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John le Carré
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A Legacy of Spies Hardcover – January 1, 2013

by John Le Carre (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 20,884 ratings
Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The undisputed master returns with his first Smiley novel in more than twenty-five years--a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Peter Guillam, staunch colleague and disciple of George Smiley of the British Secret Service, otherwise known as the Circus, is living out his old age on the family farmstead on the south coast of Brittany when a letter from his old Service summons him to London. The reason? His Cold War past has come back to claim him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of secret London, and involved such characters as Alec Leamas, Jim Prideaux, George Smiley and Peter Guillam himself, are to be scrutinized by a generation with no memory of the Cold War and no patience with its justifications.
 
Interweaving past with present so that each may tell its own intense story, John le Carré has spun a single plot as ingenious and thrilling as the two predecessors on which it looks back: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. In a story resonating with tension, humor and moral ambivalence, le Carré and his narrator Peter Guillam present the reader with a legacy of unforgettable characters old and new.
Previous page
  1. Book 9 of 9
    George Smiley Novels
  2. Print length
    264 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Viking Pr
  5. Publication date
    January 1, 2013
  6. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.08 x 9.31 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0735225117
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0735225114
  9. See all details
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  1. The tortured are a class apart. You can imagine – just – where they’ve been, but never what they’ve brought back.
    Highlighted by 324 Kindle readers
  2. In Les Deux Eglises, as in all of Brittany, we are Catholic or we are nothing. I am nothing.
    Highlighted by 210 Kindle readers
  3. This was the George I remembered: all-knowing about the frailty of others, while stoically refusing to acknowledge his own.
    Highlighted by 206 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An Amazon Best Book of September 2017: John Le Carré, who you may know from the classic George Smiley spy novels, has returned after 25 years to bring us The Legacy of Spies, an interweaving of past and present storylines that allows new readers a way into these (I'm going to say it… perfect ) thrillers and will have longtime fans swooning. I have loved the Smiley series since I first read book one, so I was more than apprehensive when I heard Le Carré was reigniting the storyline with ‘Legacy’ after so many years (needlessly as it turns out). Peter Guillam, Smiley's most prized assistant, returns with both grace and vengeance as he evaluates life and the lies he has created to survive. Readers don't need to have read the past titles to understand or enjoy ‘Legacy’, but I guarantee you will want to go back and start at the beginning as soon as you turn that final page. --Penny Mann

About the Author

John le Carré was born in 1931 and attended the universities of Bern and Oxford. He taught at Eton and served briefly in British intelligence during the Cold War. For the last fifty years he has lived by his pen. He divides his time between London and Cornwall.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Pr; First Edition (January 1, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0735225117
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0735225114
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.18 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.08 x 9.31 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 20,884 ratings

About the author

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John le Carré

John le Carré

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John le Carré was born in 1931. His third novel, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, secured him a wide reputation which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, THE HONOURABLE SCHOOLBOY and SMILEY'S PEOPLE. His other novels include THE CONSTANT GARDENER, A MOST WANTED MAN and OUR KIND OF TRAITOR.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
20,884 global ratings
I'll miss this master of espionage
5 Stars
I'll miss this master of espionage
He stayed true to his characters and never let them deviate from their prescribed beliefs and biases. I loved him back in the 80s, with the introduction to George Smiley on paper then BBC with Sir Alec Guiness, and I love him now. Poignant, funny, sad all the same time and still giving you the humanity of real action heroes.
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Top reviews from the United States

Paratrim1
5.0 out of 5 stars La Piece de Resistance
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017
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John LeCarre invented the Cold War spy novel. From The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, we have the final summation of what the Cold War and its actors were all about. This book was such a delight that I did not want it to end. I knew where it was going, but I wanted to savor the journey. Absolutely top notch entertainment. Beautifully written and nostalgic in a good way. I first read The Spy Who Came In From the Cold in a rather slim mass market paperback when I was at Prep school. The similarities to the experiences of the boys at the British Public Schools was uncanny. Here are the reevaluations of old men who somehow still live in a very different world. The actions of long ago are now being reassessed by the powers that be today. The children of parents who were collateral damage and theynow want justice, or at least some financial compensation. But the men who practiced the art of secrecy and deception will not give it all up. They are still carrying the flame, but of what they are not sure. May John LeCarre continue to write and never get too old to stop. He is the master of the turn of phrase and creates an atmosphere that you can almost taste. Did I say I loved this book? Your bloody right I do!
6 people found this helpful
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Joe Dacy
4.0 out of 5 stars Predictably Turgid; Nevertheless, Irresistible
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2017
Verified Purchase
In the midst of my own travails, casting aside the Circus of my life, I take quill in hand, having brushed off the literary dust of 25 years of accumulated, if feigned, indifference, to read John Le Carre's latest work. I will, for you fine watchers, eschew the tradecraft of ciphers, and write, and only for Le Carre, "en clair."

