le Carré

American  

[luh ka-rey] / lə kæˈreɪ /

noun

1. John David John Moore Cornwell, 1931–2020, English author of spy novels.

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Le Carré British  

/ lə ˈkæreɪ /

noun

1. John, real name David John Cornwell. born 1931, English novelist, esp of spy thrillers such as The Spy who came in from the Cold (1963), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), Smiley's People (1980), The Tailor of Panama (1996), and The Mission Song (2006)

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Example Sentences

Simon Cornwell, executive producer of the popular spy series, said his late father John le Carré "could never quite shake the character of his father off" when writing the book's villain, Roper.

From BBC • Feb. 2, 2026

The spy-thriller miniseries “The Night Manager,” based on the John le Carré novel, won over critics and audiences when it aired way back in 2016.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025

Like John le Carré, he creates his own jargon: safe houses are “coops,” spycraft is “artifice,” freelance agents are “units” and deep-cover moles are “termites.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 12, 2025

In the interview, Adam shares how he managed to land such an exciting project and how he was granted so much access to le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2024

The slipperiness of truth is documentary filmmaker Errol Morris’ central subject, as it was for David Cornwell, who wrote our greatest spy novels under the pen name John le Carré.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2023