War period to the immediate moment in which we live. We find le Carré writing to Sir Alec Guinness to persuade him to take on the role of George Smiley, and later arguing the immorality of the War on Terror with the chief of the German internal security service. What emerges is a portrait not only of the writer, or of the global intellectual, but, in his own words, of the very private, very passionate and very real man behind the name. 
_____ 
 
Includes letters to: 
John Banville 
William Burroughs 
John Cheever 
Stephen Fry 
Graham Greene 
Sir Alec Guinness 
Hugh Laurie 
Ben Macintyre 
Ian McEwan 
Gary Oldman 
Philip Roth 
Philippe Sands 
Sir Tom Stoppard 
Margaret Thatcher 
And more...

Each letter from John le Carré was a beautifully written miniature essay ... fascinating

A Private Spy testifies to le Carré's universally acknowledged gifts as a raconteur, mimic and caricaturist

Unsurprisingly, he was a brilliant correspondent. Revelations tumble out...These engaging letters are edited with great fairness and sensitivity by a family member, his son Tim Cornwell

The symbiosis of author and editor, father and son, has resulted in a brilliant book, le Carré's final masterpiece, 5*

[He had a] rare command of language and unique understanding of how the world really works

John le Carré was born in 1931. He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while working in British Intelligence (MI5&6). His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel Silverview was published in 2021.

A Private Spy spans seven decades and chronicles not only le Carré's own life but the turbulent times to which he was witness. Beginning with his 1940s childhood, it includes accounts of his National Service and his time at Oxford, and his days teaching the 'chinless, pointy-nosed gooseberry-eyed British lords' at Eton. It describes his entry into MI5 and the rise of the Iron Curtain, and the flowering of his career as a novelist in reaction to the building of the Berlin Wall. Through his letters we travel with him from the Second World War period to the immediate moment in which we live. 
 
We find le Carré writing to Sir Alec Guinness to persuade him to take on the role of George Smiley, and later arguing the immorality of the War on Terror with the chief of the German internal security service. What emerges is a portrait not only of the writer, or of the global intellectual, but, in his own words, of the very private, very passionate and very real man behind the name.

A Delicate Truth

'With A Delicate Truth, le Carré has in a sense come home. And it's a splendid homecoming . . . the novel is the most satisfying, subtle and compelling of his recent oeuvre' The Times 
 
A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony, Gibraltar. Its purpose: to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms-buyer. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's Private Secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it. 
 
Suspecting a disastrous conspiracy, Toby attempts to forestall it, but is promptly posted overseas. Three years on, summoned by Sir Christopher Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, and closely watched by Probyn's daughter Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience and his duty to the Service. 
 
If the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, how can he keep silent? 
__________________ 
 
'No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times, from the Second World War to the 'War on Terror'' Guardian 
 
'The master of the modern spy novel returns . . . John le Carré was never a spy-turned-writer, he was a writer who found his canvas in espionage' Daily Mail 
 
'A brilliant climax, with sinister deaths, casual torture, wrecked lives and shameful compromises' Observer

John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 &amp; 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021.

A counter-terror operation, codenamed Wildlife, is being mounted in Britain's most precious colony, Gibraltar. Its purpose: to capture and abduct a high-value jihadist arms buyer. Its authors: an ambitious Foreign Office Minister, and a private defence contractor who is also his close friend. So delicate is the operation that even the Minister's Private Secretary, Toby Bell, is not cleared for it. 
 
Suspecting a disastrous conspiracy, Toby attempts to forestall it, but is promptly posted overseas. Three years on, summoned by Sir Christopher Probyn, retired British diplomat, to his decaying Cornish manor house, and closely watched by Probyn's daughter Emily, Toby must choose between his conscience and his duty to the Service. 
 
If the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing, how can he keep silent?

