Far more friction than fiction in John Le Carré’s troubled childhood

JOHN LE CARRÉ is David Cornwell’s penname. The world’s most famous spy thriller writer has given Adam Sisman access to his private papers and some 50 hours of interview time to write his biography. 

One wonders why he invited such intrusion.

At one stage during the project, Le Carré writes to Sisman: “I know it’s supposed to be warts and all, but so far as I can gather it’s going to be all warts and no all.”