John Le Carré, Smiley's People

LynnDianne Beene (University of New Mexico)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1980

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Spy and Espionage

Resources

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Smiley’s People

(1979) concludes the trilogy, known as

The Quest for Karla,

by John le Carré (penname for John David Moore Cornwell). In eleven of le Carré’s 26 novels, George Smiley appears as a reluctant but ultimately moral spymaster who aids his British secret service, called in the novels the Circus, as a career intelligence operative or an outside investigator, and as a consist advocate for humanism and reason. A personification of St. George, the patron saint of Britain, in the

Quest

trilogy

Smiley exposes a traitor within the Circus, rescues his professional institution, intimidates and defeats Karla—his “Black Grail” (SP, 795)—and finally abandons his illusions about his marriage and Britain’s fading Camelot.

The Quest

trilogy begins with Smiley called back to…

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3570 words

Citation: Beene, LynnDianne. "Smiley's People". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 23 February 2021 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2006, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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