Why read A Private Spy?

Book cover of A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carre

Book description

John le Carre was a defining writer of his time. This enthralling collection letters - written to readers, publishers, film-makers and actors, politicians and public figures - reveals the playfully intelligent and unfailingly eloquent man behind the penname.
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'The symbiosis of author and editor, father and son, has resulted…

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Why read it?

1 author picked A Private Spy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Doug Macdougall

Author

For anyone who loves John le Carré novels as much as I do, this book is a must-read.

The letters, chosen and commented on by one of le Carré’s sons, are superbly written and span almost the whole of the famous author’s life, from age thirteen until just two weeks before he died in December 2020.

Recipients include a prime minister, actors, agents, politicians, family and fans. The letters reveal a man deeply affected by a troubled childhood – abandoned by his mother at age five, brought up at arm’s length by a con-man father – and give clues…

From Doug's 3 favorite reads in 2023.