John le Carré has died

[Teymour_aldridge]

Author of “tinker tailer soldier spy” which I assume provided the inspiration for the cipher challenge.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/13/john-le-carre-author-of-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-dies-aged-89

[Harry]

John le Carré inspired more than the title of this year’s National Cipher Challenge. Whatever your view of his politics, his humanity shone like a flashlight in some very dark places. His characters have a depth that is missing from a lot of the genre, and deep themes of love, loss and loyalty form the wefts supporting the intricate weave of his stories. When you are ready for them these books (or the many films and tv adaptations) are well worth your time, but don’t read them too soon. They are not lightweight adventure stories, and you will get much more from them with the benefit of experience.

[The-letter-wriggler]

INFORMATIONAL
==============
I RECORDED ALL THE GEORGE SMILEY DRAMAS AND HAVE HAD THE PLEASURE OF LISTENING TO
THEM A FEW TIMES OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS SINCE. HERE ARE SOME OF THE DETAILS.
(I believe they may be more suitable for a mature audience)

During 2009 and 2010 (23rd May 2009 to 27th June 2010) the BBC broadcast a
set of dramatisations of John le Carré’s novels featuring intelligence officer
George Smiley. All stared Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley.

A none sponsored link to the CD (HARRY REMOVE IF AGAINST THE RULES):

The 8 ‘George Smiley’ Spy Novels by John le Carré:

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⦁ Call for the Dead
⦁ A Murder of Quality
⦁ The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
⦁ The Looking Glass War
⦁ Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
⦁ The Honourable Schoolboy
⦁ Smiley’s People
⦁ The Secret Pilgrim

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SYNOPSIS:

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Call for the Dead
=================================
Published in the 60s, this was le Carré’s debut and the first time we are
introduced to George Smiley’s world of liars, murderers and er, amature dramatics.

London, the late 1950s: a disenchanted George Smiley is engaged in the routine job
of security vetting. When a Foreign Office civil servant commits suicide not long
after being cleared of Communist sympathies, Smiley investigates – and uncovers a
deadly conspiracy with its roots in his own wartime past.

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A Murder of Quality
=================================
Having retired at the end of Call for the Dead, Smiley opts for a life of
study – his beloved German literature – but ends up investigating a murder
at a public school.

When the wife of a schoolmaster is found bludgeoned to death, Smiley finds
himself investigating her death – an investigation that lifts the lid on a
world of hidden passions and murderous hatred in a public school in the
early 1960s.

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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
=================================
This was the book that firmly established le Carré’s espionage credentials.
It was praised for its portrayal of the sleazy spy world.

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The Looking Glass War
=================================
Smiley appears in a secondary but utterly ruthless role in a story that
le Carré has called his most realistic picture of the world he knew while
working for MI5 and MI6.

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Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (The Karla Trilogy – Book 1)
=================================
The first of the Karla Trilogy – Karla being Smiley’s Soviet counterpart.
The story is based, in part, on le Carré’s real experience of UK spies
Burgess, Philby and Maclean.

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The Honourable Schoolboy (The Karla Trilogy – Book 2)
=================================
In the aftermath of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Smiley has ‘cleaned up’ the
London office and now turns his attention to the elusive Karla.

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Smiley’s People
=================================
Smiley investigates the death of a British agent and former Soviet general,
but a series of clues whet his appetite again for a final showdown with
his arch-nemesis.

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The Secret Pilgrim
=================================
Smiley appeared for a final time in 1990 lecturing new agents. The lectures
sum up his years in the ‘Circus’ and the morally suspect life he had to lead.

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[Author]

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