Publication Order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Call for the Dead | 1961 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 2 | A Murder of Quality | 1962 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 3 | The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | 1963 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 4 | The Looking Glass War | 1965 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 5 | Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy | 1974 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 6 | The Honourable Schoolboy | 1977 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 7 | Smiley’s People | 1979 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 8 | The Secret Pilgrim | 1990 | John le Carré | Buy |
| 9 | A Legacy of Spies | 2017 | John le Carré | Buy |
The George Smiley series are the quintessential spy novels of the Cold War era by John le Carré. George Smiley is the unassuming master spy of British intelligence, a man whose quiet demeanor, thick glasses, and soft-spoken courtesy mask a razor-sharp intellect and unparalleled understanding of deception.
Smiley’s world is one of betrayal within betrayal, where the threat from Soviet intelligence is matched by the danger of moles within British agencies. The most famous Smiley novels form the Karla trilogy, following Smiley’s pursuit of his Soviet counterpart through decades of cat-and-mouse games. These novels established le Carré as the master of realistic espionage fiction, far removed from the gadget-filled exploits of James Bond.
The Smiley stories offer a bleak view of the spy world where loyalty is fragile, betrayals cut deepest when they come from within, and the toll of secrets weighs heavily on those who keep them. Through Smiley’s eyes, le Carré presents espionage not as glamorous adventure but as a hard, lonely business of deception and counter-deception that exacts a terrible price.