What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret Life of John le Carre
The extraordinary secret life of a great novelist, which his biographer could not publish while le Carré was alive
Secrecy came naturally to John le Carré, and there were some secrets he fought fiercely to keep. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man, yet some aspects of his subject remained hidden. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life.
Apparently content in his marriage, le Carré conducted a string of love affairs over five decades. To these relationships he brought much of the tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: cover stories, cut-outs and dead letter boxes. These clandestine operations brought an element of danger to his life, but they also meant deceiving those closest to him. Small wonder that betrayal became a running theme in his work.
In trying to manage his biography, le Carré engaged in a succession of skirmishes with his biographer. While he could control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, he accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, what had been withheld can now be revealed. The Secret Life of John le Carré reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject.
Secrecy came naturally to John le Carré, and there were some secrets he fought fiercely to keep. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man, yet some aspects of his subject remained hidden. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life.
Apparently content in his marriage, le Carré conducted a string of love affairs over five decades. To these relationships he brought much of the tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: cover stories, cut-outs and dead letter boxes. These clandestine operations brought an element of danger to his life, but they also meant deceiving those closest to him. Small wonder that betrayal became a running theme in his work.
In trying to manage his biography, le Carré engaged in a succession of skirmishes with his biographer. While he could control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, he accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, what had been withheld can now be revealed. The Secret Life of John le Carré reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject.
208 pages, Paperback
Published July 4, 2024
73 people are currently reading
2411 people want to read
About the author
Adam Sisman
17 books57 followersAdam Sisman is the author of various biographies, all well received by critics.
His first book, published in 1994, was a life of Trevor-Roper's colleague and rival, A.J.P. Taylor. In 2006, Sisman published a much-admired study of the friendship between Wordsworth and Coleridge. He has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography/Autobiography
His first book, published in 1994, was a life of Trevor-Roper's colleague and rival, A.J.P. Taylor. In 2006, Sisman published a much-admired study of the friendship between Wordsworth and Coleridge. He has won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography/Autobiography
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
October 24, 2023
Having enjoyed le Carre's books, I was hoping to read about his life as I had just a vague idea of what he did. I did not realize that this book is a kind of a supplement prepared after David Cornwell's death. An even bigger surprise was his secret life, I admit. Extramarital affairs, high in number, conducted in accordance with the best undercover techniques was not what I expected to learn, however, learning about them was more than interesting. One thing is certain: David Cornwell had a most exciting life against all conventions. Now I am more than eager to find traces of his affairs in his books.
*Many thanks to Adam Sisman, Profile Books Audio, and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
*Many thanks to Adam Sisman, Profile Books Audio, and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
November 2, 2023
Sneaker, Womanizer, Lover, Spy
Review of the Harper (US) hardcover (October 24, 2023) of the Profile Books (UK) original (October 12, 2023).
The revelations in The Secret Life of John le Carré do add background to his (David Cornwell using the penname John le Carré) writing of espionage novels as he apparently carried on a lifetime of extramarital affairs using the various methods used by the spies in his fiction. This included various cut-outs, dead-drops, aliases and safe houses. It all provided fodder for the writing as well, as many lovers would later recognize themselves fictionalized as heroines in the books.
Sisman's book is an addendum to his earlier John le Carré: The Biography (2015) published in Carré's lifetime, for which the biographer agreed to hold back on the author's love life in order to gain access to Carré for personal interviews and private archives.
Not all of this is new to veteran Carré watchers, the writer's own The Naive and Sentimental Lover (1971) was a fictionalized account of his affair with Susan Kennaway and his friendship with her husband James Kennaway. At least one lover, Sue Dawson, writing as Suleika Dawson, has penned her own memoir of their affair in The Secret Heart: John le Carré: an intimate memoir (2022).
I read The Secret Life... as part of my current ongoing Carré binge which began with seeing the biographical film The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
Other Reviews
The Constant Philanderer, by Anthony Cummins, The Guardian, October 15, 2023.
Trivia and Links
An earlier article revealed the upcoming publication of The Secret Life... at Biography to Reveal Secrets Held Back While Author Was Alive, by Sarah Shaffi, The Guardian, March 1, 2023.
John le Carré's home in Cornwall, England which was recently put up for sale. Image sourced from RightMove Co. UK. [Note: Links were working as of November 2, 2023. Image and link may no longer be available once the house is sold.]
Review of the Harper (US) hardcover (October 24, 2023) of the Profile Books (UK) original (October 12, 2023).
David's philandering, which he was so desperate to conceal from the world during his lifetime, is everywhere evident in his fiction. What appear to be riddles are readily explicable when you know the truth. 'Do you know what love is?' he has one of his characters ask. 'I'll tell you, it is whatever you can still betray.'
The revelations in The Secret Life of John le Carré do add background to his (David Cornwell using the penname John le Carré) writing of espionage novels as he apparently carried on a lifetime of extramarital affairs using the various methods used by the spies in his fiction. This included various cut-outs, dead-drops, aliases and safe houses. It all provided fodder for the writing as well, as many lovers would later recognize themselves fictionalized as heroines in the books.
Sisman's book is an addendum to his earlier John le Carré: The Biography (2015) published in Carré's lifetime, for which the biographer agreed to hold back on the author's love life in order to gain access to Carré for personal interviews and private archives.
Not all of this is new to veteran Carré watchers, the writer's own The Naive and Sentimental Lover (1971) was a fictionalized account of his affair with Susan Kennaway and his friendship with her husband James Kennaway. At least one lover, Sue Dawson, writing as Suleika Dawson, has penned her own memoir of their affair in The Secret Heart: John le Carré: an intimate memoir (2022).
I read The Secret Life... as part of my current ongoing Carré binge which began with seeing the biographical film The Pigeon Tunnel (2023) at the recent Toronto International Film Festival.
Other Reviews
The Constant Philanderer, by Anthony Cummins, The Guardian, October 15, 2023.
Trivia and Links
An earlier article revealed the upcoming publication of The Secret Life... at Biography to Reveal Secrets Held Back While Author Was Alive, by Sarah Shaffi, The Guardian, March 1, 2023.
John le Carré's home in Cornwall, England which was recently put up for sale. Image sourced from RightMove Co. UK. [Note: Links were working as of November 2, 2023. Image and link may no longer be available once the house is sold.]
December 25, 2023
Reading The Secret Life of John le Carré confirms for me a quote I read recently that is ascribed to Jackie Kennedy: "I have three lives - public, private, and secret." So it was with David Cornwell (better known as John le Carré).
Adam Sisman had been enlisted by Cornwell a decade ago to write his biography. From the start, Cornwell had given Sisman complete access to his papers and people with whom Cornwell had friendships and relationships through the whole of his life. From reading this book, which details some of the ups and downs Sisman experienced with Cornwell while working on the biography (which was published in 2015), I was both amazed and surprised (if not wholly shocked) about the various affairs and dalliances Cornwell had with a variety of women through 2 marriages.
I've been a fan of John le Carré's fiction since the mid-1980s and found him to be a fascinating, intriguing person from all the interviews I've heard him give either on TV or radio. Yet, in all that time, I gave little - if any - thought to his personal life.
From reading this book, it becomes clear how much Cornwell took pains to hide his secret life from the public, though many of the characters in his novels are clear reflections of the women in that aspect of his life, as well as his knowledge of the spy world. Cornwell is the embodiment of the assertion the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson once made when he said that "I am a part of all that I have met." He at times tried to undermine Sisman as he worked on his biography when it seemed to him that Susman might shed light on this secret life he lived, which was rife with duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, passion and tenderness. So, Sisman refrained from making plain this facet of Cornwell's life so long as he and his wife Jane were alive. But once both were gone (Cornwell died in December 2020, age 89, and Jane died 6 months later), Sisman felt free to publish what he had learned about Cornwell's secret life.
I think for those of us who like to read biographies, we want to know, inasmuch as it is possible, the full arc of the person's life who is the subject of the biography. Otherwise, the biography is, at best, a half truth of what the subject of the biography was in life, warts and all. I appreciate learning about this side of Cornwell. This doesn't in any way detract from my deep admiration of his talents as a writer because his novels for me are so engaging, insightful, and a joy to read.
This is a book I much enjoyed reading. It's a sure keeper, one that I will be eager to re-read in times to come.
Adam Sisman had been enlisted by Cornwell a decade ago to write his biography. From the start, Cornwell had given Sisman complete access to his papers and people with whom Cornwell had friendships and relationships through the whole of his life. From reading this book, which details some of the ups and downs Sisman experienced with Cornwell while working on the biography (which was published in 2015), I was both amazed and surprised (if not wholly shocked) about the various affairs and dalliances Cornwell had with a variety of women through 2 marriages.
I've been a fan of John le Carré's fiction since the mid-1980s and found him to be a fascinating, intriguing person from all the interviews I've heard him give either on TV or radio. Yet, in all that time, I gave little - if any - thought to his personal life.
From reading this book, it becomes clear how much Cornwell took pains to hide his secret life from the public, though many of the characters in his novels are clear reflections of the women in that aspect of his life, as well as his knowledge of the spy world. Cornwell is the embodiment of the assertion the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson once made when he said that "I am a part of all that I have met." He at times tried to undermine Sisman as he worked on his biography when it seemed to him that Susman might shed light on this secret life he lived, which was rife with duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, passion and tenderness. So, Sisman refrained from making plain this facet of Cornwell's life so long as he and his wife Jane were alive. But once both were gone (Cornwell died in December 2020, age 89, and Jane died 6 months later), Sisman felt free to publish what he had learned about Cornwell's secret life.
