A Conversation with John le Carré

[@jejedesalpes7886]

I'm a frenchman of 38 years old, I love reading and writing. I discovered his universe 15 years ago thanks to "The Constant Gardener" and since then I kept on reading him, listening to him. We (with 30 other authors) published in France a collective book in 2018, "Cahier de L'Herne", while he published "The Legacy of Spies". These last years, I've talked with authors and journalists who had worked with him, or wrote about him. In the end of December 2020, I wrote a tribute to his memory. Now, I'm preparing a book dealing with his work as a (extraordinary) writer. Thank you for sharing this interview. Greetings from France

[@Nately22]

One of the great post-war writers. A literary giant, insightful, intelligent and a British icon. RIP David. I'll be re-reading your books and toasting your life.

[@sidehustle8396]

Beautifully put.

[@SamuelDaram]

This interview with John le Carre, just like every other one with this great novelist on You Tube, is a real treat. Thank you so much to 'pratn' for sharing it.

[@JorgePrietoNYC]

Great interview. Thanks as screenwiter a great asset listening to someone so wised in his field.

[@blueprintz1099]

I love listening to this man speak

[@CDMVIDZ]

Same. The first audiobook I ever bought was a serialized version of THE SECRET PILGRIM, read by le Carré, and I absolutely fell in love with his voice (both in the authorial sense and literally; his accents and characterizations are brilliant). I was so, so thankful that he read the complete unabridged version of his new book. Just gotta listen to it at 1.45x speed 😊

[@jefolson6989]

He sounds remarkably like Alec Guiness

[@mixerD1-]

Yep...

[@anitasmith4559]

le Carre is a mesmerizing speaker. Brilliant, articulate. I own the Criterion DVD of "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold." An added extra is commentary from le Carre about the making of the film. I've watched it many times.

[@pulsereading]

What an eloquent man! What a loss to the world his death was and what a treasure trove of creative works he's left us.

[@whatshisname3304]

i thought he sounded just like Guinness. This was alecs intention. i think.

[@diegobarreto8662]

and sweet and humble.... woowwww

[@grioulaloula8594]

RIP John LeCarre

[@bevsmith6228]

Every time I pick up one of le Carre's books, I really do experience a little frisson of excitement. I know I am going to love it; I know I am going to want to devour it whole while also wanting to make it last and last. They are like good port and fruit cake in front of a log fire. And to hear his beautiful voice talk about his work is just an absolute pleasure. Great interview, one he really seemed to relax into.

[@roo1314]

Not sure about the fruitcake.

[@simonscott1000]

I've been listening to his audio books for thirty years. On cassette, then discs, and now digitally. His voice and ability to mimic accents are a real treat.

[@CDMVIDZ]

Same! I had to buy cassette copies of the 1990 production of THE SECRET PILGRIM from eBay and then digitize them just to get back that marvelous performance of his in that book (which I'm fairly certain was my first audiobook ever), and I own the entire Michael Jayston run on Audible. What a legacy JLC has left behind.

[@jimsouth4571]

Tom Clancy, eat your heart out...

[@anotherbadseed]

Clancy was a poisonous jerk. Le Carre is a cultured human...

[@CDMVIDZ]

​@@anotherbadseedClancy was SUCH a jerk, just a miserable old prick. My father knew him and got me into a book signing at a Marine Corps dinner back in the 80s, and as a teenaged writer of espionage stories myself I was anxious to speak with him about his process. When I tried to strike up that conversation he just said, "My next book is coming out in a month, read that." Never meet your heroes. Most are dicks.

[@balham456]

This man speaks beautiful English.

[@Mrskull221B]

he's a treasure. just talking something complicated makes me feel calm.

[@NewYorkActingCoach]

Lots of people know something but have no ability to talk about it, and I think we all know we're not wasting our time as soon as he opens his mouth! He once turned me down for a small job, did so politely and directly in 5 words, and I had no feeling of being rejected at all!. And I remember his kind tone 30 years later! John Windsor-Cunningham

[@STEVEBURTON99]

Thank you for posting this. I'm curious about the date. I suspect that it was filmed before Alec Guiness did Smiley's People, because I think that John le Carré / David Cornwall would have been just as pleased with Alec Guiness' second outing as George Smiley. I'm currently re-watching portions of both here on YT. The acting, including the supporting characters, is absolutely stellar in both.

