- Cambridge Circus, London
Cambridge Circus is a
London traffic intersection (not actually a roundabout) at the intersection ofShaftesbury Avenue andCharing Cross Road . The Palace Theatre is located on the west side of the junction.In several of the
spy novel s written byJohn le Carré and featuring the characterGeorge Smiley (for example, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy "), theSecret Intelligence Service is referred to as "The Circus" because of its supposed location at Cambridge Circus. This name and location are a case of artistic licence on the part of John le Carré. At the time the novels in question were written, the actual SIS HQ was Century House, a modern office block in Lambeth.The junction is situated about halfway between
Tottenham Court Road tube station (atSt Giles' Circus ) andLeicester Square . The more famousOxford Circus is much farther away.
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