Offering a new perspective on the life of John le Carré, prize-winning British author Adam Sisman explores the great man’s dark side, apart from but not totally unconnected from what was seen in the limelight.

John le Carré was a pseudonym chosen by David Cornwell, and he used it in almost every context in his adult life. His father was a criminal who was often unfaithful and hinted to him that it was a sort of norm for all men. His mother was neglectful at best; she left him without any explanation when he was five and never returned. His schooling began in England --- at St. Andrew's Preparatory School and Sherborne School --- and continued in Switzerland at the University of Bern. His path through higher education included employment by the British Security Service, M15. He developed his alter ego during those years and was able to befriend and secretly spy on groups like the left-wing crowd suspected of being Soviet implants.

"Le Carré probably would be pleased to know that his own scheming has been noted and, in a sense, has added to the mystery that shrouds his existence even now."

Le Carré married in his mid-20s, divorced, and then tied the knot a second time to Valerie Jane Eustace, a book editor who Sisman depicts as “the gatekeeper” to his numerous sexual affairs, observing and, in some sense, seeking to control them. These episodes served as an almost constant spur not only to his machismo but also (he seemed to believe) to his persona as an acclaimed author, with success that rose steadily from the publication of THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD. His audience loved the notion of a spy writing about espionage, and he enjoyed pleasing and teasing them.

Le Carré’s women-chasing escapades were secret, nearly always involving elaborate deceptions. Yet some could not have escaped a wife’s notice, as when he cavorted with the live-in nanny. The women in his stories were often clearly based on those with whom he was pursuing liaisons, and Sisman speculates rationally about the truth that Cornwell was trying to project --- that infidelity provided inspiration.

Sisman, who published an extensive biography of le Carré created in collaboration with his subject in 2015, clearly felt greater freedom after the passing of both le Carré and his wife. Part of THE SECRET LIFE OF JOHN LE CARRÉ focuses on that professional connection, recalling le Carré’s wish to have certain materials included and others excluded, the latter certainly encompassing the revelations that Sisman offers here.

Le Carré probably would be pleased to know that his own scheming has been noted and, in a sense, has added to the mystery that shrouds his existence even now. He often expressed his longing for a return to “the office,” where there would have been small rewards based on one’s willingness to deceive. Thus deception, which Sisman emphasizes was learned early, became the driving force of le Carré’s ego and his great, still widely appreciated, literary works.