A Legacy of Spies

'A brilliant novel of deception, love and trust to join his supreme cannon' Evening Standard 
 
'Vintage le Carré. Immensely clever, breathtaking. Really, not since The Spy Who Came in from the Cold has le Carré exercised his gift as a storyteller so powerfully and to such thrilling effect' John Banville, Guardian 
 
Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, has retired to his family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. The reason? His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of secret London are to be scrutinised by a generation with no memory of the Cold War. Somebody must be made to pay for innocent blood once spilt in the name of the greater good. 
 
Interweaving past with present so that each may tell its own story, John le Carré has given us a novel of superb and enduring quality. 
 
'Utterly engrossing and perfectly pitched. There is only one le Carré. Eloquent, subtle, sublimely paced' Daily Mail 
 
'Splendid, fast-paced, riveting' Andrew Marr, Sunday Times 
 
'Remarkable. Vintage John le Carré. It gives the reader, at long last, pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have been missing for 54 years. Like wine, le Carré's writing has got richer with age. Don't wait for the paperback' The Times 
 
'Perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the 20th century in Britain. He's in the first rank' Ian McEwan 
 
'The literary event of the Autumn' Evening Standard 
 
'One of those writers who will be read a century from now' Robert Harris

Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, has retired to his family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. The reason? His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of secret London are to be scrutinized by a generation with no memory of the Cold War. Somebody must be made to pay for innocent blood once spilt in the name of the greater good. 
 
Interweaving past with present so that each may tell its own story, John le Carré has given us a novel of superb and enduring quality.

A Most Wanted Man

'One of the most sophisticated fictional responses to the war on terror yet published' Guardian 
 
An illegal Muslim immigrant arrives in Hamburg with a traumatic past and the key to a fortune held in a private bank. He says his name is Issa. To the idealistic young human rights lawyer Annabel, determined to save him from deportation, he is a worthy cause. To the intelligence services of Britain, Germany and America, however, he is a potential jihadist - and a pawn between them as they seek to make a kill in the war on terror. 
 
A Most Wanted Man is a gripping and disquieting story of paranoia, disillusionment and betrayal in the moral no-man's land of the post-9/11 world. 
 
'A first-class novel about the most pressing concerns of our time' Daily Telegraph

A half-starved young Russian man in a long black overcoat is smuggled into Hamburg at dead of night. He has an improbable amount of cash secreted in a purse round his neck. He is a devout Muslim. Or is he? He says his name is Issa. 
 
Poignant, compassionate, peopled with characters the reader never wants to let go, A Most Wanted Man is alive with humour, yet prickles with tension until the last heart-stopping page. It is also a work of deep humanity, and uncommon relevance to our times.

Our Kind of Traitor

In John le Carré's electrifying novel Our Kind of Traitor, innocents abroad are drawn into the darkest recesses of the financial world. 
 
Britain is in the depths of recession. A left-leaning young Oxford academic and his barrister girlfriend take an off-peak holiday on the Caribbean island of Antigua. By seeming chance they bump into a Russian millionaire called Dima who owns a peninsula and a diamond-encrusted gold watch. He also has a tattoo on his right thumb, and wants a game of tennis. 
 
What else he wants propels the young lovers on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps, to the murkiest cloisters of the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's Intelligence Establishment. 
 
'If you want to know about the state of Britain today, forget the Booker shortlist. Just read John le Carré's latest thriller' Evening Standard 
 
'Few recent plays have had dialogue as good, and few recent literary novels can boast a set of characters so vividly imagined. Our Kind of Traitor is a teasing, beguiling, masterly performance' Sunday Times

An English couple, Perry and Gail, are taking an off-peak holiday on the Caribbean island of Antigua. By seeming chance they bump into a Russian millionaire called Dima who owns a peninsula and a diamond-encrusted gold watch. He also has a tattoo on his right thumb, and wants a game of tennis. 
 
What else he wants propels the young lovers on a tortuous journey through Paris to a safe house in the Swiss Alps, to the murkiest cloisters of the City of London and its unholy alliance with Britain's Intelligence Establishment.

