Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy author John le Carré has died aged 89.
The much-acclaimed writer died on Sunday after a short battle with pneumonia, and it has been confirmed that his death was not related to Covid-19.
His family and literary agent Jonny Geller announced the death in a short statement.
Geller wrote: “For six decades, John le Carré dominated the bestseller lists and review pages with his monumental body of work.
“His dramatic launch onto the global scene began with the publication of his third novel in 1963, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and the public revelation of his secret life working with the British Intelligence Services.”
Author John Le Carre has died (Image: Mirrorpix)
Geller continued: “Devoting his life to writing, he went on to define the Cold War era with the help of his character, George Smiley, and through his complex plots and beautiful prose, beamed a harsh light at the injustices of our world.”
“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy came in the 1970s and its accompanying landmark TV series with Alec Guinness.
“The 1980s brought the novel that is often heralded as his masterpiece: A Perfect Spy.
“With the fall of the Berlin Wall, David’s focus extended beyond the Soviet/UK/US relations to arms dealing with The Night Manager.
“The first decade of the new millennium brought us The Constant Gardener, a passionate critique of Big Pharma and this current decade brought back his favourite creation, George Smiley, in A Legacy of Spies.”
He is the author of A Legacy of Spies (Image: Sunday Mirror)
He continued: “His last novel, Agent Running in the Field, was published in October 2019.
“David wrote twenty-five novels and one volume of memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel (2016), and has sold more than sixty million copies of his work worldwide.
“His like will never be seen again, and his loss will be felt by every book lover, everyone interested in the human condition.
“We have lost a great figure of English literature, a man of great wit, kindness, humour and intelligence.”
Geller concluded: “I have lost a friend, a mentor and an inspiration.”
Carré was born on October 19, 1931 and died on December 12, 2020.
In 1954, he married Alison Ann Veronica Sharp; they had three sons – Simon, Stephen and Timothy before they divorced in 1971.
In 1972, he wed Valérie Jane Eustace, a book editor with Hodder & Stoughton.
They have one son, Nicholas, who writes as Nick Harkaway.
Le Carré lived in St Buryan, Cornwall for more than 40 years, he owned a mile of cliff near Land’s End.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
