The Secret Life of John le Carré

WINNER OF THE CRIMEFEST HRF KEATING AWARD A Times Best Literature Book of the Year 2023 A Financial Times Book of the Year 2023 A Spectator Book of the Year 2023 A Daily Express Best Book of 2023 'A fascinating, revelatory appendix ... providing new insights into the inner workings of the man who created George Smiley' 'Best Books of the Year 2023', Financial Times 'Sisman can set the record straight' 'Books of the Year 2023', The Sunday Times 'Complex and consequential ... casts le Carré's life and writing in a fresh light ... a fascinating examination of the biographer's art' Washington Post 'Now that he is dead, we can know him better.' Secrecy came naturally to John le Carré, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over four decades. To keep these relationships secret, he made use of tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: