A Perfect Spy (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: John le Carre
- First Published: 1986
- Type of Work: Espionage
- Time of Work: The early 1930’s to the 1980’s
- Setting: England, Switzerland, Vienna, Washington, D.C., and Czechoslovakia
- Principal Characters: Magnus Pym, Mary Pym, Richard Thomas “Rick” Pym, Tom Pym, Jack Brotherhood, Axel Hampel (Petz or Zaworski), Grant Lederer III, Annie Lippsie Lippschitz, Miss Dubber
- Genres: Long fiction, Mystery and detective literature, Spy fiction
- Subjects: Politics, Love or romance, Twentieth century, Betrayal, Friendship, England or English people, Washington, D.C., Mysteries, Truthfulness and falsehood, Adventure, Intelligence service, Switzerland or Swiss people, Vienna, Czechoslovakia or Czechoslovakians
- Locales: England, Washington, D.C., Vienna, Austria, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia
The Novel
In John le Carré’s A Perfect Spy, narrative technique, theme, and plot are inextricably related. At the novel’s beginning, Magnus Pym, under the name of Mr. Canterbury, has retreated to a rooming house on the English coast in order to write, though one does not know until the novel’s end how desperate a retreat this is. For years, Magnus has been wanting to retire from his work in British espionage and the diplomatic post that is his cover, and write a novel. His father’s death gives him an unexpected leave of absence and also the impetus to write not...
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