spy novels

A Spy Novelist’s Life Seen Through a Trove of Letters

Lee Polevoi

A Private Spy, impeccably edited by his late son, Tim Cornwell, includes all the background notes necessary for a clear understanding of Le Carré’s often tumultuous life and times. In letters to friends, lovers, his agent, the press, etc., a writer’s life unfolds for us over the years. For some, the love letters and domestic correspondence will hold less interest than those growing out of a never-ending campaign to go his own way as a novelist, spy or otherwise.

Ian McEwan’s ‘Sweet Tooth’ Delves into the World of Spies and Anti-Communism

Lee Polevoi

As a storyteller, McEwan has few equals. From the novel’s opening lines—“My name is Serena Frome (rhymes with plume) and almost forty years ago I was sent on a secret mission for the British Security Service”—he draws us into the dreary world of Cold War England, circa 1974,  time of internal social and political upheaval. The story purrs along like a well-oiled machine, as Serena falls in love with Tony Canning, a married professor and much older man. The affair ends badly, though not before Canning has set her on an eventful career path with MI5. 

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