In Cornwell's lonely childhood, Adam Sisman uncovers the origins of the themes of love and abandonment which dominated le Carré's fiction: the departure of his mother when he was five, followed by 'sixteen hugless years' in the dubious care of his father, a man of energy and charm, a serial seducer and conman who hid the Bentleys in the trees when the bailiffs came calling - a 'totally incomprehensible father' who could 'put a hand on your shoulder and the other in your pocket, both gestures equally sincere'. In this definitive biography, written with unprecedented access to the man himself, Adam Sisman offers an illuminating portrait of a fascinating and enigmatic writer. Long after The Spy Who came in from the Cold made John le Carré a worldwide, bestselling sensation, David Cornwell, the man behind the pseudonym, remained an enigma. it is impossible to imagine this Life being bettered' WILLIAM BOYD, NEW STATESMAN 'Smiley himself could not have done a better job' SUNDAY TIMES The definitive biography of the undisputed giant of English literature, a man whose own true history has long been hidden behind the fictional world of his books 'Compendious and compelling.

Sisman le carre