[@jackregan2523]

Fascinating background to one of the best BBC TV films ever made (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

[@jsmcguireIII]

The single most important mission of a bureaucracy, whether it is intel or road repair, is to perpetuate the bureaucracy. Paranoia is good for business in the spy game.

[@fergal2424]

Wonderful interviewer with great questions

[@martinsmith500]

I wish I was half as intelligent as this guy

[@mhikl4484]

Intelligent, is the thing, Ron. I have met many 'smart' geniuses who had great memories, and that is a not the same as true intelligence. Having it means it must be nurtured, worked to the bone, developed and expanded. Getting things easily, remembering more easily is not the same. So I am pleased your wish is for the grander gift, intelligence; but very possibly what you have is more than those who have smarts in spades. Namaste and care, mhikl

Work on it, Ron!

[@stephenloxton43]

A brilliant man and epic writer with a unique voice. He made audiobooks of his novels which will ever be valued. RIP

[@nimium1955]

Who is the excellent interviewer? Where is she now?

[@geoffreynhill2833]

Yes, she sounds nice, doesn't she?

[@TestFilms]

This interview is fantastic. Thanks for putting it up!

[@bh5606]

Passed away Dec. 12, 2020. Good interviewer.

[@internet123ism2]

RIP My favorite writer died today.

[@jejedesalpes7886]

I agree 200%... Greetings from France

[@herbertwells8757]

Certainly one of the most stimulating and intellectually engaging youtube videos I've encountered. Very enjoyable.

[@timjimmy8085]

Le Carré's argument of "constipation point" of electronic intelligence is quite on spot.

[@graveneyshipright]

A great spinner of tails and a man that can make me read and re-read his work! left the circus for the last time, Go well David.

[@yossarianmnichols9641]

Brilliant Masterpiece Theatre production, spell binding. Ian Richardson dominated every scene he was in. It was a amazing depiction of the culture of the Cambridge 5.

[@Mediumal]

A fascinating insight from an expert observer of this peculiar world of spies and spying. He is perfectly correct. There is no substitute for human intelligence.

[@Tusker78TogetherForever]

The prisons are full of them;)

[@CarlGaussX]

I read The looking glass war when a i was fourteen years old. I am 32 years old now. I fill nostalgic.

[@guidomotshagen7541]

Rest in Peace, Sir.

[@mattlohr]

I'm currently about 77 pages into SMILEY'S PEOPLE. Le Carre' is one of the greatest pure writers genre fiction has ever produced.

[@Andrew-lb1up]

RIP David John Moore Cornwell (John Le Carré)

[@PiretBCN]

This man is so calming and soothing. I want to tell him everything. Unfortunately I know nothing.

[@christianemden7637]

His Alec Guiness impersonating was perfect.

[@charlespeterson3798]

I've read and watched over and over T.T.S.S. Watched it last night. Coincidentally I was paying particular attention to the pain registered in the great man's face. Power and courage.

[@davidlean1060]

Rest easy young man. Although not a fellow countryman, I respected his objective look at what he calls 'the secret world' since his time serving the intelligence community during the cold war. He was eloquent and a gentleman anti authoritarian. I shall have to watch the BBC smiley series again in honour of the man. Say hello to Guinness when you meet him!

[@strutherhill]

Wonderful how le Carre smoothly adopts AG's voice and then reverts to his own, with no signalling whatsoever! Many thanks for posting this.

[@albertmcmullen2669]

Le Carre is a great psychologist. Would be interesting to ascertain the psychological reasons for the Cambridge spies betrayal of the nation, especially Kim Philby.

[@powerbite92]

In Philbys case he married a Jewish wife and his handler was the Fifth Man - Nathan Meyer Rothschild. You can do the math from there as to whose cause he was loyal to.

[@geoffreynhill2833]

Particularly interesting on the pecking order among the Free World allies during the Cold War, the paranoia that infested the CIA under Angleton, and the similarity of the methods of the postwar US Empire to those of the prewar British.

[@jc6594]

Happy 85th Birthday John le Carre

[@andiman45]

I liked the 2nd redux of TTSS as the acting was superb

[@charles-vq6sd]

Rip mr cornwell

[@Rosemello50]

I love this interview, but I wish he'd talk more about Feidler's character

[@charlieni645]

Was in the middle of reading Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy when the news came that he passed away. What a great author and anti-imperialist voice he was. One of the recommendations of this video is an American conservative rants and raves about his "anti-American politics" which is just *chef's kiss*. Rest in peace, my good lad.

