The Honourable Schoolboy (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: John le Carre
- First Published: 1977
- Type of Work: Suspense
- Time of Work: The early 1970’s
- Setting: London, Hong Kong, Tuscany, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam
- Principal Characters: George Smiley, Jerry Westerby, Drake Ko, Liz Worthington, Nelson Ko, Peter Guillam, Connie Sachs
- Genres: Long fiction, Suspense, Spy fiction
- Subjects: 1970’s, Self-discovery, Politics, Asia or Asians, England or English people, Mysteries, Adventure, Espionage or spies, Indochina, Soviet Union or Soviets, Intelligence service, Honor
- Locales: Hong Kong, Cambodia
The Novel
John le Carré’s novel The Honourable Schoolboy, the second in the Karla trilogy, centers on the attempts of George Smiley, chief of the British Secret Service (or the “Circus” as it is known to insiders), to restore confidence in the Service by tracking down and capturing Nelson Ko, a Chinese official long ago recruited by the Soviets. Within five years, the “Dolphin Case,” as it has come to be known, has become a legendary problem for new Circus recruits. The nostalgic and ironic tone of the novel is partially created by the narrator, who attempts...
[The entire page is 2217 words long]
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