John Le Carré

Writer

Name at birth: David John Moore Cornwell

John Le Carré is the nom de plume of David Cornwell, the author of literary spy novels with labyrinthine plots and an air of disillusionment. While in the British Foreign Service in the early '60s, Cornwell began writing novels. He wrote three books while in the spy business, but retired from service after his Cold War novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1963), became an international bestseller. He's churned out best-selling novels ever since and is often compared to writer Graham Greene. Le Carré's trilogy of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) and Smiley's People (1980) was the basis for a successful 1982 British television show (with Alec Guinness as Smiley). Films made of his novels include The Little Drummer Girl (1984, starring Diane Keaton), The Russia House (1990, starring Sean Connery), The Tailor of Panama (2001, starring Pierce Brosnan) and The Constant Gardener (2005, starring Ralph Fiennes).

Extra credit: Le Carré is often compared with British novelist Graham Greene... For a complete filmography from the Internet Movie Database, go here.

Famous real-life spies include Kim Philby, Aphra Behn and Benedict Arnold.