The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
"The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" is a seminal espionage novel by John le Carré, published in 1963. Set during the Cold War, the story follows Alec Leamas, a disillusioned British spy whose network in East Germany collapses after the death of his last agent. Facing the end of his career, Leamas is drawn into a counterespionage scheme orchestrated by his superiors at the British Secret Intelligence Service, known as the Circus. He is instructed to feign defection to East Germany, leading him into a complex web of political intrigue involving various intelligence agencies.
As Leamas navigates his precarious new life, he forms a romantic relationship with Liz Gold, a fellow worker, which becomes increasingly complicated amidst the espionage backdrop. The narrative explores themes of betrayal, morality, and the often grim realities of spying. Ultimately, the plot culminates in a tragic climax that underscores the uncertainties and sacrifices inherent in the world of intelligence. Le Carré’s novel is notable for its intricate character development and its critical perspective on the ethics of espionage, making it a thought-provoking read for those interested in the darker aspects of international politics and human relationships.
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The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré
First published: 1963
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Espionage
Time of plot: c. 1960
Locale: England, especially London and environs; the Netherlands; Berlin, East Germany
Principal characters
Alec Leamas , career British espionage officerKarl Riemeck , British-run German agentGeorge Smiley , retired British spymasterElizabeth “Liz” Gold , library worker, member of the British Communist party, and friend and lover of Alec LeamasBill Ashe , recruiter for East German intelligenceComrade Fiedler , Jewish deputy head of East Germany’s Abteilung (espionage agency)Hans-Dieter Mundt , head of the Abteilung
The Story:
Alec Leamas is a burned-out British espionage officer who has been in charge of running spies in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). When his last agent, Karl Riemeck, is shot down in front of him at a border crossing, it signals the end of his network: The group of agents he has been running has been exposed by the head of the Abteilung (the East German counterespionage agency), and Leamas is sent back to England for reassignment.
The shock of Riemeck’s death and the demise of Leamas’s network appear to indicate the close of his career as a field officer, so Leamas believes that he will finally be allowed to abandon field work (“be brought in from the cold,” in the parlance of the British Secret Intelligence Service). Leamas returns to the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, nicknamed the Circus, because its headquarters is located in Cambridge Circus, London. The head of the Circus, a man known only as Control, informs Leamas that, if he is not ready for a desk job, there is another field position that may be open to him. With the collaboration of Control and the retired spymaster George Smiley, Leamas participates in a counterespionage plan to destroy the East German spies who broke apart the British network.
The plan begins when Leamas sets up an elaborate charade in which he pretends to be disgruntled with the Circus. Amid bitter recriminations, he quits his desk job, claiming that it represented an undeserved demotion. Then, his life apparently spirals out of control. He circulates through a series of jobs, drinks too much, and lives a rough lifestyle. Finally, he secures a job in the Bayswater Library for Psychic Research, where he does menial work for little cash under the eye of the librarian Miss Crail, who seems to spend much of her day complaining about Leamas to her mother over the phone.
The one bright spot in Leamas’s new existence is that he meets a young fellow worker, Liz Gold, who befriends him; the two become lovers. Although he genuinely begins to have feelings for Liz, Leamas continues to play the dissolute former spy, alcoholic and angry. He becomes violent with his local grocer, is arrested, and is sentenced to jail.
The payoff for this deception occurs upon Leamas’s release from prison, when he is befriended by an odd little man named Bill Ashe. Ashe buys him food and drinks and gives him some cash, even putting Leamas up in his apartment for a few days. Ashe is a contact for East German intelligence, and he eventually passes Leamas off to another contact, who supplies him with false identity papers, some money, and booze and sneaks him out of the country. In Holland, another agent, apparently Russian, intensively interrogates Leamas. Meanwhile, a notice appears in the British newspapers reporting his defection and implying that he has betrayed his country. Leamas is now fully committed as a defector, providing British intelligence to a foreign power for money and a berth in a neutral country.
