This episode we close out our look at Eric Ambler with a special bonus – my conversation with legendary bookstore owner and editor Otto Penzler.

We discuss his time meeting Eric Ambler and his attempt to get Ambler to sign his Ambler collection

All that and much more in this episode!

Jeremy’s twitter – @JeremyDuns

Jeremy’s Website – Jeremy-Duns.com

Jeremy’s writing on Ambler – https://www.jeremy-duns.com/blog/d9fdl28xls3b6fl688hxcdxctsr7he

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode we continue to look at an author worth reading after you’ve finished looking at all of the works of le Carré – Eric Ambler.

We discuss Ambler’s post WW2 work, his obsession with coups, and his somewhat unreliable autobiography.

Plus, that terrible cover art!

All that and much more in this episode!

Passage of Arms double dust jacket – https://www.biblio.com/book/passage-arms-ambler-eric/d/1454122777

Bad Ambler Covers – https://spywrite.com/2018/01/17/bad-book-covers-eric-ambler/

Jeremy’s twitter – @JeremyDuns

Jeremy’s Website – Jeremy-Duns.com

Jeremy’s writing on Ambler – https://www.jeremy-duns.com/blog/d9fdl28xls3b6fl688hxcdxctsr7he

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode we look at another author to explore once you’ve finished looking at all of the works of le Carré. This time it is the granddaddy of thrillers, Eric Amber.

We discuss how Ambler’s political worldview influenced his writing, themes in common with le Carré, and

Plus we explore his early reading influences and begin to talk about The Mask of Dimitrios, his most famous novel.

All that and more in this episode!

Jeremy’s twitter – @JeremyDuns

Jeremy’s Website – Jeremy-Duns.com

Jeremy’s writing on Ambler – https://www.jeremy-duns.com/blog/d9fdl28xls3b6fl688hxcdxctsr7he

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode we are back from a summer break with part two of our discussion of John le Carré’s 1979 novel Smiley’s People with returning guest Charles Beaumont, a former undercover MI6 operative and author of A Spy Alone and A Spy at War.

We debate Connie Sachs repetitive return, talk Smiley and sex-clubs and Smiley’s discovery of torn-postcard tradecraft, and touch on Smiley’s rare flash of anger.

Plus, is this the end of Smiley and Ann’s relationship?

Finally we talk le Carré’s omniscient, conversational narration, Sherlock Holmes parallels, late-1970s British malaise, and Beaumont’s upcoming novel A Spy Returns and challenges of writing contemporary geopolitics like Ukraine.

All that and more in this episode!

Charles’ novels A Spy Alone and A Spy at War – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/K03/oxford-spy-ring/

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode we discuss John le Carré’s 1979 novel Smiley’s People with guest Charles Beaumont, a former undercover MI6 operative and author of A Spy Alone and A Spy at War.

Beaumont describes first discovering le Carré at university through The Honorable Schoolboy and argues the Cold War novels still illuminate modern Russia’s state cruelty and indifference, while also reflecting a Britain in 1970s decline.

We talk about where Smiley’s People ranks in the Karla trilogy and discuss its slow pace, psychological depth, and the simple core plot.

Plus we discuss Maria Ostrakova as a standout female character, the Circus’s believable mishandling of agents, Toby Esterhase’s return, and the question of Smiley’s missing knighthood.

All that and more in this episode!

Charles’ novels A Spy Alone and A Spy at War – https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/K03/oxford-spy-ring/

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode I’m joined by author David Goodman, author of A Reluctant Spy and the new sequel Solitary Agents. We talk about reading John le Carré as a kind of travelogue and why place matters so much in spy fiction.

David shares how his dissertation on spy novels was a stepping stone to writing espionage himself, albeit many years later. We talk about what it’s like being compared to le Carré in the UK press, why globetrotting heightens paranoia and atmosphere, and how books can capture lost places and times.

David also explains researching locations on a budget using YouTube city walks and Google Street View, we discuss le Carré’s “boots on the ground” approach, modern pacing, and whether a truly le Carré-esque novel could be published today.

All that and more in this episode!

David Goodman’s Website – https://www.davidgoodman.net/

A Reluctant Spy – https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/david-goodman-7/a-reluctant-spy/9781035416011/

Solitary Agents – https://www.headline.co.uk/titles/david-goodman-7/solitary-agents/9781035434145/

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode I welcome back author and Bond expert Jeremy Duns to tackle the “le Carré or Fleming?” debate from a different angle: what they thought of each other.

We talk generational differences (Fleming shaped by WWII, le Carré by Cold War service.) We read an Allen Dulles interview where Fleming praises The Spy Who Came in from the Cold as “a very, very fine spy story,” while lamenting that it drains the romance and fun.

Then we unpack le Carré’s 1966 TV chat with Malcolm Muggeridge, where le Carré dismisses Bond as apolitical “low magic” and more gangster than spy, and Jeremy argues le Carré was partly performing for Muggeridge.

Plus Jeremy recommends some Fleming for le Carré fans.

All that and more in this episode!

Find more on my Substack.

Jeremy’s twitter – @JeremyDuns

Jeremy’s Website – Jeremy-Duns.com

John le Carré speaks with Martin Muggeridge for Intimations program in 1966.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode we have another episode of le Carré Cast Reads, where we look at a book that I think fellow le Carré fans will enjoy.

This time it’s the nonfiction memoir My Family and Other Spies. I’m joined by it’s author Alistair Wood. Alistair grew up living in the Service’s training camp and his book is an exploration of his parents and their time with MI6. His father was one of the masterminds behind the Berlin Tunnel and his mother was the secretary to legendary Harold Shergold. It’s a wild story extremely well told. I think all le Carré fans will enjoy it and I hope everyone picks up the book.

All that and more in this episode!

Alistair’s book My Family and Other Spies – https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/464416/my-family-and-other-spies-by-wood-alistair/9781405971980

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode we are back with author James Wolff to continue to discuss John le Carré’s novel The Naïve and Sentimental Lover.

We talk more about these characters, James Kennaway’s Some Gorgeous Accident, and the reality of marriage vs reality.

What song by a well known band is based on the novel? What did le Carré take away from the experience of writing the novel? And what should other writers take away from how it was received?

Plus, worst wedding in the world!

All that and more in this episode!

James’ Website – https://jameswolffauthor.com/

James’ new novel Spies and Other Gods – https://groveatlantic.com/book/spies-and-other-gods/

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/

This episode I’m pleased to have returning guest, author James Wolff to the show. We discuss John le Carré’s novel The Naïve and Sentimental Lover. If you’ve never read the novel and aren’t really interested in doing so, this is the show for you!

We talk about the strange love triangle at the heart of the novel, the real life comparisons and that repressed english manner.

Is this really a funny novel? Did le Carré invent the throple? And what about that ending?

Plus, Prams!

All that and more in this episode!

James’ Website – https://jameswolffauthor.com/

James’ new novel Spies and Other Gods – https://groveatlantic.com/book/spies-and-other-gods/

Find more on my Substack.

The le Carré Cast - A podcast on John le Carré novels is made with Jetpack Podcast. Full show notes and every episode at https://lecarrecast.com/