John le Carre: The writer who opened a window on the secret world

Author John Le Carre has died at the age of 89. Picture: AP Photo/Sang Tan, File

John le Carre was one of the most highly acclaimed spy novelists of our time, and arguably one of the most accurate chroniclers of Britain in the Cold War.

He brought the world of espionage – with all its secrecy, betrayal and treachery – into parallel with society, writing with the authority of a man who had lived and worked in the intelligence sphere.