The Secret Life of John le Carré Synopsis
'Not merely the conclusive homage to a compulsively fascinating character, but an insightful study into the biographical process itself' Nicholas Shakespeare
'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: code names and cover stories, cut outs, safe houses and dead letter boxes.
Such affairs introduced both jeopardy and excitement into what was otherwise a quiet, ordered life. Le Carré seemed to require the stimulus they provided in order to write, though this meant deceiving those closest to him. It is no coincidence that betrayal became a recurrent theme in his work.
Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, revealed much about the elusive spy-turned-novelist; yet le Carré was adamant that some subjects should remain hidden, at least during his lifetime. The Secret Life of John le Carré is the story of what was left out, and offers reflections on the difficult relationship between biographer and subject. More than that, it adds a necessary coda to the life and work of this complex, driven, restless man.
The Secret Life of John le Carré reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781800817784 |
| Publication date: |
12th October 2023 |
| Author: |
Adam Sisman |
| Publisher: |
Profile Books Ltd |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
208 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Biographies & Autobiographies
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| Other Genres: |
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Adam Sisman Press Reviews
A completely fascinating and revelatory book, written with great sagacity, candour and judiciousness -- William Boyd, author - Any Human Heart
Scrupulous as a biographer ... Sisman justifies his argument that this coda of his is a necessary one. It enables us to have a clearer view of the man ... It also allows us to understand his novels better ... Psychologically astute. -- James Owen - Book of the Week, The Times
Fascinating - New Statesman
Revealing ... shocking - Observer
Fascinating ... painfully honest and anguished -- Robert McCrum - Independent
[Sisman] is a delicate writer keen to acknowledge the ambiguity of the biographer's role - Guardian
Intriguing ... admirably concise ... sub-themes, such as the practice and ethics of biography and the emotional toll of spying, run through [the book] - Spectator
Entertaining - Irish Independent
Thoughtful, self-aware and nuanced .. Sisman here is, as always, readable, honest, careful - Arts Desk
Given his history of spy novels, it should come as little surprise that the late Le Carré was a man adept at secrecy himself. And here his complicated private life is fully exposed for the first time - i News
Remarkably unflinching ... Sisman uncovers a previously hidden and discomfiting dimension of le Carré ... future accounts will have to wrestle with the bombshells dropped here. - Publisher's Weekly
A one-of-a-kind revisiting of a wondrously productive life lived at the expense of two wives and many lovers ... Sisman demonstrates how betrayal was the leitmotif of both the novelist's life and his art and that however completely he depended on his wives, he depended on a new woman to serve as his inspiration for each book - Kirkus Reviews
Few writers have curated their image so effectively as John le Carré. In this page-turning follow-up to his 2015 biography, published when his subject was still kickingly alive, Adam Sisman completes the task of showing us who he was - a minor spy who became a major novelist, whose most important agents in the field were the women he needed to love and then betray. For le Carré, tradecraft was lovecraft. Much more than What Was Left Out, The Secret Life of John le Carré is not merely the conclusive homage to a compulsively fascinating character, but an insightful study into the biographical process itself. Even David Cornwell, the man who actually was John le Carré, would have saluted him -- Nicholas Shakespeare Praise for John le Carre: The Biography - :
A perceptive and elegant interpreter of complex lives -- Jonathan Dimbleby, on 'John le Carre: The Biography' The best biography of 2015 - a rare achievement that invites rereading - Independent
Compendious and compelling...Sisman is excellent - New Statesman
Smiley himself could not have done a better job - The Times
Balanced, focused and compelling - Economist
Sisman often came to know the reality of what happened in Cornwell's life better than Cornwell himself did - Newsweek
This book is testament to Sisman's skill and perseverance ... Sisman brings admirable clarity to what could have been a meander in a wilderness of mirrors - Spectator
