- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
Infobox Book |
name = The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
image_caption = Cover for the Victor Gollancz first edition
author =John le Carré
country =United Kingdom
language = English
cover_artist =
genre = Spy Novel
publisher =Victor Gollancz & Pan
release_date = September,1963
media_type = Print (Hardback andPaperback )
pages = 256 pages (Hardback edition) &
240 pages (Paperback edition)
isbn = ISBN 0-575-00149-6 (Hardback edition) &
ISBN 0-330-20107-7 (Paperback edition)
preceded_by =A Murder of Quality
followed_by =The Looking-Glass War "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1963), by
John le Carré is a Cold War spy novel famous for its intricate plot and its portrait of the West's espionage methods as inconsistent with Western values. In 1965, Martin Ritt directed a cinematic adaptation, withRichard Burton as protagonistAlec Leamas , British secret agent.The novel received excellent reviews and was a best selling book; in 2006, "
Publishers Weekly " named it "best spy novel of all-time". [cite web | title=Publishers Weekly list | last= | first= | work=top 15 spy novels | url=http://www.crimefictionblog.com/2006/09/top_15_spy_nove.html | date= | accessdate= ] [cite web | title=Publishers Weekly list | last= | first= | work=spy vs spy vs spy | url=http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2006/09/spy-vs-spy-vs-spy.html | date= | accessdate= ]Characters in "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold"
*Alec Leamas: A British field agent in charge of East German espionage.
*Hans-Dieter Mundt: Leader of the East German spy agency and Leamas's nemesis.
*Fiedler: East German spy, second in command to Mundt
*Liz Gold: English librarian and member of the Communist Party
*Control: Head of British Intelligence
*George Smiley : British spy, supposedly retired
*Peter Guillam : British spy
*Karl Riemeck: East German bureaucrat turned British spyAwards and nominations
Le Carré's book won a 1963
Gold Dagger award from the British Crime Writers Association for Best Crime Novel. Two years later the US edition was awarded theEdgar Award from theMystery Writers of America for Best Mystery Novel. It was the first work to win the award for Best Novel from both mystery writing organizations.Screenwriters
Paul Dehn andGuy Trosper , who adapted the book for the 1965 movie, received an Edgar the following year for Best Motion Picture Screenplay for an American movie.In 2005, the fiftieth anniversary of the Dagger Awards, "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" was awarded the "Dagger of Daggers," a one-time only award given to the Golden Dagger winner regarded as the stand-out among all fifty winners over the history of CWA. Also that year, the novel was selected as one of the "All-TIME 100 Novels" by
TIME Magazine .Grossman, Lev. [http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/0,24459,the_spy_who_came_in_from_the_cold,00.html All-TIME 100 Novels] ,TIME Magazine , 2005. Retrieved 29 Oct. 2007.]Footnotes
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