By George Smiley, as told to Chat GPT As a former spy, I know all too well the toll that stress and danger can take on one's health. In my line of work, I've had to deal with everything from betrayals and infidelities to high-stakes espionage and assassination attempts. But through it all, I've managed …
Category: George Smiley
John le Carré passes away at age 89
This is a hard one. In a year that has seen many, many losses, for lovers of literature, the loss of David Cornwell aka John le Carré is a difficult one to handle. Jonny Geller, his agent and friend, posted this note as well as a note from le Carré's family. https://twitter.com/JonnyGeller/status/1338239733638508547 On a personal …
Secret Lip Services – The honor John le Carré doesn’t want you to know about
Rarely am I shocked while reading a book, but this was the exception. As I perused my latest purchase, a binded transcript of a speech John le Carré gave at John Hopkins University in 1986 titled The Clandestine Muse, I had a shocking revelation. John le Carré had won Blistex lip balm’s 1985 “Most Beautiful …
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Sarrett Circus Commencement Address
I'm always on the hunt for new bits of history or trivia about the Circus. I've made a new find and I think you'll find it to be quite the treat. I was digging through some archives at the library and found one of Control's commencement addresses to the graduates of the Sarrett training camp. …
A le Carré sneak peek?
I debated putting this out there, but decided that today is the day and not to wait. I received a huge surprise in the mail over the weekend. A package sent from Cornwall arrived on my doorstep. I've been eagerly awaiting the October release of Agent Running in the Field and in early April what …
The Spy Who – Rarities – Part 4.5
It's been over two years but I've laid hands on yet another abridged version of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. We've seen two previous abridged versions, one in a magazine called True and the next in Reader's Digest. Over three issues of Show - The Magazine of the Arts, October through December …
The Spy Who – The Art – Part 4
It's been over two years but I've laid hands on yet another abridged version of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. We've seen two previous abridged versions, one in a magazine called True and the next in Reader's Digest. My latest find ran in a magazine called Show - The Magazine …
Tinker Tailor Soldier Doll
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Matryoshka Dolls
Collecting A Legacy of Spies
The biggest story of last year was the announcement that John le Carré had written a new Smiley novel. Fans of le Carré's all over the world were shocked. Le Carré had seemed to put a button on Smiley with The Secret Pilgrim so every fan is excited about the new novel. As a collector, …
The Spybrary podcast
One of the best things over the past few years has been the appearance of the Spybrary podcast. Spybrary is run by Shane Whaley, an avid spy fan who wanted to create something that gave people a place to learn more about spy fiction and create a community of spy fans. The podcast has consisted …