I think for those of us who like to read biographies, we want to know, inasmuch as it is possible, the full arc of the person's life who is the subject of the biography. Otherwise, the biography is, at best, a half truth of what the subject of the biography was in life, warts and all. I appreciate learning about this side of Cornwell. This doesn't in any way detract from my deep admiration of his talents as a writer because his novels for me are so engaging, insightful, and a joy to read.
This is a book I much enjoyed reading. It's a sure keeper, one that I will be eager to re-read in times to come.
August 7, 2023
An interesting read. Sisman's a very good writer, and he offers some interesting observations and conclusions. However, it's still a ~200pp book about an author's affairs. True, his extra-marital activities do seem to have influenced, inspired, and spurred his creativity; however, I'm not sure I needed quite so much about it. An odd reading experience, then, but one that I think le Carré completists/fantatics might find very interesting. I would, however, conclude that Sisman's previous biography of le Carré would probably be sufficient for most readers/enthusiasts.
February 8, 2024
#TheSecretLifeOfJohnLeCarre – Adam Sisman
#ProfileBooks
#JonathanBall
The definitive biography of the spy-turned-novelist, John le Carré, was published in 2015. The biographer, Adam Sisman, had the full co-operation and authorization of his subject, but was barred by one proviso: Certain subjects had to remain hidden during his lifetime. David Cornwell, the individual behind the Le Carré pseudonym, passed away in 2020. In 2022 a memoir by an alleged lover, Sue Dawson, and a collection of Cornwell’s letters titled ‘A private spy’ were published, both forerunners of this addendum to his autobiography that addresses those previously forbidden parts of his life.
An inevitable and justifiable question will be why this should be published at all. In Sisman’s own words: ‘…if it were no more than an exposé of adultery, then reading it would be not much better than voyeurism.’ (1), but, he claims, Cornwell’s pursuit of women is the key to unlocking his fiction.
He motivates this point of view by pointing out that betrayal is a recurrent theme is his subject’s fiction – which is not proof of the allegation per se – but then proceeds to prove, quite convincingly so, that the time frames of the various affairs in correlation with the novels written at the same time, show a propensity to create female characters reminiscent of the identity of the then mistresses. At least seven of his novels corroborate this allegation: ‘The honourable schoolboy’ (1977); ‘The little drummer girl’ (1983); ‘A perfect spy’ (1986); ‘The Russia House’ (1989); ‘Our game’ (1995) and ‘The tailor of Panama’ (1996).
The book is much more than the examination of Cornwell’s intimate secrets, however. Sisman also discusses the relationship between the biographer and the subject, in general, and the paradoxical nature of his subject, specifically. Cornwell was both brutally honest and chronically dishonest. His various versions describing his time in British Intelligence are classic examples of the latter and can perhaps best be explained in his own words: ‘First you invent yourself, then you get to believe your invention.’ (8) Sisman is also of the view that every revisitation of Cornwell’s past produced an edited version thereof in the present.
It remains unknown how much of his novels were drawn from his own Intelligence background, and how much from the tradecraft fit for a spy, such as code names, cover stories, safe houses, and dead letterboxes, that he utilized to shroud his affairs. Sisman argues that the novel ‘A perfect spy’ is in fact autobiographical in nature and that the character ‘Magnum Prym’ is indeed Cornwell’s alter ego.
Whatever the truth may be, it remains an undisputed fact that Cornwell, as John le Carré, was one of the most prominent fiction authors of the Cold War. His ‘The spy who came in from the cold’ (1963), the third in the series featuring George Smiley, ensured that he is still and will always be remembered as a master in this genre.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Uitdieperdsebek
#ProfileBooks
#JonathanBall
The definitive biography of the spy-turned-novelist, John le Carré, was published in 2015. The biographer, Adam Sisman, had the full co-operation and authorization of his subject, but was barred by one proviso: Certain subjects had to remain hidden during his lifetime. David Cornwell, the individual behind the Le Carré pseudonym, passed away in 2020. In 2022 a memoir by an alleged lover, Sue Dawson, and a collection of Cornwell’s letters titled ‘A private spy’ were published, both forerunners of this addendum to his autobiography that addresses those previously forbidden parts of his life.
An inevitable and justifiable question will be why this should be published at all. In Sisman’s own words: ‘…if it were no more than an exposé of adultery, then reading it would be not much better than voyeurism.’ (1), but, he claims, Cornwell’s pursuit of women is the key to unlocking his fiction.
He motivates this point of view by pointing out that betrayal is a recurrent theme is his subject’s fiction – which is not proof of the allegation per se – but then proceeds to prove, quite convincingly so, that the time frames of the various affairs in correlation with the novels written at the same time, show a propensity to create female characters reminiscent of the identity of the then mistresses. At least seven of his novels corroborate this allegation: ‘The honourable schoolboy’ (1977); ‘The little drummer girl’ (1983); ‘A perfect spy’ (1986); ‘The Russia House’ (1989); ‘Our game’ (1995) and ‘The tailor of Panama’ (1996).
The book is much more than the examination of Cornwell’s intimate secrets, however. Sisman also discusses the relationship between the biographer and the subject, in general, and the paradoxical nature of his subject, specifically. Cornwell was both brutally honest and chronically dishonest. His various versions describing his time in British Intelligence are classic examples of the latter and can perhaps best be explained in his own words: ‘First you invent yourself, then you get to believe your invention.’ (8) Sisman is also of the view that every revisitation of Cornwell’s past produced an edited version thereof in the present.
It remains unknown how much of his novels were drawn from his own Intelligence background, and how much from the tradecraft fit for a spy, such as code names, cover stories, safe houses, and dead letterboxes, that he utilized to shroud his affairs. Sisman argues that the novel ‘A perfect spy’ is in fact autobiographical in nature and that the character ‘Magnum Prym’ is indeed Cornwell’s alter ego.
Whatever the truth may be, it remains an undisputed fact that Cornwell, as John le Carré, was one of the most prominent fiction authors of the Cold War. His ‘The spy who came in from the cold’ (1963), the third in the series featuring George Smiley, ensured that he is still and will always be remembered as a master in this genre.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #Uitdieperdsebek
March 25, 2024
Really a strange book. An annex to a longer form biography, filled with exclusively the details le Carre demanded be removed to the original biography (mainly his infidelities and lies). The result is an original work that I have not read and am worried would feel compromised, and this book, which feels incomplete and brutal. The le Carrè of this annex is a liar, a serial philanderer, a moody child. It is a conundrum it seems the author Sisman himself faced- how to discuss this man as he is without completely degrading him. The product is a short story that feels mean spirited even when it is not. LeCarre’s desperate attempts to prevent the publication of this material, read alongside it, make perfect sense- you feel bad for the 80 year old man. And you shouldn’t, because you are reading exactly how callous and emotionally manipulative he is with pretty much every woman in his life. The central thesis- that his relationship with these women kept the fire of espionage, in both real life and literature, going seems corroborated. But Sisman can’t make the story truly about that point, and so the result is half baked and flat.
January 20, 2024
I loved this book. I’ve never read anything by John le Carré. I’ve seen some of his work on screen, but his writing was lumped in with Ian Fleming, Lee Child and Clive Cussler. The whole daring-do never appealed to me. I liked it in the classics, but for some reason the nearer you get to the modern world the less I fancy reading about spys, betrayal, murder and intrigue. That whole macho hero, kicking ass and saving damsels. Until the next adventure with the same character reset the pieces slightly and started over. That whole thriller genre just seemed a little silly and formulaic.
This book might not have cured me of my prejudices, but it has prompted me to challenge them. I think I’ll be picking up a book by him very soon.
In the meantime, what to say here? I love biography that explored the whole character of a writer. I don’t want a simple cradle to grave flypast. I want to be shown the uncomfortable aspects of the person. I want to know they were really human. Disastrously so.
And it isn’t just because I’m fabulously nosy, but because I want to know I’m in good company. I want to know that other people trip and fumble at this awkward thing we call living.
By all accounts David Cornwell was generous, energetic, passionate, dedicated and steadfast. But he was also duplicitous, unfaithful, petty and vindictive.
The way that Sisman still makes you sympathetic to the man is splendid. I would put the contents of my life in his hands without a moment’s hesitation. What you learn is how those elements were every bit as vital to the development of the novels as the work ethic he had and the aid of his wife.
There are obviously comparisons to be made with Walter Mitty. A man living a dull life dreams up romantic and action-filled scenarios in order to escape from monotony. So much of his life drama was self-imposed. Perhaps not to escape dullness, but certainly perhaps to live up to the life his father had. A certain restless yearning for some intrigue.
I’ve recommended this to everyone I know. It is compelling, well crafted and expertly conceived!
This book might not have cured me of my prejudices, but it has prompted me to challenge them. I think I’ll be picking up a book by him very soon.
In the meantime, what to say here? I love biography that explored the whole character of a writer. I don’t want a simple cradle to grave flypast. I want to be shown the uncomfortable aspects of the person. I want to know they were really human. Disastrously so.
And it isn’t just because I’m fabulously nosy, but because I want to know I’m in good company. I want to know that other people trip and fumble at this awkward thing we call living.
