The late 1960s were professionally and personally memorable for John le Carré, the nom de plume of former British Secret Service agent David Cornwell (1930-2020). After two moderately well received novels, le Carré published the international bestseller
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold(1963). He made sufficient money from this novel and from its successful film version to leave the Secret Service and devote his full efforts to writing. He would go on to publish two thrillers during the decade,
The Looking-Glass War(1965) and
A Small Town in Germany(1968), both critically well received.
However, David Cornwell’s personal life was unsettled. His marriage to Ann Sharp was precarious, in part because his professional success pulled him away from his family. During this time Cornwell
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Citation: Beene, LynnDianne. "The Naive and Sentimental Lover". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 July 2022 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=119, accessed 04 December 2024.]
