Esteemed Author, John Le Carre Dies, aged 89

When it comes to master prose and literary craftsmanship, John le Carre was top of the heap. The author could craft a thriller that would keep you hanging until the last page, and his stories were a scriptwriter’s dream, so the news that he has died is likely to reverberate through the literary world for weeks to come.

This evening John le Carre’s family have confirmed that the author has died of pneumonia at the Royal Cornwall hospital.

Le Carre’s spy novels explored the Western World’s claim for freedom, and the hard and sometimes morally ambiguous job of defending it, doing so in novels such as Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, The Perfect Spy, and the Night Manager. These books saw him received critical acclaim around the world and secure him as a household name, not only to readers but to those who would love the adaptation of his works both on the small and the big screen.

Described by his agent Jonny Geller as “an undisputed giant of English literature. He defined the cold war era and fearlessly spoke truth to power in the decades that followed … I have lost a mentor, an inspiration and most importantly, a friend. We will not see his like again.”, a tribute that is likely to be the first of many as his death is felt throughout the literary world.