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The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas

BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

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The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas

By: John le Carré
Narrated by: full cast, Simon Russell Beale
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About this listen

The complete collection of acclaimed BBC Radio dramas based on John le Carré's best-selling novels, starring Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley. With a star cast including Kenneth Cranham, Eleanor Bron, Brian Cox, Ian MacDiarmid, Anna Chancellor, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan, these enthralling dramatisations perfectly capture the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, thrilling spy novels. 'Call for the Dead' is the first Smiley novel, which sees him looking into an apparent suicide only to uncover a murderous conspiracy; 'A Murder of Quality' finds Smiley investigating a murder in a private school; 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' introduces Alec Leamas, a British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters; 'The Looking Glass War' features former spy Fred Leiser, lured back from retirement to investigate a claim that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border; 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' is the first book in the Karla trilogy, and sees Smiley searching for a mole who has infiltrated the Circus; 'The Honourable Schoolboy' sees Smiley determined to destroy his nemesis, Karla, and his spy networks; 'Smiley's People' finds George Smiley called out of retirement to exorcise some Cold War ghosts from his clandestine past; and 'The Secret Pilgrim' sees Smiley invited to dine with the eager new recruits at the Circus. He offers them his thoughts on espionage and, in doing so, prompts a former colleague to re-examine his own eventful secret life.

©2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
Espionage Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense Exciting Funny

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Editor reviews

"A radio triumph...Simon Russell Beale's pitch-perfect master spy." ( Financial Times)
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The BBC does great radio adaptations of well known novels and this ranks alongside The Lord of the Rings, War and Peace and Asimov's Foundation Trilogy as one of the best.
A good introduction to the Smiley series for those new to Le Carre and tasty comfort food for fans like myself who know his books well.

BBC radio adaptation at its best

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listened during a long car journey. very pleased that I had picked this performance. such a great snap shot of the books that I have read and enjoyed even more.

A really great set of books very well performed

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favourites being TTSS and Smiley's People. Great professional production! The cast are great, all of them, and fully convey the story and characters.

Great dramatisation!

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The production is somewhat let down by the poor imitation foreign accents. The Honourable Schoolboy stands out in this regard but I suppose the casting is of its time and a more diverse cast would be employed these days. Otherwise these are brilliant. Simon Russell Beale IS George Smiley.

Classic Le Carre

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I have no idea if le Carré was a spy but he tells a good yarn well !
You forget the James Bond heroics as you sink into your fireside chair and become absorbed by Smiley. His cunning and intellect is offset by his devotion and weakness for his tormentor ; Anne !!!!!

Get lost in the maze of espionage

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This is a brilliant series, the BBC at its very best . The characterisation is perfect.

Great

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good acting faithful to the books, some changes, but well done. easy to listen to

excellent production

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The cast and adaptation of some of John Le Carre classic stories and characters make this a highly enjoyable listen.

Highly Enjoyable Adaptation

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Hard to know what to say that hasn't already been said. One of the greatest series of radio plays ever to have been recorded.

There are some slight changes made from the source material here and there and of course a great deal has had to be revised to fit in the 2+ hours allotted to each play, but for the most part the raw narrative is still there and as great as ever.

I would actually advise those not so familiar with the books to start with this first, it will give you a superb outline of each story without a lot of the 'filler' so many readers of Le Carre struggle with on a first read.

I just love them. The performances and direction are impeccable. As good as audio drama has ever and will ever be.

Just superb

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This set is easily worth more than just one credit. Its beautifully dramatised and brings the books to life ( literally and figuratively). Another great production from the BBC

Excellent series.

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