Tower and Town, September 2024 (view the full edition)Adam Sisman (The Big Town Read) - The Secret Life of John le CarréIn 2015, Adam Sisman wrote a biography of the spy novelist John le Carré. The book was widely praised, but it hadn't been an easy journey for Sisman. Le Carré had initially granted him complete access to his private papers, former colleagues (he used to work for MI5 and MI6) and friends, but when the biographer began to unearth a string of love affairs, le Carré restricted what he could include. Fast forward eight years, and Sisman has now produced a coda to his biography, comprising all the material that le Carré suppressed. He has done so with the author's blessing - "I don't care what you write about me after I'm dead," he said. His family have given their approval too, believing that any information that may aid understanding of their father's work should be on the public record. Sisman could be accused of prurience, but le Carré himself felt that his affairs - it appears he had a different muse for almost every one of the 26 novels he wrote - were integral to his writing process. "My infidelities produced in me a duality and a tension that became almost a necessary drug for my writing," he explained. "They are not therefore a 'dark part' of my life, separate from the high literary calling, so to speak, but, alas, integral to it, and inseparable." Needless to say, he conducted his affairs using all the clandestine tradecraft found in his books, including dead letter drops and anti-surveillance techniques. The result is a fascinating, if troubling, read. Adam Sisman will be talking to Jon Stock about The Secret Life of John le Carré at The Big Town Read in the Town Hall, 4pm, Sunday 29 September.  Credit Karen Robinson  Jon Stock |