Silverview

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S 2022 SUMMER PICKS 
 
'Le Carré at his finest' Mick Herron, Guardian 
 
Julian Lawndsley has renounced his high-flying job in the City for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town. But after only a couple of months into his new career, Edward, a Polish émigré, shows up at his door with a very keen interest in Julian's new enterprise and a lot of knowledge about his family history. And when a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak, the investigations lead him to this quiet town by the sea . . . 
 
Silverview is the mesmerising story of an encounter between innocence and experience and between public duty and private morals. In this last complete masterwork from the greatest chronicler of our age, John le Carré asks what you owe to your country when you no longer recognise it. 
 
'The finest, wisest storyteller' Richard Osman 
 
'A towering writer' Margaret Atwood 
 
'A literary giant' Stephen King

Valedictory, with a final turn of events that ends surprisingly but pleasingly in a cock-up, this is a satisfying coda to the career of the finest thriller writer of the 20th century

A compelling character study of a supposedly retired spy . . . Such was his rare command of language and unique understanding of how the world really works that I finished the book with a sense that the only real grown-up in the room had left

As graceful an exit as we could hope for, the old master remaining at the top of his game to the last

Nothing will ever match the Cold War spy novels written in his prime, but his later work illuminates themes of loyalty, betrayal and conflicting values in a modern context

A superb example of le Carré's enduring and exquisite genius

Gripping and involving, an elegant farewell by a much missed writer

Silverview has many of le Carré's characteristic virtues . . . engaging characters and three or four splendid set scenes in which veteran spooks stir the embers of old fires

Silverview is a cat-and-mouse chase from an East Anglian seaside town to the Eastern Bloc. Published ten months after he passed away, it marks a fitting final work by the master of spy fiction

A taut, thrilling spy novel. Read it as a tribute to a master

Silverview has all the old magic . . . it offers a rewarding post-script to the long-distance spell-binders The Little Drummer Girl and Absolute Friends

Times Literary Supplement, Books of The Year

His publisher is promoting it as a great literary event - the final book by one of postwar Britain's finest writers. That seems fair enough to me . . . [Silverview has] enough reminders of the old magic to please his most ardent aficionados

Le Carré at his finest, revealing character and backstory through dialogue with an economy and grace beyond most writers . . . le Carré's greatness has its roots in his mastery of spy fiction; a genre he augmented with novels notable for their craftsmanship and humanity, and writing for its stealth and sophistication. With the publication of Silverview, it's clear these virtues remained intact to the end

Thematically, this is classic le Carré: an exploration of how people do the wrong thing for the right motive. The prose is as unshowily superb as ever

A fitting coda to the work of our greatest spy novelist

It is written with elegance and often pungency, the pitch-perfect dialogue ranging from the waggishly epigrammatic to the bluntly outraged

Le Carré's ability to inhabit the deepest recesses of his characters' lives is once again on sparkling display . . . It leaves no doubt that le Carré believed good literature could help make the world a better place. His own contribution to that edifice was by no means negligible

Textbook le Carré and a pleasing coda to a brilliant career: a short, sharp study of the human cost of espionage

The first page hooks you in . . . John le Carré has lost none of his power to draw the reader straight into his world

There is a retro charm about proceedings . . . as well as a welcome array of familiar le Carré tropes, from sharply drawn characters to stimulating interviews and debriefings, plus a compelling denouement involving a wanted man on the run . . . a worthy coda, a commanding farewell from a much-missed master

Arguably the greatest English novelist of his generation

Crisp prose, a precision-tooled plot, the heady sense of an inside track on a shadowy world . . . all his usual pleasures are here

A lyrical, poignant portrait of betrayal in a family that lives in a world submerged in subterfuge, and resonates with le Carré's exquisite genius. It is to be savoured gently rather than devoured

A diverting if slender coda to one of the boldest writing careers of the 20th century . . . In this posthumous farewell, le Carré is still showing us how literary fiction and the spy narrative can coexist in the same book

