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Call for the Dead

A George Smiley Novel

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Paperback
$17.00 US
5.5"W x 8.2"H x 0.48"D   (14.0 x 20.8 x 1.2 cm) | 6 oz (164 g) | 92 per carton
On sale Oct 02, 2012 | 176 Pages | 9780143122579
Sales rights: US,OpnMkt(no EU/CAN)
The first of his peerless novels of Cold War espionage and international intrigue, Call for the Dead is also the debut of John le Carré's masterful creation George Smiley.

"Go back to Whitehall and look for more spies on your drawing boards."

George Smiley is no one's idea of a spy—which is perhaps why he's such a natural. But Smiley apparently made a mistake. After a routine security interview, he concluded that the affable Samuel Fennan had nothing to hide. Why, then, did the man from the Foreign Office shoot himself in the head only hours later? Or did he?

The heart-stopping tale of intrigue that launched both novelist and spy, Call for the Dead is an essential introduction to le Carré's chillingly amoral universe.

“A subtle and acute story of counterespionage marked by restraint, indirection, and intelligence.”
—The New York Times Book Review


"[Le Carré] is one of our great writers of moral ambiguity, a tireless explorer of that darkly contradictory no-man's-land."
Los Angeles Times

"Brilliant. Realistic. Constant suspense...excellent writing."
Observer (London)



"Intelligent, thrilling, surprising ... makes most cloak-and-dagger stuff taste of cardboard." ― Sunday Telegraph (London)

"Brilliant. Realistic. Constant suspense." ― Observer (London)

"The greatest spy novelist of all time ... astounding works of the imagination. -- Jake Kerridge" ― Daily Telegraph (London)

"Brilliant, popular, intelligent, thrilling, suspenseful, angry, original, masterful writing. Can't be topped." -- Armando Iannucci

"An extraordinary writer who brought literary lustre and lived insight to the spy yarn." -- Ian Rankin

"One of those writers who will be read a century from now." -- Robert Harris

"His Smiley novels are key to understanding the mid-20th century." -- Margaret Atwood

"What Joseph Conrad started, John le Carré enshrined and made modern. That is the real achievement of his great novels and why they will endure ... we should see him as our contemporary Dickens." -- William Boyd ― New Statesman (London)



JOHN LE CARRÉ was born in 1931. For six decades he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the university of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence, in MI5 and MI6. He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, and Smiley’s People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. Silverview is his twenty-sixth novel. John le Carré died on December 12, 2020. View titles by John le Carré
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About

The first of his peerless novels of Cold War espionage and international intrigue, Call for the Dead is also the debut of John le Carré's masterful creation George Smiley.

"Go back to Whitehall and look for more spies on your drawing boards."

George Smiley is no one's idea of a spy—which is perhaps why he's such a natural. But Smiley apparently made a mistake. After a routine security interview, he concluded that the affable Samuel Fennan had nothing to hide. Why, then, did the man from the Foreign Office shoot himself in the head only hours later? Or did he?

The heart-stopping tale of intrigue that launched both novelist and spy, Call for the Dead is an essential introduction to le Carré's chillingly amoral universe.

Praise

“A subtle and acute story of counterespionage marked by restraint, indirection, and intelligence.”
—The New York Times Book Review


"[Le Carré] is one of our great writers of moral ambiguity, a tireless explorer of that darkly contradictory no-man's-land."
Los Angeles Times

"Brilliant. Realistic. Constant suspense...excellent writing."
Observer (London)



"Intelligent, thrilling, surprising ... makes most cloak-and-dagger stuff taste of cardboard." ― Sunday Telegraph (London)

"Brilliant. Realistic. Constant suspense." ― Observer (London)

"The greatest spy novelist of all time ... astounding works of the imagination. -- Jake Kerridge" ― Daily Telegraph (London)

"Brilliant, popular, intelligent, thrilling, suspenseful, angry, original, masterful writing. Can't be topped." -- Armando Iannucci

"An extraordinary writer who brought literary lustre and lived insight to the spy yarn." -- Ian Rankin

"One of those writers who will be read a century from now." -- Robert Harris

"His Smiley novels are key to understanding the mid-20th century." -- Margaret Atwood

"What Joseph Conrad started, John le Carré enshrined and made modern. That is the real achievement of his great novels and why they will endure ... we should see him as our contemporary Dickens." -- William Boyd ― New Statesman (London)



Author

JOHN LE CARRÉ was born in 1931. For six decades he wrote novels that came to define our age. The son of a confidence trickster, he spent his childhood between boarding school and the London underworld. At sixteen he found refuge at the university of Bern, then later at Oxford. A spell of teaching at Eton led him to a short career in British Intelligence, in MI5 and MI6. He published his debut novel, Call for the Dead, in 1961 while still a secret servant. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, and Smiley’s People. At the end of the Cold War, le Carré widened his scope to explore an international landscape including the arms trade and the War on Terror. His memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel, was published in 2016 and the last George Smiley novel, A Legacy of Spies, appeared in 2017. Silverview is his twenty-sixth novel. John le Carré died on December 12, 2020. View titles by John le Carré

Rights

Available for sale exclusive:
•     Guam
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     North Mariana
•     Philippines
•     Puerto Rico
•     Samoa,American
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA

Available for sale non-exclusive:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahrain
•     Belarus
•     Benin
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cape Verde
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Djibouti
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Ethiopia
•     Faroe Islands
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Georgia
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guatemala
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Iceland
•     Indonesia
•     Ivory Coast
•     Japan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Lebanon
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Morocco
•     Myanmar
•     Nepal
•     New Caledonia
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     Saint Martin
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Sint Maarten
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     St Barthelemy
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tunisia
•     Turkmenistan
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Yemen

Not available for sale:
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Australia
•     Austria
•     Bahamas
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belgium
•     Belize
•     Bermuda
•     Botswana
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
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•     Brunei
•     Bulgaria
•     Cameroon
•     Canada
•     Cayman Islands
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Croatia
•     Cyprus
•     Czech Republic
•     Denmark
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•     Egypt
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•     Falkland Islnds
•     Fiji
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•     Germany
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•     Greenland
•     Grenada
•     Guernsey
•     Guyana
•     Hungary
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•     Israel
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•     Jamaica
•     Jersey
•     Jordan
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Kuwait
•     Latvia
•     Lesotho
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Malta
•     Mauritius
•     Montserrat
•     Mozambique
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     Netherlands
•     New Zealand
•     Nigeria
•     Pakistan
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Romania
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Singapore
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     Spain
•     Sri Lanka
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     Sudan
•     Swaziland
•     Sweden
•     Tanzania
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Turkey
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
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•     United Kingdom
•     Vanuatu
•     Western Samoa
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe