Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Le Carre, John

Published by Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1974

About this Item

First British edition of the author's seventh novel and what many consider to be his finest. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by author on the title page, "with best wishes John le Carre" and by the author's father, "and much love from his father Ronnie July 1974." Ronald Cornwell was the father of le Carre and was a known associate of the Kray twins. The family was continually in debt. The fatherâ "son relationship has been described as "difficult". Rick Pym, a scheming con man and the father of A Perfect Spy protagonist Magnus Pym, was based on Ronnie. When his father died in 1975, Cornwell paid for a memorial funeral service but did not attend, a plot point repeated in A Perfect Spy. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example, rare and desirable signed by both son and father, this is the first example we have seen. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy garnered instant praise for Le Carre as "[t]he premier spy novelist of his time. Perhaps of all time" (Time). "Le Carre is simply the world's greatest fictional spymaster" (Newsweek). Le Carre s inspiration drew from his experience of the revealing of the Cambridge Five traitors in the 1950s and 60s (Anthony, 2009), and the novel s popularity can be seen in relation to those shocking events. In 2011, the novel was adapted into a successful film, starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth, and it received three nominations at the 84th Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Actor. This successful production is but one of Le Carre s numerous accolades in espionage fiction. He was awarded both the Helmerich Award and the Goethe Medal, and, in 2008, The Times ranked Le Carré 22nd on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945.".

Seller Inventory # 136011

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton, London
• Publication Date: 1974
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • First Edition