[@kerrykikker]

Love how David describes perfectly for his English audience, the memorable voice and delivery of actor Alec Guinness... "He had this wonderful “Eeyore” voice... i.e. just like the little donkey Eeyore speaks, so gloomy and wistful, in the many recordings of A.A.Milne's 'Christopher Robin & Pooh Bear' stories. 3:28

[@rkgrant]

so articulate, so incisive in his analyses.

[@alanwhiteman1929]

An excellent interview and a real backstory of what Tinker Tailor was about.

[@dawnsalois]

he's right about information sorting. got jan 6 wrong. Pearl Harbor is the prime example. And he is right about the cost. People crack me up, thinking how much the government is watching us, honey they cant Afford it.

[@cathalmacsiurdain7762]

Lovely interview. Will be a great help when I'm rereading his work. Gets better every time.

[@JakeBrannan5499]

A lot of people are here to say how great le Carre is and how terrible Tom Clancy was. As someone who is a fan of both le Carre and Clancy, here's what I think: you can't really compare the two authors, because they were both the masters of their genres. John le Carre is the master storyteller of spy/espionage fiction, because that's mainly what his books encompassed. Clancy, on the other hand, created the "techno-thriller" novel. He never really was a spy/espionage novelist. Most of his books are highly technical in regards to military matters and specific in regards to intelligence capabilities and activities. His books involved spies, and a lot of his characters are involved in intelligence work, but his books never really read as espionage thrillers. Out of all of his books, I really only consider one to be a true espionage thriller (Cardinal of the Kremlin). So I don't know why people are hating on Clancy so much. Both he and le Carre are (were, in Clancy's case) very intelligent and captivating to listen to. Both are incredible storytellers and they both know (knew) what they were talking about. Obviously people can have their own opinions, and of course die hard le Carre fans are gonna hate on Clancy, and vice versa. Objectively speaking though, they're both great writers and masters of their genres.

[@jefolson6989]

Some like caviar, others potato chip. I like them both. Just depends on my mood.

[@jangreen5618]

Brilliant interview.

[@canvan8818]

Great interview. I love his writing and I love the films made from his work. Best ever.

[@luisortizgervasi3820]

How wise, sensible and informative this man sounds

[@jasongold6751]

Question: Is that the REAL Le Carre? may portraits all different.

[@roc7880]

You can see the quality of British education here both public and private. The logic eloquence empathy and depth. His eye and perceptions of inner world in British society was so amazing.

[@grioulaloula8594]

James Jesus Angleton was right.

[@pedroramiro94]

amazing (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy).

[@damonarvid3548]

I would recommend 21:50 on, his views on information overload and lack of human intelligence... not long after 9-11, before the true scope of intelligence failures about Saadam were widely known

[@powerbite92]

there were no intelligence failures - they told Saddam to invade, set him up, in 1990 and they finished the job in 2003. All for Israel.

[@buggyboogle9]

Excellent interview; one of the best I have seen. He is so wonderfully articulate and eloquent with a marvellous display of the English language. He's also right about choosing the ruling elite to serve in Intelligence positions. Ian Fleming was from a wealthy, upper class family, who's mother wrote to Churchill thereby securing him a job in the intelligence world. His experiences there informed his Bond books and also led him to lead a pretty hedonistic life Le Carre would have been aware of that class system within British Intelligence and to which he refers in Smiley.

[@gregsalter]

The interviewer ALMOST sounds like Beryl Reid, who of course was Connie Sachs in both Tinker Tailor and Smiley's People. Sadly, she died 6 years before this was filmed.

[@Tusker78TogetherForever]

more like Celina Scott;)

[@Tusker78TogetherForever]

tusker78 Selina Scott

[@tatyanamelnikoff9578]

i'm walking on air. genius writer. thank you for giving your talent to the world.

[@fredprice2616]

a great writer

[@us-Bahn]

Was this a Desert Island interview?

[@veo1960]

I love hearing the master. What a treat!

[@bonnie_gail]

David Cornwall aka John Le Carre

[@cormacbrissett5159]

Fascinating! Thank you vastly for uploading it!

