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A Legacy of Spies

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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of A Legacy of Spies by John le Carré, read by Tom Hollander.

Chosen as a Book of the Year in The Times Literary Supplement, the Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, The Times

'A brilliant novel of deception, love and trust to join his supreme cannon' Evening Standard

'Vintage le Carré. Immensely clever, breathtaking. Really, not since The Spy Who Came in from the Cold has le Carré exercised his gift as a storyteller so powerfully and to such thrilling effect' John Banville, Guardian


Peter Guillam, former disciple of George Smiley in the British Secret Service, has long retired to Brittany when a letter arrives, summoning him to London. The reason? Cold War ghosts have come back to haunt him. Intelligence operations that were once the toast of the Service are to be dissected by a generation with no memory of the Berlin Wall. Somebody must pay for innocent blood spilt in the name of the greater good . . .

'Utterly engrossing and perfectly pitched. There is only one le Carré. Eloquent, subtle, sublimely paced' Daily Mail

'Splendid, fast-paced, riveting' Andrew Marr, Sunday Times

'Remarkable. Vintage John le Carré. It gives the reader, at long last, pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that have been missing for 54 years. Like wine, le Carré's writing has got richer with age. Don't wait for the paperback' The Times

'Perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the 20th century in Britain. He's in the first rank' Ian McEwan

'One of those writers who will be read a century from now' Robert Harris

Espionage Fiction Psychological Spies & Politics Suspense Thriller & Suspense Exciting Crime England Law Thriller

Critic reviews

He can communicate emotion, from sweating fear to despairing love, with terse and compassionate conviction. Above all, he can tell a tale. Formidable equipment for a rare and disturbing writer
I have re-read The Spy Who Came In From The Cold over and over again since I first encountered it in my teens, just to remind myself how extraordinary a work of fiction can be (Malcolm Gladwell)
He's one of those writers who will be read a century from now (Robert Harris)
The best spy story I have ever read (Graham Greene on The Spy Who Came In From The Cold)
Perhaps the most significant novelist of the second half of the 20th century in Britain. He will have charted our decline and recorded the nature of our bureaucracies like no one else has. He's in the first rank (Ian McEwan)
A literary master for a generation (Observer)
All stars
Most relevant
A thought provoking somewhat melancholic quest for understanding. Gripping in the intensity of lies and truths. Tom Hollander's narration is magnificent.

Gripping

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Would you listen to A Legacy of Spies again? Why?

Yes I would listen again, the clever way it answers questions you never thought to ask. Setting earlier stories in a wider context.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Legacy of Spies?

The realisation that we had only reading a very small contained parts of Smiley's war.

What about Tom Hollander’s performance did you like?

Great pace. Really took you back to a time when we all did not have access to immediate information from the internet or mobile devices and relied on what you could see and feel.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just made me reflect how little things have changed, and the debt we owe to those who came before us whether we agree with them or not.

Very Clever very LeCarre

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This is an excellent novel brought even more to life by Tom Hollander's narration. I liked Michael Jayston's narration on the previous books, but Tom's performance telling the story from the perspective of Peter Guillen was superb.

Great story and great narration

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Tom Hollander has an amazingly calm way of story telling. Great twisting story full of believable characters.

the great teller of stories.

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A worthy end to the Smiley saga. Beautifully written and superbly read by Tom Hollander, Gripped, couldn't stopped listening. Wonder if they'll make a TV series..........

Wonderful!

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