The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas: BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization

Written by John le Carré

Narrated by Full Cast and Simon Russell Beale

The complete collection of acclaimed BBC Radio dramas based on John le Carre's bestselling novels, starring Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley.

With a star cast including Kenneth Cranham, Eleanor Bron, Brian Cox, Ian MacDiarmid, Anna Chancellor, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan, these enthralling dramatisations perfectly capture the atmosphere of le Carre's taut, thrilling spy novels.

Call for the Dead is the first Smiley novel, which sees him looking into an apparent suicide only to uncover a murderous conspiracy;

A Murder of Quality finds Smiley investigating a murder in a private school;

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold introduces Alec Leamas, a British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters;

The Looking Glass War features former spy Fred Leiser, lured back from retirement to investigate a claim that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border;

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the first book in the Karla trilogy, and sees Smiley searching for a mole who has infiltrated the Circus;

The Honourable Schoolboy sees Smiley determined to destroy his nemesis, Karla, and his spy networks;

Smiley's People finds George Smiley called out of retirement to exorcise some Cold War ghosts from his clandestine past;

The Secret Pilgrim sees Smiley invited to dine with the eager new recruits at the Circus. He offers them his thoughts on espionage and, in doing so, prompts a former colleague to re-examine his own eventful secret life.

'A radio triumph...Simon Russell Beale's pitch-perfect master spy' - "Financial Times".


©2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

• Language: English
• Publisher: BBC Digital Audio
• Release date: Jun 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781785293177

John le Carré

John le Carré was born in 1931. His third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his trilogy: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; The Honorable Schoolboy; and Smiley’s People. His novels include The Constant Gardner, The Little Drummer Girl, A Perfect Spy, The Russia House, Our Game, The Tailor of Panama, and Single & Single. He lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

Reviews for The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas

[jamestomasino · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I was disappointed in this one. I'd expected so much more. It was weakly connected and many key moments felt arbitrary. Compared to Forsyth this felt amateur. I hear the later Smiley books are better, though. I'll get there with time.

[jill.mackin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Le Carre's first novel. An interesting murder mystery.

[spoko_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A fun read, and a great introduction to the Smiley series of novels. I know people generally say you can skip this one, but if you do, I think you miss a lot about Smiley's character. Plus, yeah, it is just fun to read.

[kodermike · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A quick read, this first George Smiley book is fast to hit the action and then roll like an episode of a modern thriller/mystery. Thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to reading more in the series.

[arubabookwoman · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the first George Smiley spy novel, which as noted I sought out to fulfill a need for a decent spy novel since it's been so long since the last Slow Horses novel. This was a good read, and I will read more, but this was more like a murder mystery/police procedural than a spy novel, as the spying issue seems only peripheral to the main story.

Smiley is sent to interview a civil servant, Samuel Fennon , about potential communist contacts back when he was a student. The interview goes well, and Smiley is assured there's nothing untoward about Fennon. He tells Fennon all is well. But the next day, Fennon is dead, an apparent suicide, and his wife says he was upset and fearful about the interview with Smiley. On interviewing the wife, Smiley notices things that are inconsistent with the verdict of suicide that the police seem to have reached rather quickly. Smiley begins to investigate.

This was a short quick read. There are no shoot outs or car chases, just good sleuthing. Smiley is unassuming, calm, and deliberate. I will be reading more.

3 stars

[thisisstephenbetts · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to read this book as the events in it are referenced so heavily in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (and introduces George Smiley).

This is Le Carré's first novel, and it is clear why it is not as lauded as its great successor. It is more perfunctorily competent than grippingly immediate. Even the descriptions of post-war, pre-swinging London are nowhere near as caustically vivid (staying on the historical note, though, I did enjoy his depiction of how wartime allies then became idealogical enemies).

The plot, while still in the quasi-realistic style, feels more traditional than the later book - with policemen and spies chasing up leads and finding clues - complete with red herrings and chases through the fog. It's also very short.

