The Secret Life of John le Carr

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Winner of the Crime Fest HRF Keating Award'Not merely the conclusive homage to a compulsively fascinating character, but an insightful study into the biographical process itself' Nicholas Shakespeare'Now that he is dead, we can know him better.' Secrecy came naturally to John le Carr, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over four decades. To keep these relationships secret, he made use of tradecraft that he had learned as a spy: code names and cover stories, cut outs, safe houses and dead letter boxes. Such affairs introduced both jeopardy and excitement into what was otherwise a quiet, ordered life. Le Carr seemed to require the stimulus they provided in order to write, though this meant deceiving those closest to him. It is no coincidence that betrayal became a recurrent theme in his work. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, revealed much about the elusive spy-turned-novelist; yet le Carr was adamant that some subjects should remain hidden, at least during his lifetime. The Secret Life of John le Carr is the story of what was left out, and offers reflections on the difficult relationship between biographer and subject. More than that, it adds a necessary coda to the life and work of this complex, driven, restless man. The Secret Life of John le Carr reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'

Reviews

'A completely fascinating and revelatory book, written with great sagacity, candour and judiciousness' - William Boyd, author

'A fascinating, revelatory appendix ... Sisman's latest book exposes the great spy writer's duplicitous and deceitful relationships with the women in his life, providing new insights into the inner workings of the man who created George Smiley' - 'Best Books of the Year 2023'

'Enjoyable ... moves beyond voyeurism to reveal the deep sadness behind the lies ... Sisman can set the record straight' - 'Books of the Year 2023'

'[A] seamy, steamy supplement to the biography' - 'Books of the Year'

'[Sisman] is a delicate writer keen to acknowledge the ambiguity of the biographer's role' - Guardian

Author Bio

Adam Sisman is the author of Boswell's Presumptuous Task, winner of the US National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, and the biographer of John le Carr, A. J. P. Taylor and Hugh Trevor-Roper. Among his other works are two volumes of letters by Patrick Leigh Fermor. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and an Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews