259:, Rick; to his early years at school and university; to his amorous adventures, to his introduction to espionage and state secrets; and to his encounters with long-time friend and Czech spy Axel. The portraits reveal Pym as a man who for so long has manipulated his appearance to those closest to him that, in the end, he was unable to hold together the conflicting personae within him. Magnus Pym has been a perfect spy, but at the cost of his soul.
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where Magnus is ostensibly a diplomat and also a spy, living with his wife Mary who assists with diplomatic matters and their son Tom. After returning to
England to attend his father's funeral, Pym mysteriously disappears. As his fellow intelligence officers frantically search for him it becomes
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The non-linear narrative cuts back and forth between the present-day manhunt for Pym (being conducted by his mentor, boss, and longtime friend, Jack
Brotherhood), and Pym's first-person reminiscences of his life as, in hiding, he writes a
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about the mental and moral dissolution of a high-level intelligence-officer. Major aspects of the novel are lifted from the life of the author, including the relationship between the protagonist, Magnus Pym, and his father Rick Pym.
298:, London organised crime figures. He made and lost several fortunes through elaborate confidence schemes, and was jailed for insurance fraud. Le Carré's relationship with his father was troubled, and he has said:
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In 1993, a BBC radio adaptation in eight parts by Rene
Basilico was broadcast, with James Fox as Magnus Pym, James Grout as Jack Brotherhood, Brenda Bruce as Miss Dubber and Harriet Walter as Mary Pym.
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secret service. Although intrigue, wit, and suspense make up much of the novel, the story of Magnus Pym is partly an unadorned recollection of his childhood and memories of his father Rick Pym.
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A large part of the novel is a thinly disguised account of le Carré's own early life. Before he became a novelist, David
Cornwell (John le Carré) was an intelligence officer for
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explaining to his family and friends why he betrayed his country. It incorporates flashbacks to Pym's childhood with his father, the enterprising charismatic rogue and
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Rick Pym, the charismatic con man father of Magnus in the novel, is based on le Carré's father, Ronnie
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In an audiobook recording of John le Carré reading aloud an abridged version of this book, he introduces the work as "
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of little education, immense charm, extravagant tastes, but no social value", and associate of the
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clear that, throughout most of his career, Magnus worked as a spy for the
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of the
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is probably what a very wise shrink would have advised me to do anyway."
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calls it "the book that is and may always be Le Carré's masterpiece".
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Le Carré, John; Matthew Joseph
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In 2017, a radio adaptation of the same name was produced by
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said it was "the best
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263:Autobiographical aspects
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311:Literary significance
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90:Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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338:was produced by the
281:University of Oxford
238:. The book opens in
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1152:The Incongruous Spy
1061:A Murder of Quality
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895:Our Kind of Traitor
855:Single & Single
735:A Murder of Quality
273:University of Berne
177:PR6062.E33 L43 1986
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