The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: John le Carre
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Spy thriller
- Time of Work: The early 1960’s
- Setting: London, Berlin, and East Germany
- Principal Characters: Alec Leamas, Liz Gold, Control, Karl Riemeck, Hans-Dieter Mundt, Fiedler
- Genres: Long fiction, Suspense, Spy fiction
- Subjects: 1960’s, Communism or communists, Politics, Betrayal, Trials, London, Ethics, Espionage or spies, Germany or German people, Eastern Europe or eastern Europeans, Intelligence service, Berlin
- Locales: London, England, Berlin, Germany, East Germany
The Novel
At the outset of the novel, Alec Leamas is waiting in West Berlin at the Wall for Karl Riemeck to come across. Riemeck is the only remaining spy in a network Leamas has been running successfully for some time in the East German state. Although everything has fallen apart since the promotion of Hans-Dieter Mundt to Deputy Director of Operations for the East German Secret Service, Leamas still has hope that his man will be able to reach the West. The border checks seem to be going smoothly until, at the last moment, the alarm is sounded and Riemeck is shot—several...
[The entire page is 2100 words long]
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