<i>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</i>

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

<p><i><b>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy</b></i> is a 1974 <a href="/en/Spy_fiction" title="Spy fiction" class="wl">spy novel</a> by British author <a href="/en/John_le_Carré" title="John le Carré" class="wl">John le Carré</a>. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging <a href="/en/Spymaster" title="Spymaster" class="wl">spymaster</a> <a href="/en/George_Smiley" title="George Smiley" class="wl">George Smiley</a> to uncover a Soviet <a href="/en/Mole_(espionage)" title="Mole (espionage)" class="wl">mole</a> in the British <a href="/en/Secret_Intelligence_Service" title="Secret Intelligence Service" class="mw-redirect wl">Secret Intelligence Service</a>. The novel has received critical acclaim for its complex <a href="/en/Social_commentary" title="Social commentary" class="wl">social commentary</a>—and, at the time, relevance, following the defection of <a href="/en/Kim_Philby" title="Kim Philby" class="wl">Kim Philby</a>. The novel has been adapted into both a television series and a film, and remains a staple of the <a href="/en/Spy_fiction" title="Spy fiction" class="wl">spy fiction</a> genre.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-Locke_2-0"><a href="#cite_note-Locke-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-CIA_3-0"><a href="#cite_note-CIA-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span></p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Spy novel by John le Carré</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Author, Cover&nbsp;artist, Country, Language,...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox vcard mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title" style="font-size:125%; font-style:italic; padding-bottom:0.2em;">Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy </caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/13/JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg/220px-JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="250" data-file-height="412" data-file-type="bitmap" height="363" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/13/JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg 2x" alt="JohnLeCarre_TinkerTailorSoldierSpy.jpg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">First UK edition</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Author</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/John_le_Carré" title="John le Carré" class="wl">John le Carré</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Cover<span>&nbsp;</span>artist</th><td class="infobox-data">Jerry Harpur<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Country</th><td class="infobox-data">United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Language</th><td class="infobox-data">English</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Series</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist ">
<ul><li><a href="/en/George_Smiley" title="George Smiley" class="wl">George Smiley</a></li>
<li><a href="/en/Smiley_Versus_Karla" title="Smiley Versus Karla" class="wl">The Quest for Karla</a></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Genre</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Spy_fiction" title="Spy fiction" class="wl">Spy fiction</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publisher</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Hodder_&_Stoughton" title="Hodder &amp; Stoughton" class="wl">Hodder &amp; Stoughton</a> (UK)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Publication date</div></th><td class="infobox-data">June 1974</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Media<span>&nbsp;</span>type</th><td class="infobox-data">Print (hardback &amp; paperback)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Pages</th><td class="infobox-data">355</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/ISBN_(identifier)" title="ISBN (identifier)" class="mw-redirect wl">ISBN</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1133582631" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}</style><a href="/en/Special:BookSources/0-394-49219-6" title="Special:BookSources/0-394-49219-6" class="wl">0-394-49219-6</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/OCLC_(identifier)" title="OCLC (identifier)" class="mw-redirect wl"><abbr about="#mwt21" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>Online Computer Library Center number</span>&quot;}]]}">OCLC</abbr></a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/867935" class="external text" target="_blank">867935</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;"><a href="/en/Dewey_Decimal_Classification" title="Dewey Decimal Classification" class="wl">Dewey Decimal</a></div></th><td class="infobox-data">823/.914 L456</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/LCC_(identifier)" title="LCC (identifier)" class="mw-redirect wl"><abbr about="#mwt22" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>Library of Congress Classification</span>&quot;}]]}">LC<span>&nbsp;</span>Class</abbr></a></th><td class="infobox-data">PZ4.L4526 L43 1974</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Followed<span>&nbsp;</span>by</th><td class="infobox-data"><i><a href="/en/The_Honourable_Schoolboy" title="The Honourable Schoolboy" class="wl">The Honourable Schoolboy</a><span>&nbsp;</span></i></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>
<p>In 2022, the novel was included on the "<a href="/en/Big_Jubilee_Read" title="Big Jubilee Read" class="wl">Big Jubilee Read</a>" list of 70 books by <a href="/en/Commonwealth_of_Nations" title="Commonwealth of Nations" class="wl">Commonwealth</a> authors, selected to celebrate the <a href="/en/Platinum_Jubilee_of_Elizabeth_II" title="Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II" class="wl">Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-4"><a href="#cite_note-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span></p>



Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 1974 spy novel by British author John le Carré. It follows the endeavours of taciturn, aging spymaster George Smiley to uncover a Soviet mole in the British Secret Intelligence Service. The novel has received critical acclaim for its complex social commentary—and, at the time, relevance, following the defection of Kim Philby. The novel has been adapted into both a television series and a film, and remains a staple of the spy fiction genre. In 2022, the novel was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors, selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II. 