A poignant story of love and loyalty

A fitting conclusion to the long career of a writer who redefined an entire genre with the deceptive easy of pure genius . . . Silverview is filled with joy in the resilience of the human spirit, and with love . . . It's also deeply thrilling, in the best way

Packed with cherishable details and intriguingly ambivalent about the role of the Secret Intelligence Service, John le Carré's last novel brings his career to a close in fine style

A very fine finale . . . for writing of subtlety, cadence and strength, with a special aptitude for the revealing particular, [le Carré] is virtually unequalled . . . Time and again, le Carré was able to weave an entrancing, haunting world of his own, a feat repeated in Silverview. There are few writers to match him, and fewer who are still alive

In his trademark lucid prose, le Carré sets the scene for an atmospheric tale of betrayal, deceit and secret service malpractice . . . John le Carré, one of the great analysts of the contemporary scene, has left us a minor masterpiece of secrets and lies in spy land

A winner with fans of the master spy-writer

A piercing portrait of moral ambivalence

It is classic le Carré . . . If this is the quality le Carré was producing in the last years of his life, we can be certain there are further posthumous delights coming our way

I gobbled up Silverview . . . Here le Carré is on more familiar territory - what was once known as Mitteleuropa, with its shape-shifting double agents, scarred idealists on the prowl for lost causes

It has often been said that le Carré is a novelist, not a mere thriller writer. Yet the thing is that, for all his protests that his creations were always more fictional than credited, what he excels at is giving us a plausible peek into the spy's world

[Le Carré's] prose is as quietly impressive as ever and it's a thoroughly enjoyable read. It makes for bittersweet reading - the final work of a master, on fine form

Promises to be filled with intrigue, surprises and timely meditations on the relationship between individuals and nations

One of the great moral writers of recent times

First-rate prose and a fascinating plot . . . a fitting coda to a remarkable career

Julian Lawndsley has renounced his high-flying job in the City for a simpler life running a bookshop in a small English seaside town. But after only a couple of months into his new career, Edward, a Polish émigré, shows up at his door with a very keen interest in Julian's new enterprise and a lot of knowledge about his family history. And when a letter turns up at the door of a spy chief in London warning him of a dangerous leak, the investigations lead him to this quiet town by the sea . . . 
 
Silverview is the mesmerising story of an encounter between innocence and experience and between public duty and private morals. In this last complete masterwork from the greatest chronicler of our age, John le Carré asks what you owe to your country when you no longer recognise it.

The Mission Song

'Mesmerising' Sunday Times 
 
As an interpreter of African languages, Bruno Salvador is much in demand. He makes it a principle to remain neutral - no matter what he hears. But when he is summoned on a secret job for British Intelligence, he is told he will have to get his hands dirty. His mission is to help bring democracy to the Congo - democracy that will be delivered at the end of a gun barrel. 
 
The Mission Song is an excoriating depiction of a corrupt world where loyalty can be bought and war is simply an opportunity to settle old scores. 
 
'Simply astonishing ... a formidably sophisticated work of fiction' Charles Cumming

At a top-secret meeting between Western financiers and Congolese warlords, an interpreter finds his conscience re-awakening. 
 
Bruno Salvador has worked on clandestine missions before. A highly skilled interpreter, he is no stranger to the Official Secrets Act. But this is the first time he has been asked to change his identity - and, worse still, his clothes - in service of his country. 
 
Whisked to a remote island to interpret a top-secret conference between no-name financiers and Congolese warlords, Salvo's excitement is only heightened by memories of the night before he left London, and his life-changing encounter with a beautiful nurse named Hannah. 
 
Exit suddenly, the unassuming, happily married man Salvo believed himself to be. Enter in his place, the pseudonymous Brian Sinclar: spy, lover - and perhaps, even, hero.

