The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: John le Carre
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Spy
- Time of Work: The early 1960’s
- Setting: London, Berlin, and East Germany
- 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
Characters Discussed
Alec Leamas, a British spy, about fifty years old and a loner. Leamas, the former head of a network of undercover agents operating out of Berlin, is directed by British Intelligence to stage a fake defection and bring about the downfall of Hans-Dieter Mundt, a top East German agent. Tough-minded and cynical, Leamas has long avoided the moral and ethical questions raised by his work, adopting the unspoken philosophy of his profession that any action is justified if it achieves the desired results. Divorced and the father of children he rarely sees, Leamas is...
[The entire page is 586 words long]
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