Whenever we think of spy fiction, it’s mostly James Bond that comes to mind. The primly dressed, suave, martini-loving gentleman, agent 007 glamorizes espionage. But if you want a completely different view of spycraft and spies, then there’s one creator that would serve your intrigue in just the way you expect.
Born David John Moore Cornwell, the British/Irish author penned a host of bestselling novels, short stories, and more under the pen name of John Le Carré. Serving in the MI5 and MI6 during the peak of the Cold War was the inspiration for most of his works, giving the world some legendary stories for over six decades. For his fans, the allure of Carré’s work lies not in the impressive character or lifestyle of his agents, but more in the authenticity of those men and women. Varying between real and fictional people, Carré’s spies could range from refined to raw lone rangers to team players, and from idealists to morally questionable people that you would want to love and despise at the same time. But that’s what makes Carré’s stories realistic, authentic, and relatable.
In simple words, John Le Carré’s stories cannot be called just spy thrillers; they are rich works of literature, that turned dangerous socio-political events into an artistic experience.
While his contribution to the world of literature took a major hit after his death in 2020, the legacy of John Le Carré remains in the form of brilliant cinema inspired by his works. With recent releases of spy stories headlining the small and big screens, it’s only fair to pay homage to this literary legend and master of spy fiction. The Byzantine, convoluted plots, high stake environments, and deceptive agents, as are iconic of Carré, make for the best spy thrillers that the world of cinema can experience.
Here are our favorite picks from all John Le Carré’s novels (in order of publishing) that were turned into successful movies and series.
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)
His third novel, this international bestseller remains one of John Le Carré’s best-known works and is known for portraying espionage methods that do not conform to Western values. Set in the 1960s, the story follows a British agent, Alec Leamas, who is sent to East Germany to pose as a defector and spread misinformation about an East German intelligence officer. But when Leamas realizes that he’s just a government pawn in the big political game, he starts to question his role and his mission.
In 1965, director Martin Ritt adapted the novel for a movie featuring Richard Burton in the role of Leamas. The movie won the 1966 BAFTA Awards and was nominated at the 38th Academy Awards. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is the third sequel to Carré’s first two novels, namely, Call for the Dead and A Murder of Quality, and the first-ever story of his to be turned into a feature film.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974)
This is the first book in the trilogy series featuring George Smiley. Do take note that Smiley is no Bond. Instead, he’s a drably dressed, bespectacled, retired spymaster from MI6, also called The Circus (for its location at Cambridge Circus). But Smiley is brilliant and polite and his character was reportedly inspired by British Secret Intelligence Service officer Kim Philby, who coincidentally turned out to be a Russian spy and defected to the USSR in 1963.
The story follows George Smiley, who is forced to retire at the peak of the Cold War. But he’s soon brought back to dig up a mole within the intelligence service, who has been passing information from The Circus to Moscow. In his search for the traitor, Smiley comes across double agents, counter foreign intelligence, and his long-time nemesis Karla, a KGB mastermind. This novel, followed by The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People, makes the Karla Trilogy.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy remains a masterpiece creation of Carré's and was adapted for a television series in 1979 featuring Alec Guinness as Smiley. Decades later, in 2011, a feature film with the same title featuring Gary Oldman as the spymaster was released and it earned two BAFTA awards and three nominations at the 2012 Academy Awards.
The Little Drummer Girl (1983)
Set in 1979, this novel follows a young British actress Charlie, recruited by Israeli intelligence to work as a secret agent. A scheming and strategic Israeli spy, Martin Kurtz uses Charlie’s radical, left-wing personality to infiltrate a group of Palestinians and kill a terrorist using a masterful plan. This novel sees a manipulative and deceitful female protagonist, a rare element in Carré’s stories.
The Little Drummer Girl was first adapted in 1984 in a Hollywood feature directed by George Roy and starring Diane Keaton as Charlie. For the movie, Charlie’s background was changed from British to American, keeping the rest of the plot the same. In 2018, the novel was adapted for the second time into a miniseries for BBC, featuring Florence Pugh as Charlie, Michael Shannon as Martin Kurtz, and Alexander Skarsgård as Mossad agent Gadi Becker. The BBC One series is the most recent adaptation of a John Le Carré novel.
The Night Manager (1993)
This is the first novel by John Le Carré set in the post-Cold War era. The story follows Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier, who now works as a night manager in a hotel. He is recruited by an ex-British Intelligence officer to run an undercover operation to catch an international arms dealer by infiltrating his vast empire. What follows is a chase across Zurich, Cairo, the Bahamas, and Switzerland.
In 2016, the 90s classic thriller was adapted into a six-part miniseries of the same name. Directed by Susanne Bier, The Night Manager boasts a star-studded cast including Tom Hiddleston, Olivia Coleman, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Laurie, Tom Hollander, David Harewood, and more, featured in a glamorous spin to the original novel. The Night Manager series is one of the recent adaptations of John Le Carré’s works and it earned 11 awards including at the Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
The Tailor of Panama (1996)
The Tailor of Panama follows a British ex-pat with a questionable past and an amoral MI6 agent in Panama City, both exploiting each other for their personal agendas. Harry Pendel lives in Panama City with his wife and family and runs a tailoring business, at least on paper. Andy Osnard, on the other hand, is a young MI6 agent who is sent to Panama to gather intelligence to protect British trade interests in the region. But Andy, with a shaky moral compass, goes there with his own agenda. When he discovers Harry and learns about his unsavory history, Andy recruits him for the plan.
In 2001, John Boorman directed a movie featuring Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush in leading roles with Carré co-writing the script. The movie was well-received among fans and critics.
The Constant Gardener (2001)
The first novel by Carré in this millennium, The Constant Gardener is based on a real-life incident that took place in Nigeria in 1996. The story follows a British diplomat in Kenya called Justin Quayle whose activist wife Tessa is suddenly murdered. Quayle sets out to uncover the truth about the killing and lands on an international conspiracy involving corrupt governments and big pharma. The more he investigates, the darker it gets, and beyond his imagination, to the extent of involving his own government.
In 2005, an eponymous British-German movie was made based on this novel. Directed by Fernando Meirelles, the movie features Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz. A journey of emotional revelations and justice for a loved one, The Constant Gardener made headlines on its release and earned many awards, including an Academy Award for Weisz for Best Supporting Actress.
Our Kind of Traitor (2010)
The story of Our Kind of Traitor is a “bathtub gin flavored” (as TV Tropes calls this genre) spy fiction by John Le Carré, where civilians get drawn into the spy game, and unwillingly so.
The plot follows an English couple, Perry and Gail on a holiday in Antigua, where they engage in a game of tennis with a Russian business tycoon, Dmitri "Dima" Vladimirovich Krasnov, and his lovely family. Dima turns out to be a Russian mobster who uses Perry to pass information to British Intelligence and defect to the United Kingdom. Much to his own surprise, Perry gets drawn into Dima’s plan, reluctant at first but eventually because he finds a connection with Dima. And soon, both Perry and Gail get pulled into a deadly game of global conspiracy, money laundering, and espionage.
This is the latest John Le Carré novel to have been adapted into a feature film. Directed by Susanna White, the 2018 big-screen adaptation stars Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, and Stellan Skarsgård in leading roles, with minor changes in the story’s locations.