A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick

Agent Running in the Field

'The British spy thriller at its unputdownable best' Observer 
 
SELECTED FOR BBC 2 BETWEEN THE COVERS 
________________________________ 
 
Nat, a veteran of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, thinks his years as an agent runner are over. But MI6 have other plans. To tackle the growing threat from Moscow Centre, Nat is put in charge of The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. His weekly badminton session with the young, introspective, Brexit-hating Ed, offers respite from the new job. But it is Ed, of all unlikely people, who will take Nat down the path of political anger that will ensnare them all. 
_______________________________ 
 
'A rich, beautifully written book studded with surprises. Narrative is a black art, and Le Carré is its grandmaster' Spectator 
 
 'Blisteringly contemporary' Economist 
 
 'Subtle, wry and seamless, it's an utter joy, from first page to last' Daily Mail 
 
'A very classy entertainment about political ideals and deception . . . laced with fury at the senseless vandalism of Brexit and of Trump' Guardian 
 
'A fine piece of storytelling' Times

A fine piece of storytelling. It is a neat, compact, slow-burning tale with just the right amount of twisting and turning and misdirection. Divided loyalties, uncertain motives, Russian agents, bureaucratic infighting, jaded spies, tatty offices - all of the things you want and expect from a high-quality le Carré thriller are here

A very classy entertainment about political ideals and deception . . . laced with fury at the senseless vandalism of Brexit and of Trump. Le Carré is the master of the spy genre.

Le Carré delivers a tale for our times, replete with the classic seasoning of betrayal, secret state shenanigans and sad-eyed human frailty, all baked into an oven-hot contemporary thriller . . . Agent Running in the Field is right on the money, in psychology as much as politics, a demonstration of the British spy thriller at its unputdownable best

As ingeniously structured as any of le Carré's fiction, skilfully misdirecting the reader for much of the time

Le Carré's troubled new protagonist is developed with the author's customary skill . . . an impeccable piece of writing

No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times

The master is back on form in this tale of Russian subterfuge and a middle-aged spy 's suspicious badminton partner

A rich, beautifully written book studded with surprises. Narrative is a black art, and Le Carré is its grandmaster

The master espionage novelist takes on Brexit and Trump in this tense and chilling portrait of today

Wonderful . . . sophisticated entertainment from an author who, at 88, remains sharper than most of us

John le Carré is as recognisable a writer as Dickens or Austen

A bang-up-to-date investigation of some of the big issues of our time

Le Carré demonstrates once again his sublime elegance as a writer, and his delicate touch when portraying human failings in the shadowy world of espionage . . . subtle, wry and seamless, it's an utter joy, from first page to last

A literary master for a generation

Blisteringly contemporary . . . Each new book from le Carré is refreshingly different and uniquely compelling

One of those writers who will be read a century from now

Astute state-of-the-nation commentary

Classic, unmistakeable le Carré . . . it has the added bonus of some wonderfully vitriolic rants

The master of the espionage novel returns with a perfectly nuanced story of a spy on the scrapheap at the age of 47 and uncertain who to trust in the world of Brexit and divided loyalties

Nat, a veteran of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, thinks his years as an agent runner are over. But MI6 have other plans. To tackle the growing threat from Moscow Centre, Nat is put in charge of The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. His weekly badminton session with the young, introspective, Brexit-hating Ed, offers respite from the new job. But it is Ed, of all unlikely people, who will take Nat down the path of political anger that will ensnare them all.

Single & Single

'An adventure that takes us to the ends of the earth via the rich but often barren landscape of the human heart' The Times 
 
Why was an English lawyer shot dead in Turkey by his firm's top client? How can a down-at-heel magician in Devon explain the vast fortune that has mysteriously appeared in his daughter's trust fund? With customs officer Nat Brock on the trail, the answers point to the House of Single - once a respectable finance company, now entangled with a Russian crime syndicate. 
 
West is pitted against East, and the British establishment against a labyrinthine criminal superpower, in le Carré's searing novel of lives built upon lies. 
 
