Editions

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

  • Imprint: Penguin Classics

  • ISBN: 9780241323410

  • Length: 416  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 23mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 303g

  • RRP: £8.99

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

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

  • Imprint: Penguin Classics

  • ISBN: 9780241323410

  • Length: 416  Pages

  • Dimensions: 198mm x 23mm x 129mm

  • Weight: 303g

  • RRP: £8.99

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About the Author

John le Carré

John le Carré was born in 1931 and died in 2020. He attended the universities of Bern and Oxford, and taught at Eton before serving in British Intelligence during the Cold War. For more than fifty years he lived by his pen.

John le Carré

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Recommendations

Where to start reading John le Carré books

His death this week marked the end of a career which produced internationally acclaimed novels in every decade from the 1960s onwards. Le Carré’s work was enjoyed by readers and critics alike and adapted multiple times for film and television, making him one of the most celebrated and influential authors of modern times. But where to start if you’re new to this work? Here is our starter for ten.
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Features

Florence Pugh reads The Little Drummer Girl

Alongside Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Shannon, Florence Pugh stars in The Little Drummer Girl, the latest adaptation of John le Carré’s thrilling novel of espionage and betrayal. Here she reads le Carré’s description of the character that she herself plays in the BBC series.
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Extracts

The Pigeon Tunnel by John le Carre

In this extract from The Pigeon Tunnel, John le Carré describes the accusations of disloyalty he faced from former Secret Service colleagues - and how Alec Guinness used them in his portrayal of George Smiley

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