Will you forgive the pun? Oh, but you must! For there is much to forgive in this memoir, the first case of such being its title: "A Legacy of Spies." Said four words possess a colon -- I am reminded of that word's other meaning -- at their tail end to proclaim the work to be "A Novel," in case one is tempted to assume otherwise.

For a British spy, apparently, the only things one may assume are VERBS and the occasional redacted comma. That, and paragraphs as thick as a barrister's brief. One may also presuppose the total absence of anything like James Bond-style action. Perish the thought! And then there's the matter of the ending...

The story resurrects Peter Gulliam (and you must never call him "Pete") -- disciple of the redoubtable and often doubted, George Smiley -- who is recalled to a dismal safehouse to be held accountable for his myriad indiscretions during the Cold War. The mission is "Windfall," which, one may be aware, resulted in the operative Alec Leamas being shot down at the Berlin Wall trying to save an innocent female pawn of the Great Game.

There follows a middle book filled with reams of reams of field reports and meeting minutes from both the Crown and the Stasi, wherein all the characters of the past reside in their ghostly glory. The documents that exist, and there are many which do not, pin the blame for the "failure" of Windfall squarely on Peter, whose primary defense of all is silence, and an unspoken question: where is George?

And yes, I forgive all. How could I not? I've grown up with the man, and I've shelled out 11.05-pound sterling for the privilege. And you will, too. The lure is too great, and, admit it, you'll never forgive yourself if you don't!
3 people found this helpful
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dipacmr
5.0 out of 5 stars A Final Summation of the Smiley Novels
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2017
Verified Purchase
First. Full disclosure. I'm a huge fan of le Carre, and I've read all his books. I've always liked that many characters reappear in his novels, adding a sense of familiarity and concern. And now, after all these years, time has caught up with all of them and us, I might add. I agree with another reviewer that it's necessary to have read 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'. This tells the backstory of that novel, and is very intricate and detailed. It requires a close read, but all le Carre's novels require this. I've read many espionage novels, and le Carre is at the top. 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' is my favorite. He never topped this one, although all his succeeding novels came close. I might add that my s second favorite espionage novel is Graham Greene's 'The Human Factor', which was written around this same I read, but Greene held up publishing it until many years later, circa 1978/1979. le Carre is rumored to be working on another novel. I'm eagerly awaiting it. He's a world treasure.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ken Silden
5.0 out of 5 stars great book
Reviewed in Canada on February 17, 2024
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Loving the book
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APT
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful - true Le Carre
Reviewed in India on June 16, 2023
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A trip down memory lane not just for Peter Guillam but for the readers as well. Fantastic and highly recommended.
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MR NICHOLAS MOORE
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Le Carré masterpiece.
Reviewed in France on February 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
A wonderful read, fortunately I remembered the BBC production of Tinker Tailor which guided me through this typical complicated convoluted plot and enabled me to put faces to the characters.
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anna maria
5.0 out of 5 stars A Legacy of spies
Reviewed in Italy on June 19, 2020
Verified Purchase
Le Carrè, maestro della spy story, ci proietta con questo libro nel passato, nel passato di un periodo oscuro ma affascinante, la guerra fredda. Ritroviamo personaggi ormai mitici, personaggi che ci descrivono che cosa vuol dire a volte barattare la propria anima per un bene più grande. Davvero bellissimo.
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Fernando O M Baumeier
5.0 out of 5 stars Always a story teller.
Reviewed in Brazil on September 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
Could not drop It during a weekend. Wonderful story telling as usual. Read all his books starting with Always a Schoolboy from my father's library who was also a fan. Glad he went back to his roots, spy books.
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