'A masterly work, faultless fiction of the highest order' Glasgow Herald

A corporate lawyer from the House of Single &amp; Single is shot dead in cold blood on a Turkish hillside. A children's entertainer in Devon is hauled to his local bank late at night to explain a monumental influx of cash. A Russian freighter is arrested in the Black Sea. A celebrated London financier has disappeared into thin air. A British customs officer is on a trail of corruption and murder. The logical connection of these events is one of the many pleasures of this extraordinary new novel of love, deceit and the triumph of humanity. Single and Single is a thrilling journey of the human heart - intimate, magical and riotous, revealing le Carré at the height of his dramatic and creative powers.

Our Game

Le Carré's post-Cold War masterpiece, filled with suspense, betrayal, desire and drama 
 
The Cold War is over and retired secret servant Tim Cranmer has been put out to pasture, spending his days making wine on his Somerset estate. But then he discovers that his former double agent Larry &shy;- dreamer, dissolute, philanderer and disloyal friend - has vanished, along with Tim's mistress. As their trail takes him to the lawless wilds of Russia and the North Caucasus, he is forced to question everything he stood for. 
 
Set in a fragmented, uncertain post-Soviet world, le Carré's brutal story of falsehoods and betrayal shows men playing dangerous games beyond their control.

A wonderful book, absolutely in tune with the le Carré canon. I cannot think of a more compelling read.

The Cold War is over and retired secret servant Tim Cranmer has been put out to pasture, spending his days making wine on his Somerset estate. But then he discovers that his former double agent Larry ­- dreamer, dissolute, philanderer and disloyal friend - has vanished, along with Tim's mistress. As their trail takes him to the lawless wilds of Russia and the North Caucasus, he is forced to question everything he stood for. 
 
Set in a fragmented, uncertain post-Soviet world, le Carré's brutal story of falsehoods and betrayal shows men playing dangerous games beyond their control.

Abridged Edition

Penguin Readers Level 5: The Night Manager (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys. 
 
Jonathan Pine is the Night Manager of a hotel in Egypt. When he is shown some secret information, he passes it to a man in the British government. But things go wrong and the woman he loves dies. Pine is very angry and agrees to work with others to catch Richard Roper - the "worst man in the world".

John le Carré (Author) John le Carré was born in 1931. For six decades, he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the University of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence (MI5 &amp; 6). He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. He died on 12 December 2020. His posthumous novel, Silverview, was published in 2021. 
 Ladybird (Author) We make growing up the best story ever! Here at Ladybird, we publish playful books for little hands. From touch-and-feel books to bedtime stories and non-fiction, we help 0-7s to learn, play and grow - sparking plenty of smiles along the way. The home of Ten Minutes to Bed, Baby Touch, Peppa Pig and Hey Duggee, we know just how to capture curious little imaginations and guide them from one story to the next.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
The Night Manager, a Level 5 Reader, is B1 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to four clauses, introducing present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech and second conditional. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Jonathan Pine is the Night Manager of a hotel in Egypt. When he is shown some secret information, he passes it to a man in the British government. But things go wrong and the woman he loves dies. Pine is very angry and agrees to work with others to catch Richard Roper - the "worst man in the world".

The Smiley Collection Boxset

A pursuit to solve a murder; a satire on the Etonian ruling class; an espionage thriller of plots and counter-plots; a devilish drama behind East German lines; a deadly hunt for a Soviet mole; a high-risk operation in South East Asia; a final showdown between spymasters; and a survey of the shattered moral landscape of the Cold War. 
 
Featuring the quintessentially English spymaster George Smiley, these are the eight gripping, globetrotting classics which defined John le Carré's oeuvre and earned him a reputation as one of the world's best living novelists, now in A format with a retro cover look created by the award-winning UK designer David Pearson. 
 
Including Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Looking Glass War, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley's People and The Secret Pilgrim.

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The Smiley Collection2 Books

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Explore Smiley’s London

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John le Carré on The Night Manager and other adaptations of his books

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