The story is still interesting, and the characters are convincing and nicely depicted. If you just want to find a John Le Carré book to see what he's like, this isn't the one to start with. However, if you're fairly sure you'll read more regardless then it's worth your attention; it might even be worth reading this before The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, to get some more context, but it's definitely not essential.

[therem-417856 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The first George Smiley novel, this one reads like a traditional mystery in some respects: clues are dropped judiciously, facts are withheld to increase suspense, and murders occur at regular intervals. But the character of Smiley is intriguing. A genius of deduction and spy-craft who is totally unprepossessing and unambitious, he declines a promotion at the end of the book. But I know there are many more books, so I'm curious how his career continues on from here.

[markm2315 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cornwell-Carré's first novel and the introduction of characters George Smiley, Mundt, and Peter Guillam. As other reviewers have said, it is sort of a murder mystery with spies. It is interesting to see where it all started. The germs of various themes, character traits, and character relationships are here waiting for le Carré to figure out how to develop them.

[j.e.schier · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

i'm too dumb for this shit

that's one convoluted plot, and i play metal gear games

edit: i read it again. it's good. wow almost a year to the day that i read it last

[desiree_reads · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent. Classic spy novel. Tightly written, without a lot of extra fluff.

[sean191 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I hadn't read le Carre before, but I picked this book up awhile ago so figured I should. The first chapter or two were horrendous to me, but I found myself enjoying the story as it went on. The unraveling of the mystery wasn't perfect since all the pieces weren't in front of the reader early — the best mysteries are where all the clues are there if you knew to look — but there was still enough to make it fairly smart.

[tmph_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read just about everything by le Carré, and now this. A nice little touch of the earliest Mr Smiley and early, early le Carré. Delightful in it's youthfulness in all aspects.

[stevejohnson-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is Le Carre's first novel and while it is an enjoyable read, it is a bit over-plotted. We meet his long-time hero/anti-hero, George Smiley, and begin our exploration of post World War II espionage. This is very much a detective novel, with clues piling up and each chapter ending with a new development, but Le Carre overdoes it a bit. Twice Smiley sits down with a notepad and summarizes everything he knows about the case, as though the author realizes readers may be having trouble keeping up, and in the penultimate chapter, Smiley writes a memo to file summarizing the case and wrapping up all of the loose ends. In this initial foray, Smiley seems more Sherlock Holmes and less the cynical intelligent agent of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. But we already get intimations that the higher ranks of British intelligence are not staffed with top-notch officials, and that the battle among intelligence agencies operates in a confusing gray world where motivations are not always honorable. This is an excellent introduction to Le Carre, and at a mere 128 pages, a rewarding 4-5 hour read.

[quondame · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Early Smiley, I've read several of the later books, and don't remember them with the circles and arrows pointing to the inconsistent bits of evidence, but it was long ago if only a few miles away. It was interesting being introduced to George Smiley and catch a first whiff of Ann.

[addunn3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

George Smiley tracks down the killer of an agent of the service.

[gbelik_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The first George Smiley novel. He appears fully formed, already middle aged with her career seeminly largely behind him. I enjoyed revisiting with him.

[treehorse-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Whodunnit novel which is less "who" and more "why." Drags and has a few confusing narration switches, but an enjoyable read.

[jmcilree_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Call for the Dead

Le Carré’s first novel and the first with George Smiley. Smiley is fatter and duller than the Alec Guiness version of Smiley and of the Tinker Tailer version of Smiley. The writing is not as polished as it will become and the plot is not as elegant as they will become.

It is an enjoyable read, particularly for those who are fans of Le Carré and Smiley.

[librarycin · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.25 stars

I can't really do a summary for this book, as I missed most of it. The one part that I was kind of interested in was that a man (Fennan) had supposedly killed himself, and George Smiley was asked to investigate. He seemed to think Fennan had been murdered.

I listened to the audio, and even backed up to re-listen to the first quarter of the book to try to catch what I'd missed, but it didn't help. It just did not in the least hold my interest or attention. Needless to say, I didn't like the book, beyond the bits about Fennan, which is what I gave the 1/4 star for. I'm glad the book was short.

