John David Moore Cornwell books catalogue

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John le Carré, pen name of David John Moore Cornwell, is a British writer of thrillers and espionage stories. More

John le Carré , pen name of David John Moore Cornwell , is a British writer of thrillers and espionage stories.

During his one-year German studies at the University of Bern, Le Carré developed an interest in foreign languages. He then studied modern languages at Lincoln College, Oxford. After graduating, he taught at Eton College for 2 years, then applied to the British Foreign Service and later to MI6, stationed in Bonn and Hamburg, West Germany, between 1959 and 1964.

In February 2011, he determined that his archive should be donated to Oxford's Bodleian Library after his death, because "Oxford is Smiley's inspiration and mine too".

John le Carré is the author of thrillers about the Cold War. Two of his books have been adapted into television series by the BBC. After the fall of the Wall, he also wrote on new topics such as the fight against terrorism and multinationals.

His writing style is a critique of the numerous and successful James Bond books. This is especially evident in the elaboration of the protagonists. The main characters are often more realistic and less heroic. This makes his books seem more credible. The protagonist takes on a more human face because he makes mistakes and therefore makes identification with the reader easier. His works also often criticize the way in which espionage takes place. This is often at the expense of the people in the field. Furthermore, the cliché of good versus bad is rejected, since in reality good is only what one believes to be good. This differs between both opposing sides (usually the West and the Soviet Union). A further connection with the humanity of the characters can be found in the way in which they are forced to make choices between what is good and bad and how that makes the reader think.

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