John Le Carré, The Little Drummer Girl

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 1983

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel
Spy and Espionage

Resources

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“You want to catch the lion. First you tether the goat.”

The Little Drummer Girl

(1983), by John le Carré (penname of David Cornwell), recounts a labyrinthine Mossad plot to apprehend a Palestinian terrorist by offering a young, politically naïve actress a leading role in the theatre of the real: she will be the bait to capture a terrorist. The novel mines the enduring conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This conflict has its origins in a League of Nations’ decree that obligated Britain to enable the “establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” (

British Information

, 2) and continues in persistent armed offensives and terrorist attacks. Despite negotiations promoted by the United Nations, the U.S., and other nations, the Israeli and…

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5686 words

Citation: Beene, LynnDianne. "The Little Drummer Girl". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 March 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=337, accessed 26 April 2024.]

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