[viking2917_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good fun. More of a detective story than a spy novel per se, but the characters are wonderful . Great insight into how Smiley became Smiley. The early parts of the book are written so smoothly the sentences just reel off.

[elicarra · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The first novel by John LeCarré and it is a wonderful book.
I read a spanish version with a horrible prologue by Carlos Pujol, the book is wonderful as all of Mr. LeCarré ´s work. Very catchy and enjoyable if your preference is mistery and spies.
It´s a must if you like the genre.

[gmmartz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

'Call for the Dead' was an auspicious beginning for a young Brit spy with the pseudonym of John LeCarre. It's not long, it doesn't move very quickly, and there's not a lot of action, but it's a great start for a writer who's still cranking out quality thrillers. A side benefit of 'Call for the Dead' is that it's the introduction of a character, George Smiley, who has populated some of the best spy fiction ever written.

The plot is similar to one or more you've encountered if you're a mystery fan. A man commits suicide, but did he really, or was he murdered? Numerous complications are present: he's employed by the secret service, he'd just been interviewed by Smiley, his wife's behavior and answers during the investigation were strange, the man left several indications that he fully expected to be around the next day, and, most mysteriously, a 'wake up' call intended for him is picked up by Smiley while at the deceased's residence after the man has obviously already died. Smiley puts on his thinking cap and, despite almost getting beat to death at one point by an East German spy who was wreaking havoc in the area, solves the mystery. It's really a fine example of how a crime can be solved simply by looking at facts .

'Call for the Dead' is LeCarre's first book, but the writing and approach both show a high level of maturity. His development of the character of George Smiley was exemplary, but my only quibble is that we didn't learn much about the supporting cast. Other than that, it's a fine short read that kicks off the career of my favorite writer in my favorite genre.

[r.e.stearns · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The to keep in mind about Call for the Dead is that it's le Carré's debut novel. The writing is a bit shocking if you, like me, read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy first. Also, it was published in 1961. If you remember those facts and enjoy British spy stories other than James Bond, you'll like this! George Smiley is about as far from James Bond and Jack Ryan as you can get without being the chick who delivers the coffee. He's also smarter than both of them put together. As an introduction to him, this book is fantastic. The plot is great and the spycraft is fun. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

[bevok-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Le Carre's deftly drawn characters and well informed books on the world of espionage should need no introduction. Yet despite watching the two BBC miniseries based on the George Smiley character I hadn't read any until I listened to this, the first book in the eight featuring George. Smiley is a fascinating character, quite opaque, quiet and undemonstrative. He is the polar opposite of James Bond yet is a superb protagonist. Le Carre's first book is well plotted and paced, gently ambling towards a conclusion. I did anticipate a couple of plot points but it was still a pleasure to seem them play out.
The audio book is excellently narrated with the characters easily distinguished and full of drama.

[john257hopper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had the good fortune to hear John Le Carre speak at an awards ceremony I attended earlier this week at the German Embassy. He spoke well about the importance of learning foreign languages, international co-operation and friendship and the catastrophic foolishness of Brexit. In consequence, I decided to try another of his novels, this is his first one, featuring George Smiley, but clearly not as well known as some of his later ones that have been made into film or other adaptations. While Call for the Dead contained the usual moral dilemmas of the spy, in this case a German Jew who had lived in Britain before the war, was persecuted by the Nazis, then spied for East Germany, I found it difficult to care for any of the characters. Oddly perhaps, I think I find novels written in (in this case) 1961 sometimes more dated and harder to get into than novels written much earlier. I recognise he is a great author, though. 3/5

[tommi180744 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Masterful thriller story-telling by the master of the British Spy story.

[katesherrod · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As I begin the last quarter of a year in which I have spent a lot of time slogging through a lot of big, bloated genre novels and their big, bloated sequels, there is something tonic and refreshing about a short, tightly plotted mid-20th century number like this one that very likely renders my enjoyment entirely out of proportion to the actual book's quality.

