Although John le Carre is an excellent author of modern fiction he is also a fantastic letter writer. This 500+ page accumulation of many of his letters - to friends, family, fans and publishers - is one of the most enjoyable books I have read in recent years. It is also an amazing insight into his views and opinions of that so arduous a task as writing an excellent novel. And he has written a number of them. Having read all of his 20+ novels at least once I am quite sure they will be even more enjoyable reading the 2d and 3rd time after learning from these letters the agony, sweat and joy that went into writing them. Most of his works are novels about intelligence activities but they are just as much about the human condition and how individuals cope with the particularities of deception, mendacity and conflict which are the heart and soul of espionage as well as major attributes of life. ( )

The Warm Letters that Came In Out of the Cold
Review of the Penguin Viking hardcover edition (December 6, 2022) with reference to the Kindle eBook edition (same date).

Nicholas Greaves, aged ten, wrote asking how to be a spy.
TO NICHOLAS GREAVES (AGED TEN) 9 Gainsborough Gardens London, NW3 1BJ 31 January 1988
Dear Nicholas,
Thank you very much for your letter. To be a spy, you need first to know what you think about the world, whom you would like to help, whom to frustrate. This, I am afraid, takes time. Also, you have to decide how much you are prepared to do by dishonest means. You are very young to decide to be dishonest. My guess is, you want excitement and a great cause. But I think and hope that if you ever find the great cause, the excitement will come naturally from the pleasure of serving it, & then you won’t need to deceive anybody, you will have found what you are looking for. You will be more than a spy then. You will be a good, happy man.
All good wishes,
John le Carré

I'm not unbiased here, I've been a John le Carré (penname of David Cornwell) reader and fan my entire life. I'm going through a further binge now after recently reading the memoir The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life (2016) and seeing its movie adaptation at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. Some of the same anecdotes are covered in the letters here with the actual correspondents. Many of these are with fellow writers, book editors, politicians, spymasters, researchers and family. The letters to regular fans though are the especial delight, such as the above example.

I originally picked this up at the library, but I found that I wanted to note so many of the passages, that I picked up a Kindle eBook in addition. Those highlights can be read here.

In addition to Carré's own passing, there is a further mournful aura about this book, as it was edited by one of Carré's own sons, Tim Cornwell, who passed from a sudden pulmonary embolism only a few months prior to its publication. Timothy had worked as a journalist and editor for most of his life and this was his first book. His brothers Stephen and Simon Cornwell, (the film & TV producers behind many recent Carré adaptations for screen under the company name of The Ink Factory) and sci-fi writer Nick Cornwell (who writes under the penname Nick Harkaway) pen a tribute in his memory in the introduction section.

See photograph at https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/a2ccfa2afa09a3b205bd9813691538c1952cb157/68_236_1...
John le Carré aka David Cornwell (1931-2020), with his son Tim Cornwell (1962-2022), editor of “The Private Spy”. Image sourced from an article by Tim Cornwell’s widow Anna Arthur at The Guardian, July 1, 2022.

Other Reviews
A Private Spy & The Secret Heart, by Anthony Cummins, The Guardian, October 16, 2022.

Trivia and Links
See photograph at https://media.rightmove.co.uk/49k/48638/139336214/48638_TRS210037_IMG_00_0000.jp...
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 October 3, 2023. Image and link may no longer be available once the house is sold.]

Tim Cornwell's obituary at The Scotsman, June 8, 2022. ( )