By all accounts David Cornwell was generous, energetic, passionate, dedicated and steadfast. But he was also duplicitous, unfaithful, petty and vindictive.
The way that Sisman still makes you sympathetic to the man is splendid. I would put the contents of my life in his hands without a moment’s hesitation. What you learn is how those elements were every bit as vital to the development of the novels as the work ethic he had and the aid of his wife.
There are obviously comparisons to be made with Walter Mitty. A man living a dull life dreams up romantic and action-filled scenarios in order to escape from monotony. So much of his life drama was self-imposed. Perhaps not to escape dullness, but certainly perhaps to live up to the life his father had. A certain restless yearning for some intrigue.
I’ve recommended this to everyone I know. It is compelling, well crafted and expertly conceived!
October 16, 2023
“Nonetheless he restricted what I was able to write about his affairs in his lifetime, … My biography of John le Carré, published in 2015, was the truth, insofar as I was able to ascertain it, but not the whole truth. While David was alive, I was obliged to suppress some of what I knew.”
My thanks to Profile Books Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of ‘The Secret Life of John le Carré’ by Adam Sisman. It was narrated by Sean Barrett.
In 2015 Adam Sisman wrote the definitive biography of John le Carré (David Cornwell) that provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man. Yet some aspects of his subject’s private life remained secret. Cornwell was able to control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, though accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, those aspects that had been withheld can now be revealed…
Sisman doesn’t assume that his readers have read ‘John le Carré: the Biography’ and provides some details for context.
While this was an interesting addendum to Sisman’s biography, I certainly didn’t condemn Cromwell for his extramarital affairs. I did find it fascinating that he had utilised the tradecraft that he had learned as a spy to manage them. These clandestine activities appear to have brought an element of danger to his relatively quiet life as an author.
Sisman’s final chapter outlines the agreement between himself and his subject not to reveal details of his extramarital affairs in the original biography. Concluding Sisman asks: “if his wife was willing to forgive his transgressions, who are we to judge him?” I would agree.
With respect to the audiobook, Sean Barrett is an accomplished narrator who brings his considerable acting experience to each of his audiobook projects. He has a warm voice that is a pleasure to listen to and has been one of my favourite narrators for years.
Overall, I felt that while ‘The Secret Life of John le Carré’ did contribute to my understanding of le Carré’s writing process, I was quite content to allow him and his family their privacy and enjoy his novels for themselves.
My thanks to Profile Books Audio for a review copy via NetGalley of ‘The Secret Life of John le Carré’ by Adam Sisman. It was narrated by Sean Barrett.
In 2015 Adam Sisman wrote the definitive biography of John le Carré (David Cornwell) that provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man. Yet some aspects of his subject’s private life remained secret. Cornwell was able to control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, though accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, those aspects that had been withheld can now be revealed…
Sisman doesn’t assume that his readers have read ‘John le Carré: the Biography’ and provides some details for context.
While this was an interesting addendum to Sisman’s biography, I certainly didn’t condemn Cromwell for his extramarital affairs. I did find it fascinating that he had utilised the tradecraft that he had learned as a spy to manage them. These clandestine activities appear to have brought an element of danger to his relatively quiet life as an author.
Sisman’s final chapter outlines the agreement between himself and his subject not to reveal details of his extramarital affairs in the original biography. Concluding Sisman asks: “if his wife was willing to forgive his transgressions, who are we to judge him?” I would agree.
With respect to the audiobook, Sean Barrett is an accomplished narrator who brings his considerable acting experience to each of his audiobook projects. He has a warm voice that is a pleasure to listen to and has been one of my favourite narrators for years.
Overall, I felt that while ‘The Secret Life of John le Carré’ did contribute to my understanding of le Carré’s writing process, I was quite content to allow him and his family their privacy and enjoy his novels for themselves.
July 12, 2024
Cant process this at the moment, its like finding out your dad is not your real one. Truly loathsome read. Will add more shortly.
December 30, 2023
This didn’t need a whole book. An article would have sufficed. Heck, just a pamphlet would do since most of the women John had affairs with seem to have written books of their own. But the author wanted his moment of revenge (because his feefees were hurt), and some extra money. It’s amazing the shit that white men can get published.
August 31, 2025
I picked up this short volume, an annex to Adam Sisman's biography of David Cornwell - more famous under his pen name as John Le Carre, in my local Waterstones.
As Sisman points out, this is both an inquiry into some aspects of Cornwell's life that the original biography did not explore, and also a chance to look at the interaction of determinedly objective biographer and secretive but egotistical subject. The original biography was at times a tortuous negotiation with a subject full of secrets and eager to control his own story. The ultimate compromise was for Sisman to withhold some of the less savoury aspects of the David Cornwell story until after his death.
Fundamentally this means the book is about Cornwell's serial infidelity which, as Sisman is at pains to point out, was also a key factor in his writing. The Perfect Spy Magnus Pym shares many features of Cornwell's personality and habits. The female partners/lovers of his protagonists closely resemble - and even echo turns of phrase - with his 'Affair Partners' (Mistress seems a pejorative term although at least of them earnestly saw herself as exactly that - with no desire to be anything more). The women each seem to have been his 'muse' but that is perhaps to give these affairs the kind of dignity that Cornwell might have wanted, to see them as something more than the product of a handsome and wealthy man who just couldn't keep it in his pants.
Sisman's book gives some fascinating insights into the writing process. There is the extent of Cornwell's research trips to far flung places and often dangerous places which certainly informed his writing, but also provided cover for meetings with women other than his long-suffering, invaluable and certainly not entirely ignorant second wife Ann.
Sisman briefly summarises the actual limited role Cornwell had in the intelligence service, where he would - in refusing to discuss it - allow people to assume he had been as involved in espionage as his characters. It was a deception which ultimately became self-deception as he insisted he had been touted for the top job in MI6 - had he not taken to full time writing.
However, while his actual intelligence career may have lacked the reality of drop boxes, codes, and complicated signal about meetings, his affairs were built on and around that kind of subterfuge. Such that one time his letters were misdelivered as he failed to decipher his own code in which he had transcribed the woman's address.
For David 'spying was lying' and so too was the writing of fiction. As with other people displaying nacissistic traits (mentioning no current US presidents) his relationship with the truth was as wracked with infidelity as his marriage. An anecdote about running an errand for his conman father as a teenager grew in the telling from its original simplicity to a surreal invitation to a threesome with an elegant French aristocrat and her husband - and Sisman heard and recorded both versions.
He pursued the woman with an obsessive compulsion and, in explaining - or seeking to excuse - his philandering came up with a list of nine reasons including the neglect and lack of love experienced in his childhood, with his mother leaving the family and going 'no contact' when he was very young and his father being an inveterate fraud who served time in prison and viewed all other people as potential marks to be preyed upon - victims who deserved to lose whatever they could not hold onto.
He had author friends, and courted women who would be authors - but for him writing was a solitary process requiring concentration, no distractions, but also the fire of 'a muse' Such that he wrote of one novel written when he wasn't in the midst of an affair
I finished a novel, but it has no heart to it.
His ego needed the stroking of praise and loyalty, and a number of people and publishing colleagues who thought they were his good friends found themselves disabused of that notion and indeed dropped entirely after a single instance of objective critique.
He said
My affairs, I suspect, were a lot like anyone else's: each a journey into new territory, each an escape from the last, each offering a refuge from I don't know what - perhaps convention itself.
For Cornwell, relationships be they intimate or platonic seem to have been a matter of performance, like the spies he wrote about (but never was) Cornwell was always wearing a mask, assuming a role, inhabiting a persona and hoping to find something in there that he liked. As one of his earlier lovers reflects in a letter to another former affair partner, years after the events
I feel rather sad somehow that even now we are not free of David...I thought it true...that one will never know if one knew him, or if the person one thought one knew existed. Perhaps he goes around being other people's missing halves, and encourages them to project onto him what would make the complete, and then slips away, leaving one less complete than ever.
In an observation that echoes Sisman's difficult experiences as Cornwell's biographer, the same woman writes
He seems to seesaw between the urge to reveal himself and the urge to hide
Ultimately this is an intriguing and studiously objective book. Sisman avoids salacious details or prurience, and the portrait of Cornwell that emerges is one that feels more complete because it captures the human uncertainties and imperfections that led him into so much emotional betrayal.
Barthes might proclaim, in Death of an author that a book - once set out into the world, is more a creature of the reader's experience rather than a product of the author's intention. However, in Sisman's view, understanding the character - warts and all - of the man and the time each book was written adds an additional dimension to the reading experience.
As Sisman points out, this is both an inquiry into some aspects of Cornwell's life that the original biography did not explore, and also a chance to look at the interaction of determinedly objective biographer and secretive but egotistical subject. The original biography was at times a tortuous negotiation with a subject full of secrets and eager to control his own story. The ultimate compromise was for Sisman to withhold some of the less savoury aspects of the David Cornwell story until after his death.
Fundamentally this means the book is about Cornwell's serial infidelity which, as Sisman is at pains to point out, was also a key factor in his writing. The Perfect Spy Magnus Pym shares many features of Cornwell's personality and habits. The female partners/lovers of his protagonists closely resemble - and even echo turns of phrase - with his 'Affair Partners' (Mistress seems a pejorative term although at least of them earnestly saw herself as exactly that - with no desire to be anything more). The women each seem to have been his 'muse' but that is perhaps to give these affairs the kind of dignity that Cornwell might have wanted, to see them as something more than the product of a handsome and wealthy man who just couldn't keep it in his pants.
