Under the guiding hand of his sons Simon and Stephen Cornwell, John le Carré’s masterworks have found a contemporary voice.
Growing up in an almost idyllic British childhood, between homes in Hampstead in north London, and St Buryan in Cornwall, brothers Simon and Stephen Cornwell do not seem like the sons of a super spy. And yet, like many things in the smoke and mirrors world of espionage, the names never tell the whole story.
Adds Stephen: “In a way, an interesting way, our early childhood ... he was a spy, right? So in a domestic context, there is an aspect of your parent’s life that is managed. The profession is not openly talked to, and normalcy is a very carefully maintained thing,” he says. “I think, certainly, as an author within the family that was assisted by a pen name, that there was a difference between le Carré, and David Cornwell, and our dad.
And while the worlds of Bond and le Carré’s hero spy George Smiley were very different - Bond’s world was fast-paced and sexualised, while Smiley’s world was darker, more real and ethically uncertain - Simon and Stephen confess their dad enjoyed watching Bond movies. Indeed, the original Bond, actor Sean Connery, was a friend.“I think our dad watched every single Bond movie; I do remember us watching Bond movies together,” Simon says.
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the documentary is how contemporary le Carré was; he only died in 2020, and in his later years he was well versed in the complexities of modern politics. At one point he reflects on his experience as a spy, noting: “I felt that both sides, East and West, were inventing the enemy that they needed.” It is a line which could easily be used in a discussion of modern geopolitics.
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