John le Carré (1931–2020)
Author of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
About the Author
David John Moore Cornwell was born in Poole, Dorsetshire, England in 1931. He attended Bern University in Switzerland from 1948-49 and later completed a B.A. at Lincoln College, Oxford. He taught at Eton from 1956-58 and was a member of the British Foreign Service from 1959 to 1964. He writes show more espionage thrillers under the pseudonym John le Carré. The pseudonym was necessary when he began writing, in the early 1960s because, at that time, he held a diplomatic position with the British Foreign Office and was not allowed to publish under his own name. When his third book, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, became a worldwide bestseller in 1964, he left the foreign service to write full time. His other works include Call for the Dead; A Murder of Quality; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; and Smiley's People. He has received numerous awards for his writing, including the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1986 and the Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association in 1988. In 2011 he accepted the Goethe Medal. And in 2020, he accepted the Olof Palme Prize. Ten of his books have been adapted for television and motion pictures including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Russia House, The Constant Gardener, A Most Wanted Man, and Our Kind of Traitor. Le Carré's memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from my Life, became a New York Times bestseller in 2016. In 2019, he published a spy thriller, Agent Running in the Field. John Le Carré died on December 12, 2020 from pneumonia at the age of 89. (Bowker Author Biography) John le Carre was born in 1931. After attending the univesities of Berne and Oxford, he spent five years in the British Foreign Service. He's the author of eighteen novels, translated into twenty-five languages. He lives in England. (Publisher Provided) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
John le Carré is a pen name of David John Moore Cornwell.
Image credit: John le carré le 29 novembre 1989 lors de l'émission littéraire TV "Apostrophes" à l'occasion de la sortie de son livre "La maison Russie"
Series
Works by John le Carré
The Quest for Karla: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; Smiley's People (1982) 492 copies, 3 reviews
John Le Carre Omnibus (The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Call for the Dead, A Murder of Quality, The Looking-Glass War… (1961) 200 copies, 1 review
Three Complete Novels: Call for the Dead / A Murder of Quality / The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1961) 128 copies, 2 reviews
Three Complete Novels: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold / A Small Town in Germany / The Looking Glass War (1983) 104 copies
Three Complete Novels: A Perfect Spy / The Russia House / The Secret Pilgrim (1996) 66 copies, 1 review
Smileys sjuttiotal 9 copies
Penguin Readers Level 6: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Penguin Readers (graded readers)) (2019) 7 copies
The Best of George Smiley: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold & Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2012) 4 copies
JOHN le CARRE 3 copies
The George Smiley Reader 2 copies
Schatten von Gestern; Der Spion der aus der Kälte kam; Krieg im Spiegel; Ein Mord erster Klasse (1986) 2 copies
The Looking Glass, A Murder of Quality, Call For The Dead, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1990) 2 copies
Spionen Som Km In Från Kylan 2 copies
O venerável espião (I) 2 copies
Header-Le Carre Generic 2 copies
Quella talpa è figlia mia 1 copy
Golf Is Our Game 1 copy
la constance du jardinier. tome 1, [edition en gros caractères] : Tome 1, [Edition en gros caractères] (2003) 1 copy
Le Miroir aux espions 1 copy
El todo 1 copy
Perfect Spy 1 copy
Murder of Quality 1 copy
La tamburina 1 copy
מלחמת המראות 1 copy
Retour de service 1 copy
Coffret - La constance du jardinier / Le Tailleur de Panama / La Taupe - John le Carré (2018) 1 copy
The Honorable School-Boy 1 copy
Silver View 1 copy
Der wachsame Traeumer 1 copy
Abide with me 1 copy
Taylor's Run 1 copy
tweede carre omnibus 1 copy
spionage-omnibus 1 copy
Seelord 1 copy
Spionul care a ieșit din joc 1 copy
La Casa Rusia [2003 film] 1 copy
O Gerente Da Noite 1 copy
In geheimer Mission. Die besten Spionagegeschichten von John le Carré & Co, 5 Audio-CDs (2009) 1 copy
O venerável espião (II) 1 copy
Ο ράφτης του Παναμά 1 copy
The spy who came in from the cold; Nightmare '66; The looking-glass war; The growth of Marie-Louise; George Smiley goes… (1982) 1 copy