Leamas is next transported to communist Berlin and then farther east to some sort of prison or interrogation center. There, he is questioned at some length by Fiedler, the deputy head of the Abteilung. During their sessions, the men not only discuss the secrets Leamas is supposedly selling to East Germany but also engage in philosophizing about why they do what they do. Fiedler is shocked that Leamas has no overarching belief in anything, thus echoing Liz’s similar earlier confusion. Fiedler also makes known his dislike and distrust of his superior, Mundt, and it becomes clear that he is looking for a way to implicate Mundt with British intelligence.
Mundt himself arrives, radically changing the situation. Fiedler disappears; Leamas is imprisoned, harshly interrogated, and charged with crimes against the state. He next appears in court, and during the trial it becomes apparent that Fiedler and Mundt are jockeying for power. At first Fiedler appears to be successful in using Leamas’s information against Mundt and to be winning the sympathy of the court. Mundt turns the tables on Fiedler, however, by producing Liz Gold as a witness and using her testimony against Fiedler.
It is revealed that, while Fiedler was interrogating Leamas in East Germany, Liz was offered a chance by her local Communist Party cell to visit East Germany as part of a cultural exchange program. Liz is thus in the country when Leamas is put on trial. It becomes clear that Mundt and perhaps some other unknown agency have colluded in setting up Fiedler. After the trial, Liz and Leamas appear to be in for long prison sentences, trapped behind the Iron Curtain. They are surprised, however, when an escape to the West unfolds, and they are whisked into a car and told to drive to a certain point along the Berlin Wall.
During the drive, Leamas explains to Liz what has transpired. It is now clear that British Intelligence is involved in the events that have transpired: Mundt is actually a double agent working for the British, and the Circus has grown concerned that Fiedler is getting too close to discovering the truth about his boss. Mundt’s exposure would compromise whatever is left of the British spy network in the East. The real purpose of Leamas’s mission, kept a secret from Leamas himself, was to provide Mundt with a means of discrediting Fiedler, thereby eliminating the threat to him and preserving an extremely valuable source of intelligence.
The fleeing couple is given precise instructions about how to scale the wall without detection by avoiding the searchlight and the guards. Leamas is to go first and then pull Liz after him. During the escape, however, everything goes wrong: It appears as though Liz is to be sacrificed, and only Leamas will be allowed to escape. Unable or unwilling to flee alone, Leamas crosses back onto the East German side of the wall, where he too is killed.
Bibliography
Aronoff, Myron J. The Spy Novels of John le Carré: Balancing Ethics and Politics. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. This study focuses on the ethical dilemmas faced by citizens when they become engaged in espionage.
Barley, Tony. Taking Sides: The Fiction of John le Carré. Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1986. Study of le Carré’s work, novel by novel, from The Spy Who Came in from the Cold to The Little Drummer Girl (1983).
Bloom, Clive, ed. Spy Thrillers: From Buchan to le Carré. New York: Macmillan, 1990. Overview of the history of the modern spy novel, placing le Carré in the context of the traditions of the genre.
Bold, Alan, ed. The Quest for le Carré. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988. This collection of essays covers a breadth of topics regarding le Carré’s novels; includes a chapter on narrative techniques in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.
Cobbs, John L. Understanding John le Carré. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. Series book that provides an explication of le Carré’s novels.
Hoffman, Tod. Le Carré’s Landscape. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001. Explores the relationship between writers and spies, the reality of espionage, and its mythology.
Le Carré, John. Conversations with John le Carré. Edited by Mathew J. Bruccoli and Judith S. Baughman. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004. A series of interviews with le Carré that casts light on his writing style and background.
Lewis, Peter. John le Carré. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1985. Good, short overview of le Carré’s fiction.
Monaghan, David. The Novels of John le Carré: The Art of Survival. New York: Basil Blackwell, 1985. Attempts to tie together the various novels of le Carré through a unifying and consistent imagination.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Smiley’s Circus: A Guide to the Secret World of John le Carré. London: Orbis, 1986. This encyclopedia-style book lists the various places, terms, and characters in the novels. Maps and photos included.
Sauerberg, Lars Ole. Secret Agents in Fiction: Ian Fleming, John le Carré, and Len Deighton. New York: Macmillan, 1984. Comparative study of the three most significant writers of espionage fiction of the mid-twentieth century.
Wolfe, Peter. Corridors of Deceit: The World of John le Carré. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. A topical study of the spy novels.