John le Carré and the Cold War

Description

John le Carré and the Cold War explores the historical contexts and political implications of le Carré's major Cold-War novels. The first in-depth study of le Carré this century, this book analyses his work in light of key topics in 20th-century history, including containment of Communism, decolonization, the Berlin Wall, the Cuban missile crisis, the Cambridge spy-ring, the Vietnam War, the 70s oil crisis and Thatcherism. Examining The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974), Smiley's People (1979) and other novels, this book offers an illuminating picture of Cold-War Britain, while situating le Carré's work alongside that of George Orwell, Graham Greene and Ian Fleming. Providing a valuable contribution to contemporary understandings of both British spy fiction and post-war fiction, Toby Manning challenges the critical consensus to reveal a considerably less radical writer than is conventionally presented. Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction: ‘A Nation’s Political Health’ 1 ‘Murderers and Spies’: The Communist Threat and Call for the Dead 2 ‘Breeze Blocks and Barbed Wire’: The Berlin Wall and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold 3 ‘Looking at His Own Reflection’: The Establishment and The Looking Glass War 4 ‘Holding the World Together’: The Cambridge Spies and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy 5 ‘All One Vanishing World’: The Honourable Schoolboy, Colonialism and Communism 6 ‘Only People’: Humanism, Populism, the Second Cold War and Smiley’s People Conclusion: ‘Man, Not the Mass’ Appendix: Plot Synopses Bibliography Index