Sisman's book gives some fascinating insights into the writing process. There is the extent of Cornwell's research trips to far flung places and often dangerous places which certainly informed his writing, but also provided cover for meetings with women other than his long-suffering, invaluable and certainly not entirely ignorant second wife Ann.
Sisman briefly summarises the actual limited role Cornwell had in the intelligence service, where he would - in refusing to discuss it - allow people to assume he had been as involved in espionage as his characters. It was a deception which ultimately became self-deception as he insisted he had been touted for the top job in MI6 - had he not taken to full time writing.
However, while his actual intelligence career may have lacked the reality of drop boxes, codes, and complicated signal about meetings, his affairs were built on and around that kind of subterfuge. Such that one time his letters were misdelivered as he failed to decipher his own code in which he had transcribed the woman's address.
For David 'spying was lying' and so too was the writing of fiction. As with other people displaying nacissistic traits (mentioning no current US presidents) his relationship with the truth was as wracked with infidelity as his marriage. An anecdote about running an errand for his conman father as a teenager grew in the telling from its original simplicity to a surreal invitation to a threesome with an elegant French aristocrat and her husband - and Sisman heard and recorded both versions.
He pursued the woman with an obsessive compulsion and, in explaining - or seeking to excuse - his philandering came up with a list of nine reasons including the neglect and lack of love experienced in his childhood, with his mother leaving the family and going 'no contact' when he was very young and his father being an inveterate fraud who served time in prison and viewed all other people as potential marks to be preyed upon - victims who deserved to lose whatever they could not hold onto.
He had author friends, and courted women who would be authors - but for him writing was a solitary process requiring concentration, no distractions, but also the fire of 'a muse' Such that he wrote of one novel written when he wasn't in the midst of an affair
I finished a novel, but it has no heart to it.
His ego needed the stroking of praise and loyalty, and a number of people and publishing colleagues who thought they were his good friends found themselves disabused of that notion and indeed dropped entirely after a single instance of objective critique.
He said
My affairs, I suspect, were a lot like anyone else's: each a journey into new territory, each an escape from the last, each offering a refuge from I don't know what - perhaps convention itself.
For Cornwell, relationships be they intimate or platonic seem to have been a matter of performance, like the spies he wrote about (but never was) Cornwell was always wearing a mask, assuming a role, inhabiting a persona and hoping to find something in there that he liked. As one of his earlier lovers reflects in a letter to another former affair partner, years after the events
I feel rather sad somehow that even now we are not free of David...I thought it true...that one will never know if one knew him, or if the person one thought one knew existed. Perhaps he goes around being other people's missing halves, and encourages them to project onto him what would make the complete, and then slips away, leaving one less complete than ever.
In an observation that echoes Sisman's difficult experiences as Cornwell's biographer, the same woman writes
He seems to seesaw between the urge to reveal himself and the urge to hide
Ultimately this is an intriguing and studiously objective book. Sisman avoids salacious details or prurience, and the portrait of Cornwell that emerges is one that feels more complete because it captures the human uncertainties and imperfections that led him into so much emotional betrayal.
Barthes might proclaim, in Death of an author that a book - once set out into the world, is more a creature of the reader's experience rather than a product of the author's intention. However, in Sisman's view, understanding the character - warts and all - of the man and the time each book was written adds an additional dimension to the reading experience.
October 15, 2023
I am not a fan of biographies, I read perhaps one a year and I have not read the author’s previous well received biography on John le Carré. What drew me here was the fact that it was dealing with the private world of a seemingly very private man and was approved by his son. In it the author explains how it came about, its plan to be seen as an annex, then a follow up, with its long gestation period. David Cornwell himself appears to have been ambivalent about certain things being written about him once he had passed on, but his son wanted it publishing to provide an insight into his fathers writing. The result is jaw-droppingly shocking at times, though never overly salacious, but does go a long way to explaining his body of work since the late 1960’s.
Cornwell was a low-level spook posted to Germany when he started writing and having affairs even with the wives of his colleagues. It was the world-wide success of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold which prove to his breakthrough, allowing him to become a full-time writer and move into the big league of international best sellers. From this point there was no stopping him in both a literary and womanising sense.
The book is meticulously researched from first hand sources, both in person and through correspondence, making this a serious work, not some tawdry kiss and tell. The author has also shown great sensitivity towards the women concerned, keeping the anonymity of some and ensuring content has been approved. As the author remarks he probably knows Cornwell as much as any man alive and it appears that he has tried to create as honest a portrayal of the man as he was able. So, what do we learn?
Well, he was a liar throughout his life, saying what though he needed to at the time, and certainly never spared friends or family. We discover his father was a conman which had some influence as did his stint in espionage where betrayal is their everyday bread and butter, but there is much more to it than this that we never quite get to the bottom of. Certainly, the constant lies and betrayal are themes throughout his work, as is the situation where the only way out seems to be suicide.
His philandering was unusual and serious. They usually weren’t mere dalliances or casual sex, but full blown ‘love affairs’ with periods of wooing and much secret correspondence. The woman all appear to have been younger, much younger, several being half his age, and many seemed to be content with the arrangement. There was the power imbalance of the older rich man with the younger woman but on the face of it not coercive control, these women were willing partners seemingly charmed by him. One thing made clear is how much of these women and their experiences comes through in the individual books. It is suggested that each one was a muse, one he needed to inspire him to write, only to be discarded for the next novel. A fascinating observation that on the face of it appears to hold some truth.
The amusing aspect of the book is the description of how he conducted the many affairs by employing ‘tradecraft.’ Coded address books, cut outs and dead letter drops all figure as does a secret credit card held by his Swiss publicist. Was this a game, a substitute for spying? Despite all this his two wives got to know of his affairs, it seems that there were simply so many that it would have been impossible not to. His treatment of his wives seems to be somewhat callous (I qualify this comment here having not read the biography for a fuller picture) to the extent that I wonder why they remained with him.
They say never meet your heroes, this being no exception, just try to separate the man from his work. This book certainly opened my eyes to the man he was and goes a long way to explain some of the connections to his work, which for me still represents the pinnacle of the genre.
Cornwell was a low-level spook posted to Germany when he started writing and having affairs even with the wives of his colleagues. It was the world-wide success of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold which prove to his breakthrough, allowing him to become a full-time writer and move into the big league of international best sellers. From this point there was no stopping him in both a literary and womanising sense.
The book is meticulously researched from first hand sources, both in person and through correspondence, making this a serious work, not some tawdry kiss and tell. The author has also shown great sensitivity towards the women concerned, keeping the anonymity of some and ensuring content has been approved. As the author remarks he probably knows Cornwell as much as any man alive and it appears that he has tried to create as honest a portrayal of the man as he was able. So, what do we learn?
Well, he was a liar throughout his life, saying what though he needed to at the time, and certainly never spared friends or family. We discover his father was a conman which had some influence as did his stint in espionage where betrayal is their everyday bread and butter, but there is much more to it than this that we never quite get to the bottom of. Certainly, the constant lies and betrayal are themes throughout his work, as is the situation where the only way out seems to be suicide.
His philandering was unusual and serious. They usually weren’t mere dalliances or casual sex, but full blown ‘love affairs’ with periods of wooing and much secret correspondence. The woman all appear to have been younger, much younger, several being half his age, and many seemed to be content with the arrangement. There was the power imbalance of the older rich man with the younger woman but on the face of it not coercive control, these women were willing partners seemingly charmed by him. One thing made clear is how much of these women and their experiences comes through in the individual books. It is suggested that each one was a muse, one he needed to inspire him to write, only to be discarded for the next novel. A fascinating observation that on the face of it appears to hold some truth.
The amusing aspect of the book is the description of how he conducted the many affairs by employing ‘tradecraft.’ Coded address books, cut outs and dead letter drops all figure as does a secret credit card held by his Swiss publicist. Was this a game, a substitute for spying? Despite all this his two wives got to know of his affairs, it seems that there were simply so many that it would have been impossible not to. His treatment of his wives seems to be somewhat callous (I qualify this comment here having not read the biography for a fuller picture) to the extent that I wonder why they remained with him.
They say never meet your heroes, this being no exception, just try to separate the man from his work. This book certainly opened my eyes to the man he was and goes a long way to explain some of the connections to his work, which for me still represents the pinnacle of the genre.
January 7, 2024
My thanks to both Goodreads and the publisher Harper for an advance copy of this supplementary addition to the life of one of the great espionage novelists of the twentieth century, and the secrets that he didn't want expose in life.
One should never meet one heroes, is a comment subscribed to Marcel Proust, but probably said by numerous disillusioned people throughout history. And probably one of the great truths of every era. There are numerous podcasts, documentaries, specials, books, even appearances where great people have been not only proven to have feet of clay, but those feet have dragged a lot of messes around with them. As a reader of many biographies I am not sure why revelations by people I thought highly of being human surprise me, but to the person I always am. John le Carré was I think the first adult book I read, or the one that felt most adult. I remember seeing Smiley's People in my Grandfather's pile of books, thinking it was a comedy, and starting to read. Spoiler it was not a comedy, I don't even think there was a an idea of a joke. However I was hooked. As were many other people. I loved the idea of le Carré, an ex-intelligence agent showing the true world or espionage, all wonderful written, as far from James Bond as possible. Calling out the powers in government for their tricks, bad policies and worse actions. Living near the beach, ignoring reviews, with his wife as his loyal first reader and typist. And like his stories, maybe made up. The Secret Life of John le Carré by biographer Adam Sisman are the secrets and unpleasantries that John le Carré, real name,David Cornwell dealing with his extramarital affairs, his past, his life, and maybe a little legend building to create a fine cover for a best selling author.
