Readers of the recently published book A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré (2023) may have been intrigued by a brief reference to a letter that the acclaimed spy novelist wrote to John Margetson, a former colleague from the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), on 15 June 1969. Outlining several creative projects in development, le Carré briefly notes that he had ‘finished a 1½ hour television play the other day.’[1] But although A Private Spy elsewhere provides copious footnotes to explain various obscure references, here there is none. What, we might wonder, was the play about? And was it ever produced?
Fascinating longread about something I had no idea existed. We all have forgotten stuff in our wake, but this seems a big thing to have fallen down a memory hole.
I’m also nicking the screenshot below, because I love it:
