Britain grapples with anxieties about national decline, Russian interference, and strained relations with the U.S., themes that echo through "The Taper Man," a new spy thriller set in the universe created by the late John le Carré and written by his son, Nick Harkaway.
The novel, published this week in the U.K. and on Nov. 17 in the U.S., revisits the world of British spymaster George Smiley. "The Taper Man" sends Smiley to the U.S. in 1965, pursuing a Soviet agent and navigating a cultural clash with "The Cousins," le Carré's fictionalized CIA.
Harkaway, whose real name is Nicholas Cornwell, is the younger of John le Carré's four sons. "The Taper Man" is his second novel in the le Carré canon since his father's death in 2020. His 2024 novel, "Karla's Choice," reintroduced Smiley to readers.
"Every review of 'Karla's Choice' began with the words, 'I really expected to hate this novel, and I didn't,'" Harkaway told The Associated Press, acknowledging the risk of altering a beloved literary universe. His father, a former MI6 agent, wrote under the pen name John le Carré.
Harkaway, previously known for sci-fi thrillers like "The Gone-Away World," felt a pull toward his father's espionage world. He described hearing Smiley's voice from a young age, as his father would read aloud from works in progress. "While I was acquiring language, I was getting Smiley 90 minutes, 2 hours a day," Harkaway said.
His editor, Edward Kirke, noted that "The Taper Man" is infused with the le Carré spirit, possessing "profound intelligence and this beautiful moral murkiness."
Set two years after le Carré's "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold," the new novel places Smiley in California. This setting allows Harkaway to offer a "mouse-eye view" of Los Angeles, a landscape seemingly as foreign to Smiley as the moon. Harkaway contrasts the subtle observation favored by British intelligence with the more aggressive methods of "The Cousins," whom he describes as "warriors in this Cold War, not shadows."
Harkaway believes writing a Cold War story in 2026 offers a unique perspective, akin to "writing in the mirror." He noted that the global situation contains "weirdly the same in some slightly alarming ways, it's weirdly different in some alarming ways," with many contemporary discussions mirroring those of the past.
The novel also brings back characters from le Carré's works, including the spy chief Control and the MI6 agent Roy Bland. Harkaway emphasized that le Carré created characters with depth, where even minor figures had an "interior life."
Le Carré's work often served as an antidote to the glamour associated with James Bond, demystifying espionage. Harkaway explained that his father aimed to show that intelligence officers, while capable of reshaping nations, were ordinary people subject to human flaws and that "intelligence work is a lottery, is a cock up, is a mess."
The le Carré universe continues to expand beyond literature. Harkaway's brothers manage a production company responsible for adaptations like "The Night Manager" and the upcoming series "Legacy of Spies," starring Matthew Macfadyen as Smiley.
Harkaway is currently writing at least one more Smiley novel, also set in the 1960s. Discussions are underway within the family about potentially inviting other authors to contribute to the "Smileyverse" in the future, with Harkaway suggesting a need for writers with "great prose" and a degree of anger, and expressing openness to a female author taking on the mantle.