The Karla Trilogy] Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; Smiley’s People.

LE CARRE, John.

$6,000.00

Item Number: 135339

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1974-1979.

First editions of each title in the author’s acclaimed Karla Trilogy. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, inner dentelles, all edges gilt. Each volume is signed by John le Carre on a bookplate, with two signed “John le Carre aka David Cornwell.” Each are in fine condition. Each volume is housed in a custom slipcase. An exceptional set, uncommon signed.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy garnered instant praise for Le Carre as "[t]he premier spy novelist of his time. Perhaps of all time" (Time). "Le Carre is simply the world's greatest fictional spymaster" (Newsweek). Le Carre’s inspiration drew from his experience of the revealing of the Cambridge Five traitors in the 1950s and ‘60s (Anthony, 2009), and the novel’s popularity can be seen in relation to those shocking events. In 2011, the novel was adapted into a successful film, starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth, and it received three nominations at the 84th Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Actor. This successful production is but one of Le Carre’s numerous accolades in espionage fiction. He was awarded both the Helmerich Award and the Goethe Medal, and, in 2008, The Times ranked Le Carré 22nd on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945."