"The only poetry we remember is the stuff we learned as kids & isn't not so much different with love". David Cornwell wrote this to his older brother Tony discussing his parents, a mother who had left them early, and a father who came back into their lives like a a bad penny, also looking for pennies. Cornwell's father ripped off the elderly to make money, lonely woman to put his children through school, and anyone to keep his life style. In fact the East German Stasi, their CIA only more efficient, had a file on Cornwell's father that was larger than David Cornwell, who was a British Intelligence agent. From an early age, young David was born for deception, and for betrayal in love, having numerous affairs over the years, some long lasting and very strong. Cornwell had no interest in this coming out in his official biography also written by Sisman, nor his memoir. Once he was dead, these stories and secrets could be released. Not wanting to deal with this in life and falling on the biblical let the dead bury the dead.
A fascinating look at a man who seemed to need to cheat on his wife to keep those espionage juices running. Numerous people talk about Cornwell using false names, fake drops, different directions to avoid people knowing what two consenting adults were engaging in. Cornwell also loved to add on to his legend as author, bragging about his intelligence career, his girlfriends, and the time taken to write his books. Not like Cornwell is a Henry Kissinger, but one does have better expectations for people.
For fans of the author. So much of his writing makes so much sense based on his deceptions here. Maybe the important thing to do is keep the two men separate. David Cornwell did some sleazy things so that John le Carré could create some incredible art. Not the best of excuses, but one that might help people.
One should never meet one heroes, is a comment subscribed to Marcel Proust, but probably said by numerous disillusioned people throughout history. And probably one of the great truths of every era. There are numerous podcasts, documentaries, specials, books, even appearances where great people have been not only proven to have feet of clay, but those feet have dragged a lot of messes around with them. As a reader of many biographies I am not sure why revelations by people I thought highly of being human surprise me, but to the person I always am. John le Carré was I think the first adult book I read, or the one that felt most adult. I remember seeing Smiley's People in my Grandfather's pile of books, thinking it was a comedy, and starting to read. Spoiler it was not a comedy, I don't even think there was a an idea of a joke. However I was hooked. As were many other people. I loved the idea of le Carré, an ex-intelligence agent showing the true world or espionage, all wonderful written, as far from James Bond as possible. Calling out the powers in government for their tricks, bad policies and worse actions. Living near the beach, ignoring reviews, with his wife as his loyal first reader and typist. And like his stories, maybe made up. The Secret Life of John le Carré by biographer Adam Sisman are the secrets and unpleasantries that John le Carré, real name,David Cornwell dealing with his extramarital affairs, his past, his life, and maybe a little legend building to create a fine cover for a best selling author.
"The only poetry we remember is the stuff we learned as kids & isn't not so much different with love". David Cornwell wrote this to his older brother Tony discussing his parents, a mother who had left them early, and a father who came back into their lives like a a bad penny, also looking for pennies. Cornwell's father ripped off the elderly to make money, lonely woman to put his children through school, and anyone to keep his life style. In fact the East German Stasi, their CIA only more efficient, had a file on Cornwell's father that was larger than David Cornwell, who was a British Intelligence agent. From an early age, young David was born for deception, and for betrayal in love, having numerous affairs over the years, some long lasting and very strong. Cornwell had no interest in this coming out in his official biography also written by Sisman, nor his memoir. Once he was dead, these stories and secrets could be released. Not wanting to deal with this in life and falling on the biblical let the dead bury the dead.
A fascinating look at a man who seemed to need to cheat on his wife to keep those espionage juices running. Numerous people talk about Cornwell using false names, fake drops, different directions to avoid people knowing what two consenting adults were engaging in. Cornwell also loved to add on to his legend as author, bragging about his intelligence career, his girlfriends, and the time taken to write his books. Not like Cornwell is a Henry Kissinger, but one does have better expectations for people.
For fans of the author. So much of his writing makes so much sense based on his deceptions here. Maybe the important thing to do is keep the two men separate. David Cornwell did some sleazy things so that John le Carré could create some incredible art. Not the best of excuses, but one that might help people.
November 5, 2023
Offering a new perspective on the life of John le Carré, prize-winning British author Adam Sisman explores the great man’s dark side, apart from but not totally unconnected from what was seen in the limelight.
John le Carré was a pseudonym chosen by David Cornwell, and he used it in almost every context in his adult life. His father was a criminal who was often unfaithful and hinted to him that it was a sort of norm for all men. His mother was neglectful at best; she left him without any explanation when he was five and never returned. His schooling began in England --- at St. Andrew's Preparatory School and Sherborne School --- and continued in Switzerland at the University of Bern. His path through higher education included employment by the British Security Service, M15. He developed his alter ego during those years and was able to befriend and secretly spy on groups like the left-wing crowd suspected of being Soviet implants.
Le Carré married in his mid-20s, divorced, and then tied the knot a second time to Valerie Jane Eustace, a book editor who Sisman depicts as “the gatekeeper” to his numerous sexual affairs, observing and, in some sense, seeking to control them. These episodes served as an almost constant spur not only to his machismo but also (he seemed to believe) to his persona as an acclaimed author, with success that rose steadily from the publication of THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. His audience loved the notion of a spy writing about espionage, and he enjoyed pleasing and teasing them.
Le Carré’s women-chasing escapades were secret, nearly always involving elaborate deceptions. Yet some could not have escaped a wife’s notice, as when he cavorted with the live-in nanny. The women in his stories were often clearly based on those with whom he was pursuing liaisons, and Sisman speculates rationally about the truth that Cornwell was trying to project --- that infidelity provided inspiration.
Sisman, who published an extensive biography of le Carré created in collaboration with his subject in 2015, clearly felt greater freedom after the passing of both le Carré and his wife. Part of THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRÉ focuses on that professional connection, recalling le Carré’s wish to have certain materials included and others excluded, the latter certainly encompassing the revelations that Sisman offers here.
Le Carré probably would be pleased to know that his own scheming has been noted and, in a sense, has added to the mystery that shrouds his existence even now. He often expressed his longing for a return to “the office,” where there would have been small rewards based on one’s willingness to deceive. Thus deception, which Sisman emphasizes was learned early, became the driving force of le Carré’s ego and his great, still widely appreciated, literary works.
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
John le Carré was a pseudonym chosen by David Cornwell, and he used it in almost every context in his adult life. His father was a criminal who was often unfaithful and hinted to him that it was a sort of norm for all men. His mother was neglectful at best; she left him without any explanation when he was five and never returned. His schooling began in England --- at St. Andrew's Preparatory School and Sherborne School --- and continued in Switzerland at the University of Bern. His path through higher education included employment by the British Security Service, M15. He developed his alter ego during those years and was able to befriend and secretly spy on groups like the left-wing crowd suspected of being Soviet implants.
Le Carré married in his mid-20s, divorced, and then tied the knot a second time to Valerie Jane Eustace, a book editor who Sisman depicts as “the gatekeeper” to his numerous sexual affairs, observing and, in some sense, seeking to control them. These episodes served as an almost constant spur not only to his machismo but also (he seemed to believe) to his persona as an acclaimed author, with success that rose steadily from the publication of THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. His audience loved the notion of a spy writing about espionage, and he enjoyed pleasing and teasing them.
Le Carré’s women-chasing escapades were secret, nearly always involving elaborate deceptions. Yet some could not have escaped a wife’s notice, as when he cavorted with the live-in nanny. The women in his stories were often clearly based on those with whom he was pursuing liaisons, and Sisman speculates rationally about the truth that Cornwell was trying to project --- that infidelity provided inspiration.
Sisman, who published an extensive biography of le Carré created in collaboration with his subject in 2015, clearly felt greater freedom after the passing of both le Carré and his wife. Part of THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRÉ focuses on that professional connection, recalling le Carré’s wish to have certain materials included and others excluded, the latter certainly encompassing the revelations that Sisman offers here.
Le Carré probably would be pleased to know that his own scheming has been noted and, in a sense, has added to the mystery that shrouds his existence even now. He often expressed his longing for a return to “the office,” where there would have been small rewards based on one’s willingness to deceive. Thus deception, which Sisman emphasizes was learned early, became the driving force of le Carré’s ego and his great, still widely appreciated, literary works.
Reviewed by Barbara Bamberger Scott
November 4, 2023
Adam Sisman je napisao kapitalnu biografiju Johna le Carrea koja je s pravom smatrana jednim od većih izdavačkih poduhvata godine u svoje vreme. U njoj je temeljno prikazao njegov život i nagovestio da je John le Carre, odnosno David Cornwell imao dinamičan i "neuredan" ljubavni život.
U knjizi THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRE, Sisman sada pravi jednu novu biografsku celinu u dogovoru sa Simonom Cornwellom - sinom slavnog pisca. Naime, Simon mu je predložio da sve ono što je saznao o le Carreovim švaleracijama sumira u knjizi koju će objaviti kada mu roditelji umru.
