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Title details for John le Carré by Adam Sisman - Available

John le Carré

by Adam Sisman
ebook
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The definitive biography of the undisputed giant of English literature, a man whose own true history has long been hidden behind the fictional world of his books
'Compendious and compelling ... it is impossible to imagine this Life being bettered' WILLIAM BOYD, NEW STATESMAN

'Smiley himself could not have done a better job' SUNDAY TIMES
Long after The Spy Who came in from the Cold made John le Carré a worldwide, bestselling sensation, David Cornwell, the man behind the pseudonym, remained an enigma. In this definitive biography, written with unprecedented access to the man himself, Adam Sisman offers an illuminating portrait of a fascinating and enigmatic writer.
In Cornwell's lonely childhood, Adam Sisman uncovers the origins of the themes of love and abandonment which dominated le Carré's fiction: the departure of his mother when he was five, followed by 'sixteen hugless years' in the dubious care of his father, a man of energy and charm, a serial seducer and conman who hid the Bentleys in the trees when the bailiffs came calling - a 'totally incomprehensible father' who could 'put a hand on your shoulder and the other in your pocket, both gestures equally sincere'. And in Cornwell's adult life - from recruitment by both MI5 and MI6, through marriage and family life, to his emergence as the master of the spy novel - Sisman explores the idea of espionage and its significance in human terms; the extent to which betrayal is acceptable in exchange for love; and the endless need for forgiveness, especially from oneself.
Written with exclusive access to David Cornwell, to his private archive and to the most important people in his life - family, friends, enemies, intelligence ex-colleagues and ex-lovers - and featuring a wealth of previously unseen photographic material, Adam Sisman's extraordinarily insightful and constantly revealing biography brings in from the cold a man whose own life was as complex and confounding and filled with treachery as any of his novels. 'I'm a liar,' Cornwell once wrote. 'Born to lying, bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practised in it as a novelist.'
This is the definitive biography of a major writer, described by Richard Osman as 'just the finest, wisest storyteller we had.'
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Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

OverDrive Read

  • ISBN: 9781408849446
  • File size: 6975 KB
  • Release date: October 19, 2015

EPUB ebook

  • ISBN: 9781408849446
  • File size: 6980 KB
  • Release date: October 19, 2015

Formats

OverDrive Read
EPUB ebook

subjects

Biography & Autobiography Nonfiction

Languages

English

The definitive biography of the undisputed giant of English literature, a man whose own true history has long been hidden behind the fictional world of his books
'Compendious and compelling ... it is impossible to imagine this Life being bettered' WILLIAM BOYD, NEW STATESMAN

'Smiley himself could not have done a better job' SUNDAY TIMES
Long after The Spy Who came in from the Cold made John le Carré a worldwide, bestselling sensation, David Cornwell, the man behind the pseudonym, remained an enigma. In this definitive biography, written with unprecedented access to the man himself, Adam Sisman offers an illuminating portrait of a fascinating and enigmatic writer.
In Cornwell's lonely childhood, Adam Sisman uncovers the origins of the themes of love and abandonment which dominated le Carré's fiction: the departure of his mother when he was five, followed by 'sixteen hugless years' in the dubious care of his father, a man of energy and charm, a serial seducer and conman who hid the Bentleys in the trees when the bailiffs came calling - a 'totally incomprehensible father' who could 'put a hand on your shoulder and the other in your pocket, both gestures equally sincere'. And in Cornwell's adult life - from recruitment by both MI5 and MI6, through marriage and family life, to his emergence as the master of the spy novel - Sisman explores the idea of espionage and its significance in human terms; the extent to which betrayal is acceptable in exchange for love; and the endless need for forgiveness, especially from oneself.
Written with exclusive access to David Cornwell, to his private archive and to the most important people in his life - family, friends, enemies, intelligence ex-colleagues and ex-lovers - and featuring a wealth of previously unseen photographic material, Adam Sisman's extraordinarily insightful and constantly revealing biography brings in from the cold a man whose own life was as complex and confounding and filled with treachery as any of his novels. 'I'm a liar,' Cornwell once wrote. 'Born to lying, bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practised in it as a novelist.'
This is the definitive biography of a major writer, described by Richard Osman as 'just the finest, wisest storyteller we had.'
Expand title description text
Biography & Autobiography Nonfiction