[@Tusker78TogetherForever]

How gratifying;)

[@andreahlinka3140]

Cormac, you still kicking it NAMBLA?

[@cormacbrissett4881]

andrea hlinka Hi Cyril Koob! How are things? Is Andrea your drag name?

[@richt6353]

May he rest in peace! 2020 Dec

[@jameschavez6400]

David/JohnCornwell I Imagined He’d Been Good Actor As John Cleese’sFather

[@joeroberts2156]

Anywhere I can get a transcript of this?

[@iamhanat6135]

JOHN LEE CARRE KUALA LUMPUR MALAYSIA RESEARCH MOVIE

[@dickheadley144]

Fascinating.

[@johntobey1558]

Brilliant.

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@colterino]

Never read him. I think I'll spend the rest of my life doing so.

[@АшетМальсагова]

Респект этому мудрому и благородному человеку !!!

[@strutherhill]

Excellent interviewer. Do you know who she is, by chance?

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@rashedqureshi7437]

His Alec Guinness impression is excellent!!! :-)

[@jonnyhallam5913]

A fascinating and informative interview. Who was asking the questions?

[@SamSung-nf6tr]

My favorite. I watched it 4 times over the years.

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@rapidrhinoplumbing-monrovi3269]

This is the real deal guys, pay attention,,,

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@johnandrewmunroe]

Such a compelling presence.

[@ivanoday4635]

What IS the background of this interview? Where, when, who is this fabulous interviewer?

[@pratn]

This is from the Tinker Tailor DVD

[@iamhanat6135]

AWANITV FILM PHOTO JOHN LE CARRE FROM LEFT TO RIGHT PM MAHADIR SRI PERDANA

[@jamesmccann355]

What a wonderful gentleman.

[@runandraisans6055]

Tinker is a masterpiece of literature

[@RobCarmina]

Who is this brilliant interviewer?

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@Rickinsf]

"...private behavior..." so proper.

[@philfluther2713]

"that is because they have too much"; "the more the less".

[@iamhanat6135]

JOHN LEE CARRE VOICES STORY

[@alidabaxter5849]

I have read and reread Tinker Tailor so often that my copy of the book is falling apart. The BBC serisation of it and of Smileys People were superb and I have read this wonderful man's books for decades. I was so sad to hear of his death and am just grateful for the intelligent interviews he left behind, as well as the body of work.

[@Yamah12a]

I agree with you about the BBC series, what did you think about the film?

[@alidabaxter5849]

@@Yamah12a I cannot begin to tell you how much I hated the film. Connie, who spoke and understood Russian so perfectly, played by someone who couldn't speak decent English??? The assassination of the girl central to the betrayal of the mole taking place in front of someone who didn't know her??? Toby unrecognisable?? God knows what le Carre himself thought of it, no matter what he may have said in public. As another author once remarked, on seeing a film of her work, "One takes the money and one shouldn't".

[@Yamah12a]

@@alidabaxter5849 Kathy Burke was a strange choice for someone as elegant as Connie but there you go. I liked it the first time and my likeness of it has deteriorated every time I watch it since. The music was really good and probably one of the best things but still not a patch on the tense orchestration of the series. Im not excited for a follow up of Smiley's People as I didnt get any love or happiness following Gary Oldman as Smiley. Not bad but certainly not great. 4/10.

[@Yamah12a]

@@alidabaxter5849 What did you think of The Night Manager tv series? :)

[@alidabaxter5849]

@@Yamah12a That was of an entirely different quality. Bear in mind Gary Oldman had had nothing to do with it! It was superbly cast and acted, but I thought the ending of the book was more realistic; the tv series was how you would have liked it to end. Even so, great. By the way, if you don't mind going all the way back to the tv series of Tinker, Tailor, I thought the casting was miraculous and especially because Lady Anne had always been enigmatic to me, and the moment you saw Sian Philips you understood completely why Smiley put up with her, and why his solicitor told him that nobody would divorce Lady Anne.

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@iamhanat6135]

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[@lucu01]

Great stuff, many thanks for the upload !

[@iamhanat6135]

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[@yingyang1008]

he believes the official 911 story - lol

[@maxhaughton1964]

There is definitely a case against Hollis

[@poetcomic1]

Tinker Tailor with Alec Guinness with its truly intense climax vs. the new version with the totally suspenseless and klunky reveal.