John Le Carre

John Le Carre

John Le Carre (David John Moore Cornwell) was born on October 19th, 1931. John passed away December 12th, 2020 at 89 years old. John Le Carre was born in Poole, England. Le Carre attended The University of Bern, Switzerland where he studied Foreign Languages.

John Le Carre is known for writing in the Thriller genre.

John Le Carre had written 17 standalone novels, starting with A Small Town in Germany in 1968. The most recently released novel was Silverview, which was released in 2021.

John Le Carre also wrote the George Smiley series which has 10 books including Call for the Dead and A Murder of Quality.

John le Carré has been on the Kono Mystery ga Sugoi! international list in Japan on a couple of occasions. In 1997, his novel Our Game was ranked #9 in the annual guide book. The Tailor of Panama made the list at #8 in 2000.

Le Carré's third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold became an international best-seller and was adapted as an award-winning film of the same name. This success allowed him to leave MI6 to become a full-time author.

In 2017 A Legacy of Spies was listed as one of the Best Spy Thrillers of the year. In 2019 it was Agent Running in the Field that took that same honor.

John Le Carre: Awards & Accolades

John Le Carre has won multiple awards including: The Edgar Award, Grand Master, in 1984, Crime Writer's Association Award, Diamond Dagger Award, in 1988 and the Helmerich Award, Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, in 1990. John Le Carre was also nominated for the International Booker Prize, Outstanding Achievement in Fiction, in 2011.

Le Carre's books have also won multiple awards, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award, in 1963 as well as the Edgar Award - Best Mystery Novel in 1965. The Honourable Schoolboy won the Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award, in 1977. A Perfect Spy won the Swedish Crime Writer’s Academy Awards, The Martin Beck Award, in 1986. Our Kind of Traitor won the CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award, in 2011.

The following novels by John Le Carre were also nominated for these awards:

• Call for the Dead: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1961).
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy: Crime Writer's Association Award, Gold Dagger Award (1974).
• Smiley's People: Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Fiction (1980).
• The Little Drummer Girl / A Death in the Family: Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Fiction (1983). Edgar Award, Best Mystery Novel (1984).
• A Perfect Spy: Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Best Fiction (1986). Macavity Award, Best Mystery Novel (1987).
• A Delicate Truth: CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award (2014).
• The Night Manager: The Dead Good Reader Award, The Page to Screen Award for Best Adapted Book (2017).
• A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré: CrimeFest, H.R.F. Keating Award (2023).

John Le Carre: Lists & Other Mentions

• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold has made several lists including:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1964.
  2. The Guardian: 50 Books That Defined Their Era Selection in 2011.
  3. The Daily Mail: A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life Selection in 2019.
  4. Time Magazine: All-Time 100 Novels Selection in 2005.
  5. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1964.
  6. The Sunday Times: The 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945 Selection in 2019.
  7. Time Magazine: The 100 Best Mystery and Thriller Books of All Time Selection in 2023.
  8. Esquire: The 80 Books Every Man Should Read Selection in 2015.
  9. Waterstones: The Books You've Always Meant to Read Selection in 2020.
  10. Crime Writers' Association: Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time Selection in 1990.
  11. NPR: Top 100 Killer Thrillers Selection in 2010.
  12. Mystery Writers of America: Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time Selection in 1995.
  13. Entertainment Weekly: Top 100 Novels Selection in 2013.
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has made several lists including:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1974.
  2. Amazon UK: 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime Selection in 2014.
  3. The Guardian: 100 Greatest Novels of All Time Selection in 2003.
  4. The Telegraph: 100 Novels Everyone Should Read Selection in 2009.
  5. People Magazine: Best Books From the 1970s Selection in 2024.
  6. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1974.
  7. BBC: Big Jubilee Read Selection in 2022.
  8. BBC: Radio Oxford 100 Books You Must Read Before You Die Selection in 2020.
  9. The Telegraph: The Perfect Library Selection in 2008.
  10. Crime Writers' Association: Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time Selection in 1990.
  11. NPR: Top 100 Killer Thrillers Selection in 2010.
  12. Mystery Writers of America: Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time Selection in 1995.
• Smiley's People has made several lists including:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1980.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1979.
  3. Mystery Writers of America: Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time Selection in 1995.
• The Little Drummer Girl / A Death in the Family has made several lists including:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1983.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1983.
  3. Mystery Writers of America: Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time Selection in 1995.
• A Perfect Spy has made several lists including:
  1. New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1986.
  2. Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1986.
  3. The Independent: Books of the Decade (1980s) Selection in 1989.
  4. Parade: The 75 Best Books of the Past 75 Years Selection in 2016.
• The Russia House was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1989 and a Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1989.
• The Secret Pilgrim was a New York Times: #1 Fiction Best Seller in 1991.
• The Constant Gardener was a The Sunday Times: 100 21st-Century Novels to Love Selection in 2019 and a The Guardian: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century Section in 2019.
• Silverview was a Time Magazine: 100 Must-Read Books Selection in 2021 and a President Obama: Summer Reading List Selection in 2022.
• The Looking Glass War was a Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1965.
• A Small Town in Germany was a Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1968.
• The Honourable Schoolboy was a Publishers Weekly: Bestselling Novel in the United States in 1977.
• The Night Manager was an Entertainment Weekly: The New Classics - 100 Best Reads from 1983 to 2008 Selection in 2008.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was the #1 entry on the Publishers Weekly bestselling novels list in 1964.

John Le Carre: TV/Movies Based on Books

BBC & MGM+ cast Hans-Dieter Mundt & Agnes O’Casey in the TV series Legacy Of Spies, based on the book The Spy Who Came in from the Cold . [Details]

Related Authors

Fans of John Le Carre also enjoy these authors:

1. Nelson DeMille, author of the John Corey Series.
2. Joseph Finder, author of the Nick Heller Series.
3. Brian Freeman, author of the Jonathan Stride Series.
4. James Grippando, author of the Jack Swyteck Series.
5. Mark Dawson, author of the John Milton Series.
6. David McCloskey, author of the Damascus Station Series.
7. David Morrell, author of the Mortalis Series.
8. Sidney Sheldon, author of the Midnight Series.
9. Flynn Berry, author of: Northern Spy .
10. David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.

John Le Carre: F.A.Q