But perhaps not.

George Smiley has become an iconic character, at least in my little corner of the world, even without my ever having encountered him directly and consciously before now.* Tom Ripley was much the same for me, until my fangirl passion for Wim Wenders and Bruno Ganz led me to discover The American Friend, which featured Dennis Hopper as Ripley, a Ripley to which no other performance shall ever measure up, and I proceeded to gobble up all of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels in quick succession, to rush to acquire them in collectible hardcover, the better to gloat over them in my barrister bookcase...

I suspect I'll be doing the same with John le Carre, too.

Call for the Dead spends a lot of its time sort of slyly masquerading as a cozy mystery, with Smiley, ordinarily an operative for the British Secret Service in a very low key sort of way, filling the amateur detective role. A Foreign Office employee whom Smiley interviewed pro forma after an anonymous letter had identified the man as a former Communist has overreacted to said interview and killed himself in a fit of despair -- or has he? As the mystery unravels and a trail of bodies is found, a dashing and charismatic frenemy from Smiley's past surfaces. Watching Smiley sort all of this out in his methodical, thoughtful, occultly brilliant way is a genuine pleasure; so is watching his friends, one in the police and one fellow spy.

But it is the grieving widow who steals the show, as such. Elsa Feenan, Holocaust survivor, pragmatist, broken yet still strong, is a riveting figure from her first scene with Smiley, in which she effortlessly teases out his own anxieties about what he does and how he does it:

"It's like the State and the People. The state is a dream too, a symbol of nothing at all, an emptiness, a mind without a body, a game played with clouds in the sky. But States make war, don't they, and imprison people. To dream in doctrines -- how tidy! My husband and I have both been tidied now, haven't we?"

This coming just pages after a summary of Smiley's career -- which started out in the days when the spy trade barely was one, was just a loose affiliation of smart and careful people who had the wisdom to see that action on the front of a war cannot be the only action, and continued, perhaps a bit uncomfortably, into the age of professionalization and bureaucracy -- is devastating. And that scene is hardly her only bravura performance. I find myself wishing le Carre had written a series of Elsa Feenan novels in addition to, if not instead of, the Smiley ones.

But that's how good chronicles should go, isn't it? We'd tire quickly of a series in which Our Hero/point of view character is relentlessly and only what our attention is drawn to; he or she must have foes and foils, must encounter other equally interesting (if not more interesting) characters in his adventures. And by this reckoning, these Smiley novels are quickly going to become compulsive reading favorites right up there with Ripley novels, and Sharpe novels, and Aubrey/Maturin novels, and Miriam Black novels.

Hooray!

*I saw snatches of some film adaptations of Smiley novels when I was still a kid at home with my parents, but only sort of paid attention to them. Oh look, Obi-Wan is playing some sort of spy chap. Yawn. Small smile for Mom, who is enjoying the film, back to the pages of whatever Michael Moorcock or Jack Chalker or Piers Anthony mega-series had my real attention at the time. Ah, teenagers.

[pgmcc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have just finished "Call for the Dead". It is an excellent story. It is the first book written by David Cornwell under the name of John Le Carré. He would have been an intelligence officer himself at the time of writing this novel.

The book introduces Mr. Smiley whom some of you will know is the main character in some of Le Carré's later novels, such as "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Smiley's People". Smiley is portrayed superbly by Alec Guinness in the BBC's dramatizations of "Tinker, Tailor..." and "Smiley's People".

"Call for the Dead" brought me back to my boyhood, a time when fog was fog and the word smog hadn't been invented. It was the days of coal fires in every house, Bakelite telephones that rang with the sound of bells, men wore hats all the time, flying with an airline meant you had a physical ticket that you bought in a travel agents, etc... Yes, nostalgic.

Le Carré's books are always full of spy-craft and clever observations of human beings, their deceptions and their weaknesses. "Call for the Dead" is no exception.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first le Carré I have read. An excellent and thoroughly British spy mystery.

[emiliom-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Probably the best book ever written by Le Carré