“Remember Graham Green's dictum that childhood is the bank balance of the writer? I think that all writers feel alienated. Most of us go back to an alienated childhood in some way or another. I know that I do.”

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.