Latest news with #TheSpyWhoCameInFromTheCold
South Wales Guardian
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
John Le Carre archive to go on display, including letter from Alec Guinness
Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89. The exhibition, titled John le Carre: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends. Among them is a letter from actor Sir Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carre's best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was 'not really rotund and double-chinned'. The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim. Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carre worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Sir Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans Le Carre's time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks, and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly. It was curated by Le Carre's collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author's family. Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carre, said: 'Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it. 'The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming.' In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: 'Longstanding fans of Le Carre and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods. 'Le Carre's researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career.' The exhibition's title plays on the term 'tradecraft' which Le Carre used to describe techniques of espionage, but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said. It is due to open on October 1 2025 until April 6 2026.
Leader Live
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
John Le Carre archive to go on display, including letter from Alec Guinness
Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89. The exhibition, titled John le Carre: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends. Among them is a letter from actor Sir Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carre's best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was 'not really rotund and double-chinned'. The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim. Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carre worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Sir Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans Le Carre's time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks, and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly. It was curated by Le Carre's collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author's family. Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carre, said: 'Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it. 'The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming.' In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: 'Longstanding fans of Le Carre and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods. 'Le Carre's researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career.' The exhibition's title plays on the term 'tradecraft' which Le Carre used to describe techniques of espionage, but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said. It is due to open on October 1 2025 until April 6 2026.
RTÉ News
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
John Le Carré archive to go on display, including letter from Alec Guinness
An exhibition celebrating best-selling espionage author John Le Carré is due to open in Oxford, showcasing the writer's annotated manuscripts and letters to friends. Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89. The exhibition, titled John le Carré: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends. Among them is a letter from actor Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carré's best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was "not really rotund and double-chinned". The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim. Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carré worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Film versions of Le Carré's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans the novelist's time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly. It was curated by Le Carré's collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author's family. Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carré, said: "Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it. "The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming." In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: "Longstanding fans of Le Carré and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods. "Le Carré's researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career." The exhibition's title plays on the term "tradecraft" which Le Carré used to describe techniques of espionage but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said It is due to open on 1 October 2025 until 6 April 6 2026.
South Wales Guardian
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
New George Smiley novel will not be glamorous like Bond, says Nick Harkaway
The 52-year-old, from Cornwall, is the son of John le Carre, who died in 2020 aged 89, and wrote the original spy series about an intelligence officer who works for The Circus, Britain's overseas intelligence agency. Harkaway, whose real name is Nicholas Cornwell, published his first continuation novel, Karla's Choice, last year. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: 'Last time I was kind of deliberately unaware of how much pressure there actually was. 'I sort of sat down (to write) and didn't really think about it. And then, after I finished, and as the reviews started to come out and they were positive, I got retrospective terror. 'I realised… and particularly when you read the reviews, what you realise is that all of them begin with 'I really expected to hate this book, and I don't'. And I thought 'Gosh, that would have been really awful'.' He continued: 'There's a lot of reasons why it shouldn't work… So I think everybody had sort of legitimate fear, and I have great respect for that.' In the new novel, The Taper Man, George Smiley is sent, for the first time, on an operation to America to pursue an old communist network across the West Coast. 'We have Smiley going to America, to the United States, for the first time, into the kind of culmination of the Civil Rights decade,' said Harkaway. 'It's a period of massive, massive, tumultuous change, and not all of it peaceful, you know – there's some quite extraordinary acts of domestic terrorism in the early '60s, around desegregation. 'It's a deep dive, and I'm kind of daunted by it, but you do these things with respect, and you feel your way, and you learn,' he said. A post shared by The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (@spyonstage) The novel is set in 1965, 18 months after Karla's Choice, and amid the backdrop of the Vietnam War as well as the Civil Rights era. 'I'm not just writing to the 1960s, I'm also writing to the world of George Smiley and he's not the guy who shows up at a Beatles concert,' said Harkaway. 'We're not going to see the kind of glamorous '60s that you see in a James Bond film from the period; we're going to be looking at, always, the shadows and the grey spaces and the places where things have potential to go seriously wrong. 'And looking for somebody who can potentially make them go right, and will that person be heard? It's always about ambiguity, rather than the kind of acid orange of the '60s.' It has also been announced that Harkaway's father's global best-selling thriller, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, is to be staged in London's West End for the first time in November. Harkaway told PA: 'I am excited about that… I have seen the play. I saw it at Chichester, and it runs on rails towards the kind of inevitable, staggering conclusion of the story… It's incredibly powerful.' Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote best-selling novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager. Prior to his career as a writer, he worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Career intelligence officer Smiley became the author's best-known character and was made even more famous by Alec Guinness in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which aired in the late 1970s. Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. Harkaway has written novels including The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker, Tigerman, Gnomon and The Price You Pay (as Aidan Truhen). – The Spy Who Came in From the Cold will play at Soho Place from November 17 2025 until February 21 2026.
Rhyl Journal
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Rhyl Journal
New George Smiley novel will not be glamorous like Bond, says Nick Harkaway
The 52-year-old, from Cornwall, is the son of John le Carre, who died in 2020 aged 89, and wrote the original spy series about an intelligence officer who works for The Circus, Britain's overseas intelligence agency. Harkaway, whose real name is Nicholas Cornwell, published his first continuation novel, Karla's Choice, last year. Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: 'Last time I was kind of deliberately unaware of how much pressure there actually was. 'I sort of sat down (to write) and didn't really think about it. And then, after I finished, and as the reviews started to come out and they were positive, I got retrospective terror. 'I realised… and particularly when you read the reviews, what you realise is that all of them begin with 'I really expected to hate this book, and I don't'. And I thought 'Gosh, that would have been really awful'.' He continued: 'There's a lot of reasons why it shouldn't work… So I think everybody had sort of legitimate fear, and I have great respect for that.' In the new novel, The Taper Man, George Smiley is sent, for the first time, on an operation to America to pursue an old communist network across the West Coast. 'We have Smiley going to America, to the United States, for the first time, into the kind of culmination of the Civil Rights decade,' said Harkaway. 'It's a period of massive, massive, tumultuous change, and not all of it peaceful, you know – there's some quite extraordinary acts of domestic terrorism in the early '60s, around desegregation. 'It's a deep dive, and I'm kind of daunted by it, but you do these things with respect, and you feel your way, and you learn,' he said. A post shared by The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (@spyonstage) The novel is set in 1965, 18 months after Karla's Choice, and amid the backdrop of the Vietnam War as well as the Civil Rights era. 'I'm not just writing to the 1960s, I'm also writing to the world of George Smiley and he's not the guy who shows up at a Beatles concert,' said Harkaway. 'We're not going to see the kind of glamorous '60s that you see in a James Bond film from the period; we're going to be looking at, always, the shadows and the grey spaces and the places where things have potential to go seriously wrong. 'And looking for somebody who can potentially make them go right, and will that person be heard? It's always about ambiguity, rather than the kind of acid orange of the '60s.' It has also been announced that Harkaway's father's global best-selling thriller, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, is to be staged in London's West End for the first time in November. Harkaway told PA: 'I am excited about that… I have seen the play. I saw it at Chichester, and it runs on rails towards the kind of inevitable, staggering conclusion of the story… It's incredibly powerful.' Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote best-selling novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager. Prior to his career as a writer, he worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Career intelligence officer Smiley became the author's best-known character and was made even more famous by Alec Guinness in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which aired in the late 1970s. Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. Harkaway has written novels including The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker, Tigerman, Gnomon and The Price You Pay (as Aidan Truhen). – The Spy Who Came in From the Cold will play at Soho Place from November 17 2025 until February 21 2026.