Došao je taj trenutak i Sisman ispisuje knjigu u kojoj iznosi tezu da je David Cornwell vodio toliko dinamičan vanbračni život da se njegov rad kao Johna le Carrea zapravo ne može razumeti bez upoznavanja sa tim. Njegove ljubavnicu su mu, po Sismanovom ali i njihovom mišljenju, bile muze koje su inspirisale njegove junakinje, bile su mu pokretač da stvara, a švaleracija kao jedna ipak prikrivena disciplina je bila u stvari i neka vrsta post-špijunskog spycrafta gde ih je on maltene vodio kao svoje agente, ispitivao njihovo poverenje, organizovao lažne adrese za prepiske, rezervna mesta za sastanke i sl.
Pošto je ova teza o opštoj inspirisanosti ženama, i na polju motivacije za rad a i samim rukopisima sad već univerzalno prihvaćena, ne može se reći da Sisman forsira nešto što je učitavanje.
Istovremeno, David Cornwell u ovoj knjizi deluje kao negativac koji laže ženu, iako je u drugom braku imao određenu vrstu džentlmenskog sporazuma da mu se neverstva praštaju ali ne i eksplicitni carde blanche (što možda i jeste suština njegove perverzije jer ne bi bilo zanimljivo da je dozvoljeno) ali isto tako laže i ljubavnice, laže i samog sebe.
Tu se već grade neke napete paralele sa Ronniejem, i detinjstvom s takvim ocem, i Sisman ponekad preigrava kada krene da objašnjava i temelji sve što se dešavalo u psihologiji.
Drugi i manji segment knjige je sam po sebi veoma interesantan jer opisuje rad na onoj kapitalnoj biografiji i uvodi nas u svet tih prvoklasnih biografa koji ispituju arhive, putuju po svetu i intervjuišu osobe iz života onih o kojima pišu i to je jako zanimljivo, kao uvid u nastanak ozbiljne biografske literature nasuprot ghostwritten treša koji postoji svuda.
THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRE se ne mora nužno čitati posle Sismanove kapitalne biografije, može i samostalno, ali mislim da zbog sagledavanja samo jednog aspekta njegove ličnosti umnogome ne daje punu sliku - niti na to pretenduje.
U knjizi THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRE, Sisman sada pravi jednu novu biografsku celinu u dogovoru sa Simonom Cornwellom - sinom slavnog pisca. Naime, Simon mu je predložio da sve ono što je saznao o le Carreovim švaleracijama sumira u knjizi koju će objaviti kada mu roditelji umru.
Došao je taj trenutak i Sisman ispisuje knjigu u kojoj iznosi tezu da je David Cornwell vodio toliko dinamičan vanbračni život da se njegov rad kao Johna le Carrea zapravo ne može razumeti bez upoznavanja sa tim. Njegove ljubavnicu su mu, po Sismanovom ali i njihovom mišljenju, bile muze koje su inspirisale njegove junakinje, bile su mu pokretač da stvara, a švaleracija kao jedna ipak prikrivena disciplina je bila u stvari i neka vrsta post-špijunskog spycrafta gde ih je on maltene vodio kao svoje agente, ispitivao njihovo poverenje, organizovao lažne adrese za prepiske, rezervna mesta za sastanke i sl.
Pošto je ova teza o opštoj inspirisanosti ženama, i na polju motivacije za rad a i samim rukopisima sad već univerzalno prihvaćena, ne može se reći da Sisman forsira nešto što je učitavanje.
Istovremeno, David Cornwell u ovoj knjizi deluje kao negativac koji laže ženu, iako je u drugom braku imao određenu vrstu džentlmenskog sporazuma da mu se neverstva praštaju ali ne i eksplicitni carde blanche (što možda i jeste suština njegove perverzije jer ne bi bilo zanimljivo da je dozvoljeno) ali isto tako laže i ljubavnice, laže i samog sebe.
Tu se već grade neke napete paralele sa Ronniejem, i detinjstvom s takvim ocem, i Sisman ponekad preigrava kada krene da objašnjava i temelji sve što se dešavalo u psihologiji.
Drugi i manji segment knjige je sam po sebi veoma interesantan jer opisuje rad na onoj kapitalnoj biografiji i uvodi nas u svet tih prvoklasnih biografa koji ispituju arhive, putuju po svetu i intervjuišu osobe iz života onih o kojima pišu i to je jako zanimljivo, kao uvid u nastanak ozbiljne biografske literature nasuprot ghostwritten treša koji postoji svuda.
THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRE se ne mora nužno čitati posle Sismanove kapitalne biografije, može i samostalno, ali mislim da zbog sagledavanja samo jednog aspekta njegove ličnosti umnogome ne daje punu sliku - niti na to pretenduje.
January 21, 2024
Silverview remains the only le Carre novel I’ve read. It’s the last one he wrote and doesn’t contain his most famous character, George Smiley, the career intelligence officer who made his first appearance in Call for the Dead, but I suspect is most famously known for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which I may have found on my dad’s dresser long ago. Now my dad has a library full of Clive Cussler, whom, although he too is no longer with us, seems to pen a new novel each year.
Not so for le Carre, but I found his titles including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, at best intriguing, at worst overwhelming – one a nursery rhyme, the other “A spy? Cold?”
I was young.
But the Cold War era had long since passed, and Silverview, with its first-rate prose and fascinating plot, is indeed a swan song highlighted by the evils spies and governments have perpetrated on the world.
So what’s left?
The man himself
Or two men and many, many more women.
And a wife.
The first man would be David Cornwell, who was born October 19, 1931, and passed on December 12, 2020.
Then there would be John le Carre, born sometime in either 1962 or 1963 once The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was published, whose life and legend continue.
As an aside, I just picked up Lea Carpenter’s Ilium, and she’s probably the closest, along with Rosalie Knect’s Vera Kelly series, to my favorite spy lit. Carpenter’s Red White Blue is sublime.
Adam Sisman penned a biography of le Carre in 2015, but le Carre was still alive.
Sisman had to wait to publish le Carre’s secret life.
Sisman waited until le Carre’s wife also passed to leave us with the bombshells.
According to Sisman, le Carre’s many affairs are a result of a mother who left the family when Cornwell was a child, and this mistrust of women colored his world.
Even more surprising is that the womanizing did not affect le Carre’s work but often fueled it, which doesn’t, even as I write this, sound so astonishing; even more so, passe.
The women appear in le Carre’s books, A Perfect Spy for example, and a main attraction of Sisman’s work is to follow le Carre’s conversations with these women, including researcher Sue Dawson, as they are leaked and extrapolated.
I thoroughly enjoyed the roguish often infantile behavior of le Carre, and I can see why at length its exposition would be embarrassing
May my life be as clouded by the puerile failings of a man so that I may be called … legend.
Not so for le Carre, but I found his titles including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, at best intriguing, at worst overwhelming – one a nursery rhyme, the other “A spy? Cold?”
I was young.
But the Cold War era had long since passed, and Silverview, with its first-rate prose and fascinating plot, is indeed a swan song highlighted by the evils spies and governments have perpetrated on the world.
So what’s left?
The man himself
Or two men and many, many more women.
And a wife.
The first man would be David Cornwell, who was born October 19, 1931, and passed on December 12, 2020.
Then there would be John le Carre, born sometime in either 1962 or 1963 once The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was published, whose life and legend continue.
As an aside, I just picked up Lea Carpenter’s Ilium, and she’s probably the closest, along with Rosalie Knect’s Vera Kelly series, to my favorite spy lit. Carpenter’s Red White Blue is sublime.
Adam Sisman penned a biography of le Carre in 2015, but le Carre was still alive.
Sisman had to wait to publish le Carre’s secret life.
Sisman waited until le Carre’s wife also passed to leave us with the bombshells.
According to Sisman, le Carre’s many affairs are a result of a mother who left the family when Cornwell was a child, and this mistrust of women colored his world.
Even more surprising is that the womanizing did not affect le Carre’s work but often fueled it, which doesn’t, even as I write this, sound so astonishing; even more so, passe.
The women appear in le Carre’s books, A Perfect Spy for example, and a main attraction of Sisman’s work is to follow le Carre’s conversations with these women, including researcher Sue Dawson, as they are leaked and extrapolated.
I thoroughly enjoyed the roguish often infantile behavior of le Carre, and I can see why at length its exposition would be embarrassing
May my life be as clouded by the puerile failings of a man so that I may be called … legend.
December 21, 2025
Adam Sisman previously wrote the John Le Carre autobiography, but was aware that while writing there were sensitive, personal stories he wouldn't include as to not upset the family. John Le Carre, real name David Cornwell, had told Sisman a number of times he didn't care what was written about his after he was dead. So when the prolific spy author of the cold war died, and more people were willing to go on record and tell their story, the result was this book.
It's a mix of Sisman reflecting on his interactions with Le Carre, what he found out about the exaggerated spying career, new stories of his mistresses and analysing how the affairs influenced who Le Carre was at the time he wrote each book. In short, Le Carre was manipulative towards his biographer. When Le Carre spoke to a journalist, his exact words would appear in print and that would be the official narrative. When you have a biographer, they have more license to investigate the truth and form their own story, which in some ways wasn't what Le Carre wanted out of the numerous sit down interviews between the two of them at his house in Cornwall.