John Le Carré : Notre jeu - Le Tailleur de Panama - Single & Single, coffret de 3 volumes (2000) 1 copy
Œuvres, tome 2 1 copy
Federball 1 copy
LEC El infiltrado 1 copy
THE SECRET PILGRIM 1 copy
SINGLE AND SINGLE 1 copy
NUEVAS PINCELADAS 1 copy
Associated Works
A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal (2014) — Afterword, some editions — 1,569 copies, 132 reviews
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories (2004) — Introduction — 921 copies, 11 reviews
Reader's Digest Best Sellers: Captain Newman, M.D. | When the Cheering Stopped | Spy Who Came in From the Cold | Song… (1965) 12 copies
Reader's Digest Auswahlbücher: Die Libelle / Mein Leben, mein Dorf / Tollkühn / Begegnung am Bussardhügel (1986) 3 copies
Reader's Digest Condensed Books: The Island / Wolfpack / Joy in the Morning / The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) 3 copies
Livros Condensados: O Inverno do Nosso Descontentamento | O Pequeno John Willie | O Espião Que Veio do Frio | Entre os… — Author; Author — 2 copies
A Perfect Spy by John le Carré {notes} — Author — 1 copy
De overwinning op de Dru; Spion aan de muur; De stille strijd; Erfgenaam van Kirkland — Author — 1 copy, 1 review
Livros Condensados (Unknown Condensed Books) — Author — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- le Carré, John
- Legal name
- Cornwell, David John Moore
- Other names
- le Carré, John
- Birthdate
- 1931-10-19
- Date of death
- 2020-12-12
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- UK
Ireland (naturalized, and via maternal grandmother) - Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Poole, Dorset, England, UK
- Place of death
- Truro, Cornwall, England, UK
- Cause of death
- pneumonia
- Places of residence
- St. Buryan, Cornwall, England, UK
Bern, Switzerland
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Eton, Berkshire, England, UK
Bonn, Germany
Hamburg, Germany - Education
- University of Bern (German)
University of Oxford (BA|1956 - Lincoln College) - Occupations
- language teacher
novelist - Relationships
- Harkaway, Nick (son)
Green, V. H. H. (tutor - Oxford)
Cornwell, Jessica (granddaughter)
Cornwell, Rupert (half-brother) - Organizations
- British Intelligence Service
Eton College - Awards and honors
- MWA Grand Master (1984)
Cartier Diamond Dagger (1988)
Man Booker International Prize Finalist (2011)
Goethe medal (2011)
Olof Palme prize (2020) - Agent
- William Loverd
- Disambiguation notice
- John le Carré is a pen name of David John Moore Cornwell.
Members
Discussions
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy LE??! in Folio Society Devotees (October 2023)
John e Carre - Smiley novels in British & Irish Crime Fiction (July 2011)
Reviews
The Constant Gardener by John Le Carré
I listened to this on audio and I'm glad I did because I don't think I could have kept reading such a slog-fest! This is Le Carre's indictment of corporate greed set in Kenya. Justin Quayle, was a British diplomat who uncovered a multinational pharmaceutical company's illegal drug trials on unsuspecting Africans. Quayle's wife knew too much and so was "eliminated." The pacing was soooo slow! I'm not a spy thriller/espionage reader to begin with, and this book further confirmed my dislike for that genre. 17 hours 6 mins (576 pages)… (more)
½
This was such a brilliant story! I think it ranks up there with his classic The Spy Who Came In From The Cold. All the moral ambiguities that are standard in
LeCarre’s characters are front and center in Silverview. Highly recommend. Sorry it’s his last novel.
LeCarre’s characters are front and center in Silverview. Highly recommend. Sorry it’s his last novel.
Slightly disappointed in this novel. I expected more...*shrugs* Oh well.
1 
Jill.Mackin | 52 other reviews | Dec 18, 2024 |
Jill.Mackin | 52 other reviews | Dec 18, 2024 | Lists
Five star books (2)
Best Audiobooks (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Next in Series (1)
100 New Classics (1)
Finished in 2019 (1)
Best Spy Fiction (13)
MysteryCAT 2014 (1)
Read in 2014 (1)
Europe (1)
Edgar Award (1)
Books for Birute (1)
stories at work (2)
Book wishlist (3)
Folio Society (3)
First Novels (1)
Finished in 2021 (1)
1980s (1)
Fiction For Men (1)
discontinued (1)
Which house? (1)
1970s (1)
Overdue Podcast (1)
Unread books (1)
Favourite Books (1)
Big Jubilee List (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 169
- Also by
- 36
- Members
- 89,709
- Popularity
- #113
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 1,930
- ISBNs
- 3,004
- Languages
- 38
- Favorited
- 231
