A PRIVATE SPY

A portrait of the famed spy novelist via a lifetime of correspondence.

Meticulously edited and expansively annotated by le Carré’s son, Cornwell, this collection lands like a biography. In the introduction, Cornwell provides an outline, covering significant benchmarks in his father’s life, the brooding tenor of his final days in Cornwall in 2020, and the breadth of his correspondence. The text proceeds chronologically, but often a quote from an older le Carré adds context and piquancy. Additionally, Cornwell regularly adds biographical context. The first letter, dated 1945, is a polite correspondence with his headmaster-to-be, written when the author was 13. Adolescent love letters follow, addressed to le Carré’s “darling” Ann, Cornwell’s mother. Subsequent chapters unpack the author’s decades with the Foreign Office and transition from espionage work to his career as a journalist and, ultimately, successful novelist. The editor organizes these latter chapters around specific novels. Although Cornwell writes about his father with affection, he does not shy away from disreputable episodes—e.g., le Carré’s affair with Susan Kennaway, which led to divorce from Ann. As the letters show, literary fame brought the special challenges of being a public figure but also more stature to address political issues, which le Carré did up to the very end of his life. Brexit and the Trump presidency were key concerns. The use of correspondence to maintain lifelong relationships emerges as a major theme. The author’s many celebrity pen pals included Sir Alec Guinness, Tom Stoppard, and Stephen Fry. An added bonus are le Carré’s illustrations, peppered throughout the book. Supplemental material includes a comprehensive chronology and an appendix called Manuscript Sources, which lists chronologically all the letters and their recipients. Le Carré’s wry modesty and cleareyed insight into human nature consistently shine through.

A collection of small insights about a complex literary titan—invaluable for fans.