For example, Le Carre once claimed the metal door he had installed at a new townhouse was 'bulletproof'. So Sisman reached out to the person who installed the door, who called it 'complete bollocks'. By 2015, when Sisman's first book was out, Le Carre would have been 84. He was a grumpy old bastard not writing to the same acclaim his cold war works received, and things clearly got a bit frosty.
In terms of the conclusions Sisman draws, there's still a reverance for Le Carre's novels and he sees the relationships in Le Carre's life as significant, as the women were muses to him and a source of inspiration for writing whole scenarios and dialogue scenes in his books. The affairs didn't come until after his success as a writer made him rich.
Even if you have little interest in his novels, this is a revelatory and short biography follow up which draws on many interesting stories about the spy, the man and the writer.
It's a mix of Sisman reflecting on his interactions with Le Carre, what he found out about the exaggerated spying career, new stories of his mistresses and analysing how the affairs influenced who Le Carre was at the time he wrote each book. In short, Le Carre was manipulative towards his biographer. When Le Carre spoke to a journalist, his exact words would appear in print and that would be the official narrative. When you have a biographer, they have more license to investigate the truth and form their own story, which in some ways wasn't what Le Carre wanted out of the numerous sit down interviews between the two of them at his house in Cornwall.
For example, Le Carre once claimed the metal door he had installed at a new townhouse was 'bulletproof'. So Sisman reached out to the person who installed the door, who called it 'complete bollocks'. By 2015, when Sisman's first book was out, Le Carre would have been 84. He was a grumpy old bastard not writing to the same acclaim his cold war works received, and things clearly got a bit frosty.
In terms of the conclusions Sisman draws, there's still a reverance for Le Carre's novels and he sees the relationships in Le Carre's life as significant, as the women were muses to him and a source of inspiration for writing whole scenarios and dialogue scenes in his books. The affairs didn't come until after his success as a writer made him rich.
Even if you have little interest in his novels, this is a revelatory and short biography follow up which draws on many interesting stories about the spy, the man and the writer.
September 18, 2024
A coda to Sisman's excellent full-length biography of Cornwell / le Carré, containing the material that couldn't be published until after he and Jane his (second) wife had died. It's a short book, concentrating on le Carré's extramarital affairs . . . of which there were an astonishing number. Not all of them have been made known even now, and not all of the women involved were prepared (or able) to speak to Sisman. But it seems probable that le Carré was conducting at least one secret affair during almost all of the forty years during which he and Jane were married.
It's a troubling, thought-provoking book. Does concentrating all of these liaisons into one slim volume make the behaviour seem worse than it was, or habituate the reader to it? What formative influences and events drove this complex, secretive man to act as he did? How are his personal betrayals linked to the betrayals in his fiction? Could he have been the great writer that he became without the messy private life? Where's the balance between tawdriness, damaged and driven compulsion, and an element that nourished his best fiction? Who knows.
It's also of interest for the light it casts on the relationship between the two writers, the subject and the biographer. Le Carré veered from being friendly and helpful, if gnomic, to alarmed and obstructive as more facts came to light, then back to friendly supportiveness again.
Sisman owns the facts and the objective truth, so far as that's possible; le Carré owns the stories that spring from the facts.
It's a troubling, thought-provoking book. Does concentrating all of these liaisons into one slim volume make the behaviour seem worse than it was, or habituate the reader to it? What formative influences and events drove this complex, secretive man to act as he did? How are his personal betrayals linked to the betrayals in his fiction? Could he have been the great writer that he became without the messy private life? Where's the balance between tawdriness, damaged and driven compulsion, and an element that nourished his best fiction? Who knows.
It's also of interest for the light it casts on the relationship between the two writers, the subject and the biographer. Le Carré veered from being friendly and helpful, if gnomic, to alarmed and obstructive as more facts came to light, then back to friendly supportiveness again.
Sisman owns the facts and the objective truth, so far as that's possible; le Carré owns the stories that spring from the facts.
June 20, 2025
Well. Now I will have to separate John le Carre from David Cornwell. The former remains one of my favorite writers ever, while the latter was a reprehensible, sad little man who left behind a legacy of lies and unforgivable infidelities.
To me, adultery is detestable and unforgivable (unless you are in an abusive relationship, which Cornwell did not seem to be in), and Cornwell was not just an adulterer, he was Barney Stinson himself, minus the charm and the redeeming qualities. I have known pathological liars and cheaters (personally known, unfortunately), which is all the more reason I find Cornwell's lies and cheating - he cheated on his wife when she was pregnant, too - inexcusable. He broke multiple hearts, destroyed multiple lives, and seems to have escaped all punishment, citing his 'difficult childhood' whenever confronted. But a difficult childhood does not excuse consistently lying to and hurting the people you claim to love the most and leaving behind a trail of broken souls. He was a selfish, histrionic, reprehensible manchild, pure and simple.
This was my first Adam Sisman book, though, and I must say, the man is a terrific writer. Forget the subject and the subject matter for a moment, and you will find a well-written, superbly-crafted biography, one that sheds light on the process and complications of the biographer's job itself.
Separate the art from the artist I must, but I do not regret reading this book, because now I have another writer to read and keep abreast of.
To me, adultery is detestable and unforgivable (unless you are in an abusive relationship, which Cornwell did not seem to be in), and Cornwell was not just an adulterer, he was Barney Stinson himself, minus the charm and the redeeming qualities. I have known pathological liars and cheaters (personally known, unfortunately), which is all the more reason I find Cornwell's lies and cheating - he cheated on his wife when she was pregnant, too - inexcusable. He broke multiple hearts, destroyed multiple lives, and seems to have escaped all punishment, citing his 'difficult childhood' whenever confronted. But a difficult childhood does not excuse consistently lying to and hurting the people you claim to love the most and leaving behind a trail of broken souls. He was a selfish, histrionic, reprehensible manchild, pure and simple.
This was my first Adam Sisman book, though, and I must say, the man is a terrific writer. Forget the subject and the subject matter for a moment, and you will find a well-written, superbly-crafted biography, one that sheds light on the process and complications of the biographer's job itself.
Separate the art from the artist I must, but I do not regret reading this book, because now I have another writer to read and keep abreast of.
March 22, 2024
I agree with the author, and Le Carre's sons, that the protrait presented must be of the whole man, despite Le Carre's own efforts to control, and then sabotage, this biography. A big point of contention? His affairs. His many affairs. The author makes clear he would never have published this while LeCarre's wife was still alive, but she died shortly after Le Carre, after almost a lifetime of giving him sons, her publishing expertise, and managing his life most efficiently. Some have argued, including the author, that these side women were a necessity for the success of Le Carre's writing, and without him his work would have suffered. The author, and others myself included, feel his best work was the world of Smiley MI6 and the Cold War. Nothing else held a candle to it.
I've read all of Le Carre, including his own memoir about his psychopathic father (my words, not his,) and other biographies, including the previously written biography written by Sisman. I would recommend you read that book, followed immediately by this book. Has it altered my opinion of Le Carre? Yes, and not for the better, so a literary hero has been humanized. Le Carre held more of his father in his own character than he would ever like to admit, I fear.
I've read all of Le Carre, including his own memoir about his psychopathic father (my words, not his,) and other biographies, including the previously written biography written by Sisman. I would recommend you read that book, followed immediately by this book. Has it altered my opinion of Le Carre? Yes, and not for the better, so a literary hero has been humanized. Le Carre held more of his father in his own character than he would ever like to admit, I fear.
August 11, 2024
An important and even-handed coda to Sisman's life of le Carré, as well as a fascinating insight into the somewhat tortured genesis of that book.
The digested read: David Cornwell was a deceitful "git", a serially unfaithful husband for practically his entire married life. But this book skilfully makes the point that through all the 'tradecraft' (after all, he did coin the term) he used to conceal these affairs - coded addresses, dead letter drops, false names - he was effectively running his mistresses as if they were agents, enabling him to persist in a simulacrum of the intelligence career he'd been compelled to give up because of the international success of his third novel.
In this way, each of his mistresses was a muse for his novel writing (some books had more than one) and the continuing infidelity was very much the engine of his creativity. Sisman even postulates that the age-related cessation of his extra-marital activities could have been responsible for the perceived drop in the quality of his writing towards the end of his years. It's certainly interesting to see my own low opinion of the book that would be posthumously published as Silverview confirmed by no less an authority than le Carré himself - on completion, he put it aside without ever showing it to a publisher.
If you enjoy le Carré's œuvre, and enjoyed Sisman's biography of him, you should certainly read this.
The digested read: David Cornwell was a deceitful "git", a serially unfaithful husband for practically his entire married life. But this book skilfully makes the point that through all the 'tradecraft' (after all, he did coin the term) he used to conceal these affairs - coded addresses, dead letter drops, false names - he was effectively running his mistresses as if they were agents, enabling him to persist in a simulacrum of the intelligence career he'd been compelled to give up because of the international success of his third novel.
In this way, each of his mistresses was a muse for his novel writing (some books had more than one) and the continuing infidelity was very much the engine of his creativity. Sisman even postulates that the age-related cessation of his extra-marital activities could have been responsible for the perceived drop in the quality of his writing towards the end of his years. It's certainly interesting to see my own low opinion of the book that would be posthumously published as Silverview confirmed by no less an authority than le Carré himself - on completion, he put it aside without ever showing it to a publisher.
If you enjoy le Carré's œuvre, and enjoyed Sisman's biography of him, you should certainly read this.
