Conversations with John le Carre

by Matthew J. Bruccoli (Editor), Judith S. Baughman (Editor)

Overview

John le Carré (b. 1931) is the pen name of David Cornwell. Under that pseudonym he has become the leading writer of contemporary spy thrillers. Tremendously popular and deeply influential, his novels feature a level of psychological depth and narrative complexity that makes them as rewarding as the most highly-touted literary fiction. Weaving incisive political commentary, razor-sharp satire, and suspense, his work reflects upon and dissects both Cold War anxieties and the complications of social relationships. Several of his novels-including The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Russia House, and The Tailor of Panama-have been adapted into award-winning movies. In Conversations with John le Carré, the acclaimed writer talks about his craft, the nature of language, the literature that he loves, and the ways in which his own life influences the creation of, and characters within, his novels. He worked for the British Foreign Office in the 1960s, and although his works are dazzlingly informed about global politics, le Carré's voice is distinctively British. His love of language, particularly the ways in which it can reveal or conceal thought and action, is evident in every piece here. In interviews with George Plimpton, Melvyn Bragg, and others, le Carré proves himself to be quick witted, engaging, and deeply passionate. Though often self-deprecating in his humor, le Carré reveals his commitment to the spy thriller and tells us why he thinks it is just as capable of exploring human consciousness as any other literary genre. Matthew J. Bruccoli is Jefferies Professor of English at the University of South Carolina. He has written or edited thirty volumes on F. Scott Fitzgerald, including the standard biography, Some Sort of Epic Grandeur. Judith S. Baughman works in the department of English at the University of South Carolina. With Bruccoli she is co-editor of Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald (University Press of Mississippi).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781578066698
Publisher:	University Press of Mississippi
Publication date:	12/02/2004
Series:	Literary Conversations Series
Pages:	198
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Matthew J. Bruccoli (Editor)
Matthew J. Bruccoli is Jefferies Professor of English at the University of South Carolina. He has written or edited thirty volumes on F. Scott Fitzgerald, including the standard biography, Some Sort of Epic Grandeur. He is also editor of Conversations with Ernest Hemingway and coeditor of Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Conversations with John le Carre, all published by University Press of Mississippi.

Judith S. Baughman (Editor)
Judith S. Baughman works in the Department of English at the University of South Carolina. She is coeditor of Conversations with John le Carre and Conversations with F. Scott Fitzgerald, both published by University Press of Mississippi.

Table of Contents

	Introduction	xi
	Chronology	xv
	John le Carre: The Writer, like the Spy, Is an Illusionist	3
	The Fictional World of Espionage	6
	Violent Image	10
	A Conversation with John le Carre	15
	Schoolmaster Who Came in From the Cold	18
	John le Carre: The Writer Who Came in From the Cold	27
	The Things a Spy Can Do: John le Carre Talking	33
	A Visit with the Author	38
	The Secret Life of John le Carre	41
	Hong Kong Was a "Halfway House"	47
	le Carre's Circus: Lamplighters, Moles and Others of That Ilk	53
	The Secret World of John le Carre	60
	The Little Drummer Girl: An Interview with John le Carre	72
	Spying on a Spymaker	86
	John le Carre on Perfect Spies and Other Characters	90
	The Secret Life of John le Carre	93
	The Thawing of the Old Spymaster	107
	What Would I Be Like If I Were He?	112
	Spies Who Come in From the Cold War: A Session Between John le Carre and the Soviets	122
	We Distorted Our Own Minds	128
	Remarks to the Knopf Sales Force	133
	Master of the Secret World: John le Carre on Deception, Storytelling and American Hubris	136
	John le Carre: The Art of Fiction	145
	Secrets and Lies	162
	David Cornwell Discusses His Novel Absolute Friends, Which Was Written under His Pen Name, John le Carre	171
	Index	175