John le Carré

John le Carré, the pen name of David John Moore Cornwell (1931–2020), was a British-Irish novelist and former intelligence officer whose literary career reshaped the spy novel. Educated at the University of Bern and Oxford, he served in both MI5 and MI6 before turning to fiction, where his third novel, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, became a global bestseller. Over six decades, he published 26 novels and a memoir, many adapted into acclaimed films and television series. Known for his morally complex characters and piercing insight into espionage and power, le Carré earned international literary honors while choosing to remain outside the British honors system. He died in Cornwall in 2020.