“In my day, MI6 - which I called the Circus in the books - stank of wartime nostalgia. People were defined by secret cachet: one man did something absolutely extraordinary in Norway; another was the darling of the French Resistance. We didn't even show passes to go in and out of the building.”

English author

John le Carré, born David John Moore Cornwell, was an English author of the 20th and 21st centuries. He is best known for his espionage novels, many of which were adapted for film or television. He worked for both MI5 and MI6 in the 1950s and 1960s, experience that shaped much of his fiction. His novels are often noted for their moral complexity and a carefully measured view of intelligence work. Near the end of his life, he became an Irish citizen.