John le Carré

by Eric Homberger

Since the heyday of Ian Fleming's fantasy superspy James Bond, the novels of John le Carr� have held up to readers across the world a sombre, fascinating picture of decline, deception and ethical ambiguity. In this study, originally published in 1986, the first to include an interpretation of A Perfect Spy , Eric Homberger argues that within the tradition of the spy thriller of John Buchan and 'Sapper' a 'space' was created by Somerset Maugham, Eric Ambler and Graham Greene for serious writing. From The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963) to The Little Drummer Girl (1983) and A Perfect Spy (1986), le Carr� has used that space to make a searching investigation of the nature of post-Imperial Britain. In the process he has become the peer of Conrad and Greene in the recognition that the spy novel is a literary form capable of the highest artistic seriousness.

96 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1986

About the author

Eric Homberger is professor of American studies at the University of East Anglia.