In the final episode of this four part look at Silverview Matthew Bradford and I continue to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel.

We discuss the climatic conclusion of Silverview!

We also talk about where Silverview fits among le Carré’s work and some talk on collecting the book.

All that and much more in this episode.

Matthew’s twitter – @doubleosection

Matthew’s Website – Double O Section

Jeff’s site – SpyWrite.com

Jeff’s twitter – @spywrite

In Part three of this four part look at Silverview Matthew Bradford and I continue to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. In this third part we explore the plot and espionage in the novel.

We discuss the way betrayal is different in this novel, what’s up with Edward’s creepy obsession with basements, and did le Carré consider Edward a hacker?

Plus we talk about how Silverview is the culmination of le Carré’s love of the fax machine.

All that and much more in this episode.

History of the Fax – Wikipedia

Matthew’s twitter – @doubleosection

Matthew’s Website – Double O Section

Jeff’s site – SpyWrite.com

Jeff’s twitter – @spywrite

In Part two of this four part look at Silverview Matthew Bradford and I continue to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. In our second part we talk about the settings of the novel.

We discuss le Carré success in capturing life in a coastal town, the connection between W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn and Silverview, and why East Anglia loves it’s abandoned airfields.

Plus we talk about when le Carré shifted from Circus to Service and the most awkward dinner party ever. All that and much more in this episode.

East Anglia – Wiki link

W.G. Sebald – Wiki link

Patience – A documentary on W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn – Youtube link

House Nietzsche – Villa Silberblick

Matthew’s twitter – @doubleosection

Matthew’s Website – Double O Section

Jeff’s site – SpyWrite.com

Jeff’s twitter – @spywrite

In Part one of this four part look at Silverview I welcome back Matthew Bradford to discuss John le Carré’s final complete novel. In our first part we talk about the main characters in this novel.

We discuss surprise over the speedy release of the novel, how this novel revisits many of le Carré’s favorite character archetypes and whether his character names are a bit too on the nose.

Plus we talk how much of this novel is drawn from life, how well drawn his female characters are this time around and do the book’s spy couple steal the show? All that and much more in this episode.

Spybrary’s discussion of Agent Running in the Field – https://spybrary.com/agent-running-in-the-fiel/

Matthew’s twitter – @doubleosection

Matthew’s Website – Double O Section

Jeff’s site – SpyWrite.com

Jeff’s twitter – @spywrite

In Part Two of this deep dive into Call for the Dead I welcome back guest Bee to discuss John le Carré’s first novel. We continue to get lots of hot takes on the novel from someone who has done a very close reading of le Carré’s work, but especially Call for the Dead.

We discuss how le Carrê views espionage versus police work, Smiley’s masculinity, and just what is really going on between Smiley and Frey.

Plus we decide whether Guillam is a fool and how interconnected all of le Carré’s characters are. All that and much more in this episode.

Bee’s twitter – @holodeckfreud

More on Klaus Fuchs here.

Jeff’s site – SpyWrite.com

Jeff’s twitter – @spywrite

In this episode we explore a previously hidden chapter of le Carré’s life. Was this the moment everything changed for him? Listen for answers to that and much, much more.

Previous discussion of this topic is here.

In Part One of this deep dive into Call for the Dead I welcome guest Bee to discuss John le Carré’s first novel. In this provocative conversation we get plenty of hot takes on the novel from someone who has done a very close reading of all of le Carré’s work, but especially Call for the Dead.

We discuss how Smiley is different in this first novel from later books, le Carré’s portrayal of Jewish characters and George and Ann’s relationship.

Plus Steed-Asprey’s terrible gift giving, whether Call for the Dead is a good title and le Carré’s worst line. All that and much more in this very fun episode.

Bee’s twitter – @holodeckfreud

More than you ever wanted to know about Dresden Porcelain here.

Jeff’s site – SpyWrite.com

Jeff’s twitter – @spywrite

In this episode I am joined by Matthew Bradford of doubleOsection.blogspot.com to do a deep exploration of the sometimes overlooked John le Carré novel A Murder of Quality.

We discuss private schools, religion in the UK and just how deep George Smiley’s cruel streak runs.

Just after the passing away of John le Carré in December 2020, I spoke with Matthew Bradford of double0section.blogspot.com about le Carrê’s impact on espionage fiction.

In this episode I provide an introduction to the world’s most famous spy writer.

John le Carré began writing novels as a way to relieve the boredom of his duties as an upper-class raised British diplomat. That was what the world was told. The reality was that he wrote under a pseudonym; in truth he was a spy for MI6. His ability to live two lives at once was what made him both a successful spy as well as one of the most famous espionage novelists of all time.

Much of the research came from Adam Sisman’s essential biography of le Carré.

James Olson’s book Fair Play was also quite helpful along with the collection of le Carré interviews called Conversations with John le Carré edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli and Judith S. Baughman.