A collection of letters by the late novelist John le Carré is to be published later this year. A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré 1945-2020 spans almost eight decades, from the author’s childhood in wartime Britain to just days before his death in 2020. It contains letters to le Carré’s family and friends as well as to high-profile fans such as Hugh Laurie, Ralph Fiennes, Stephen Fry, Alec Guinness and Tom Stoppard.
Topics range from politics and writing to his first marriage and his relationship with his father, Ronnie Cornwell, a fraudster who spent four years in prison and was an associate of the Kray brothers in London’s criminal fraternity. Le Carré’s publisher, Viking, has called the book “the most intimate portrait of the great writer that will ever be published”.
The letters have been selected and edited by le Carré’s son, journalist Tim Cornwell, who said the experience was an “enormous privilege”.
He added: “My father was brave in the way that he spoke for what he believed in, brave in the places and subjects he tackled in his writing, and brave in the way he faced illness. His friendships, his obsessions and his incisive wit were no surprise, nor the sheer joy of his writing voice: I recognised the man I knew in every syllable. I hope others will enjoy the journey as much as I have, and laugh, cry, and sometimes wince with me as they read these letters and travel with my father.”
Le Carré previously had a career in British intelligence, working for MI5 and MI6 during the 1950s and 1960s before turning to writing, earning critical acclaim around the world for novels such as The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Night Manager. He died in 2020, aged 89, and A Private Spy will mark his second book published posthumously: his novel Silverview came out last year.
Mary Mount, le Carré’s editor at Penguin, said that reading the letters was “a very thrilling and moving experience”. She added: “We are back in his company once again, listening to that inimitable voice: his fiercely acute observations, his humour, his tenderness, his rage. I cannot wait for readers to enjoy this collection, marvellously edited by his son Tim, as much as I have.”
• A Private Spy will be published on 3 November.