June 17, 2025
This is supposedly an "appendix" to a prior le Carre biography by the same author, filling in the gaps that were too painful or embarrassing to be revealed during le Carre and his family's lifetime. Mostly, it was about the various extramarital affairs that le Carre had, which, the biography author believed to be major driving forces behind le Carre's many novels.
There are two stories in this thin book: one is the story of the many affairs le Carre had, and two is the story of the back-and-forth between the biographer's attempt to capture le Carre's life in writing and le Carre's bargaining to keep things tolerable. Affairs, as exciting as they are to the people in it, can be somewhat mundane to read about, especially when it concerns people far away and long gone. On the other hand, I find it very interesting to learn about the conflict the biographer felt, as he tried to do a good job reporting on his subject, bringing insight to an artist's creative process, but pondering the implications this would have on a living artist's ability to continue living and producing art.
Perhaps this is why, as tempting as it is, the business of turning people into biographies is best left alone until the people in question is long underground.
There are two stories in this thin book: one is the story of the many affairs le Carre had, and two is the story of the back-and-forth between the biographer's attempt to capture le Carre's life in writing and le Carre's bargaining to keep things tolerable. Affairs, as exciting as they are to the people in it, can be somewhat mundane to read about, especially when it concerns people far away and long gone. On the other hand, I find it very interesting to learn about the conflict the biographer felt, as he tried to do a good job reporting on his subject, bringing insight to an artist's creative process, but pondering the implications this would have on a living artist's ability to continue living and producing art.
Perhaps this is why, as tempting as it is, the business of turning people into biographies is best left alone until the people in question is long underground.
Read
December 30, 2024not something I planned to read but randomly saw this at the library yesterday and it was such a slim volume (almost pamphlet sized) and on a topic that I didn’t really know I wanted to know more about… and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve read a couple of le carres novels + seen some adaptations (but was never a fanatic or anything), and was always intrigued by his damsels in distress. this answers my little curiosity on the topic. he was essentially…a massive bastard in every regard, with an equally massive yet frail ego. not just in his relationships with women (who he wined and dined relentlessly), one of whom he probably drove to a fatal heart attack, but also with his colleagues, leaving a trail of scorned editors and publishers etc behind him, including the writer of this book lol
to me it’s also only fair that biographers of ”great men” get to correct the record and publish the things they were made to expurgate while they lived. that’s my counterpoint to ”did we really need this”!
and btw he never even typed his own scripts as he left his much cheated on wife to do all admin for him
yucko
to me it’s also only fair that biographers of ”great men” get to correct the record and publish the things they were made to expurgate while they lived. that’s my counterpoint to ”did we really need this”!
and btw he never even typed his own scripts as he left his much cheated on wife to do all admin for him
yucko
October 19, 2024
I read this book under the impression it was a biography of John Le Carre, not realising it was actually an addendum published after his death, to give account of the numerous extramarital affairs which he obviously did not want revealed in his lifetime. Although the author makes claim that some of these women were muses who inspired some of his female characters, most of the book is composed of rather dull accounts of unedifying extramarital relationships. It is an eye opener as far as Cornell +- le Carre's real name - is concerned, and he emerges as a very unsympathetic character, a liar, a deceiver, a manipulator and more. I found it very difficult to relate this unprincipled egotist to the person who could create the Smiley novels, which made me feel we were not getting the full story, but perhaps if I had read the actual biography, I might feel differently. I would rather I had not read this book: it diminishes, rather than enhances, my enjoyment of Le Carre's books.
October 29, 2023
Adam Sisman unleashed a posthumous literary IED on The Bard of Spy Sagas when he penned this seething, scorching, and yet ultimately sympathetic supplement to his 2015 biography of John Le Carre. In chronicling the compulsive philandering and rampaging libido of Le Carre, Sisman does far more than spew tabloid revelations and traffic in cheap iconoclasm. Indeed, the biographer forces a major reappraisal of Le Carre’s work by exposing at the outset of the book that Le Carre himself explicitly confessed to the vital connection between his private behavior as an adult and his literary output. Having crawled out of the carnage of a childhood replete with every conceivable manner of abuse, Le Carre might well have become a Ted Bundy figure. Instead, he channeled his demons into great art and relentless seduction. For Le Carre fans such as myself, this slender volume is indispensable.
November 16, 2023
Le Carré. (David Cornwell) is een van mijn literaire helden en dus had ik dit boek beter terzijde kunnen leggen. Grootheden in welk veld dan ook zijn in het algemeen net mensen. Elk euvel dat je je kunt voorstellen kleeft ook aan hen. Van de biografieën van schrijvers en tekenaars die ik de laatste jaren las is vaker wel dan niet de hoofdpersoon een nare egoïst, narcist, een lul.
Ook Le Carré is er zo een: een womanizer, een 'philanderer' zoals de Britten dat zo fijn noemen. Metoo? Vast wel. In ieder geval was hij niet vies om zijn maatschappelijke status, zijn macht ten eigen voordeel in te zetten. Ook om 'zijn vrouwen' te lozen als dat nodig was en zeker om elke affaire uit de publiciteit te houden.
Nou ja drie sterren voor het boek want Alan Sisman is een uitstekend schrijver, maar David Cornwell scoort een 0
Ook Le Carré is er zo een: een womanizer, een 'philanderer' zoals de Britten dat zo fijn noemen. Metoo? Vast wel. In ieder geval was hij niet vies om zijn maatschappelijke status, zijn macht ten eigen voordeel in te zetten. Ook om 'zijn vrouwen' te lozen als dat nodig was en zeker om elke affaire uit de publiciteit te houden.
Nou ja drie sterren voor het boek want Alan Sisman is een uitstekend schrijver, maar David Cornwell scoort een 0
June 23, 2025
In his first biography of John Le Carre, Adam Sisman made it clear that David Cornwall was a shit person, but he still held back because Cornwall and his wife were still alive. Now that they died in late 2020/early 2021, Sisman twists the knife even more, documenting Cornwall's numerous infidelities during his second marriage. Sisman discloses the context of a statement by Jane, Cornwall's second wife, that "no one can have David all to themselves" and muses that was probably rehearsed by Cornwall. He also links a decline in the quality of Le Carre's later novels to Cornwall "giving up the chase" in his 70s, although personally I don't see such a decline. Sisman is probably taking revenge on his biographical subject whom he admits made his life miserable, and I thought the product is kind of interesting.
August 6, 2025
In this short biography, an addendum to the original, in his conclusion the author asks , "Was he [David Cornwall aka le Carré] a heartless philanderer or a restless romantic?" Le Carré had dozens of affairs, many of them lasted years. He went to elaborate lengths to lie to his wife. "A restless romantic?" No. A deeply disturbed man with too many issues to speculate about. On the flip side, the book left wondering why his wife stayed with him. Why did his lovers stay? Why did so many people help him with his deceptions? He showered his lovers with flowers, jewelry, and unkept promises. Fascinating story, but I felt cheated. It left me with more questions than Sisman wanted to deal with. Sisman exposed the affairs, only he doesn't want to be seen as betraying le Carré, which left this reader feeling as though he left more out than he put into this biography. Why did he bother writing it?
August 17, 2025
The Secret Life of John le Carré is one of those biographies that feels like someone finally opened a window in a very stuffy room. Adam Sisman takes the literary giant best known for labyrinthine spy novels and reveals… well, a labyrinthine personal life. There’s plenty of intrigue here, but instead of Cold War agents, it’s affairs, betrayals, and a writer so compulsively secretive he basically turned his own life into a spy novel. Sisman isn’t out to topple le Carré’s reputation, the genius of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy remains untouched but he does show us the man behind the prose, warts and all. And it turns out those warts are strangely compelling.
What makes the book so addictive is that it reads less like dry literary scholarship and more like being at dinner with someone who can’t help but spill. Sisman doesn’t shy away from le Carré’s contradictions: brilliant yet insecure, charismatic yet cruel, endlessly private yet leaving a paper trail of misbehaviour. You come away still in awe of the writer, but also a little stunned by the sheer mess of him. It’s gossipy without being cheap, thoughtful without being reverential, and above all, a reminder that even the most controlled, polished public personas are hiding something fascinatingly human underneath.
What makes the book so addictive is that it reads less like dry literary scholarship and more like being at dinner with someone who can’t help but spill. Sisman doesn’t shy away from le Carré’s contradictions: brilliant yet insecure, charismatic yet cruel, endlessly private yet leaving a paper trail of misbehaviour. You come away still in awe of the writer, but also a little stunned by the sheer mess of him. It’s gossipy without being cheap, thoughtful without being reverential, and above all, a reminder that even the most controlled, polished public personas are hiding something fascinatingly human underneath.
May 26, 2024
Well, well, well. To simplify: Sisman wrote a biography, didn’t include le Carre’s extra-marital sex life, and has now written a supplement to that biography, adding same. This turns out to be an uncomfortable experience all around. Since this volume has such a narrow focus, it’s just too much. Do we really need to know any of this? Is it any of our business? Does it tell us anything useful about the writer? Not really. Furthermore, it’s not well organized. It’s roughly set up one affair at time, but not quite. There are a few attempts to reach conclusions about le Carre the author based on all this yucky information about le Carre the man, but it’s necessarily weak and speculative. Sisman was in quite a bind, but this odd supplement doesn’t really help.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews