We conclude our interview with Toby Manning on his book John le Carré and the Cold War. Find part one here. When you’re done reading my interview listen to the Spybrary podcast interview with Toby Manning. Spy Write: It seems that le Carré's post-Cold War work may have been what muddied the waters regarding the “otherness” …
Continue reading Interview with Toby Manning on John le Carré and the Cold War – Part Two
Last year I put together a short list of some of my favorite things from the past year. I’ve done it again and here they are in no particular order - A Divided Spy by Charles Cumming - This one is a little selfish. I won a auction to have my name appear in the …
It's the ultimate question for any spy fan. If you were a spy which kind of spy would you be? I've seen a bunch of quizzes for the movies but I thought I'd throw together this one for all the book spy fans. Are you a Smiley, Lemas, Bond or someone else? Give it a …
Following up on my previous post about locations in London made famous by John le Carré as haunts of George Smiley, I'm posting some other spots where fictional spies hung out. You can find all of these and more on my fictional spies Google map. Update: Author Mick Herron has confirmed via email that this …
In honor of publication week for A Legacy of Spies I've collected a "best of" list of some of my le Carré posts. I also recommend reading Matthew Bradford's great series of posts looking back at the Smiley series book by book. First, here's my spoiler free review of the new book, A Legacy of …
Wow. After over twenty five years we have a new Smiley book. Something I never thought I'd see happen, has happened. Was it worth going back to the well? I think so. Before we get too far, it's best to set expectations. In truth, A Legacy of Spies is about Peter Guillam, not Smiley. It’s …
Continue reading Non spoiler review: A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré
Many a tour guide has made a significant amount of money holding Sherlock Holmes or Dickens character tours in London looking at the real locations of their fictional counterparts. Some would consider this foolish. Why look at place that these characters never walked? They weren't real people after all. That's true, but visiting these places …