An exhibition celebrating best-selling espionage author John Le Carre is due to open in Oxford, showcasing the writer’s annotated manuscripts and letters to friends.
Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89.
The exhibition, titled John le Carre: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends.
Among them is a letter from actor Sir Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carre’s best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was “not really rotund and double-chinned”.
The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim.
Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carre worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s.
Film versions of Le Carre’s novels include 2001’s The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005’s The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011’s big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Sir Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy.
The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans Le Carre’s time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks, and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly.
It was curated by Le Carre’s collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author’s family.
Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carre, said: “Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father’s malign influence and kept his place when he couldn’t afford it.
“The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming.”
In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: “Longstanding fans of Le Carre and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods.
“Le Carre’s researcher’s spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career.”
The exhibition’s title plays on the term “tradecraft” which Le Carre used to describe techniques of espionage, but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said.
It is due to open on October 1 2025 until April 6 2026.
