
"John le Carre, the pseudonym under which David Cornwell (1931-2020) wrote novels that redefined spy fiction and revealed the darkest, brightest, and most ambiguous sides of the pre- and post-Cold War world, made a mistake in 1974 that became a lifelong professional lesson. During a conversation about Hong Kong with a journalist friend who knew the area, the author was warned that a tunnel connected the island to Kowloon Airport in mainland China."
"However, Le Carre had just submitted for publication one of his most acclaimed books, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, in which one of the characters uses a ferry to make the journey. The writer had based the story on a travel guide. Obsessed by that mistake, he traveled to the site, personally walked through the tunnel several times, and changed the text of that scene. Much to his chagrin, the correction of the anachronism didn't make it into the first edition."
"In the jargon of the British intelligence services, MI5 and MI6, the term tradecraft refers to the skills, processes, and methods of modern espionage. Le Carre, who worked for both organizations for a time, also used the word in his novels. It therefore makes perfect sense that the Bodleian Library, one of the oldest and largest in Europe, in the university city of Oxford, has decided to title its new exhibition John le Carre; Tradecraft."
John le Carré made a professional mistake in 1974 when a Hong Kong tunnel connecting the island to Kowloon Airport contradicted a scene in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy that used a ferry. He had relied on a travel guide, was warned by a journalist friend, then travelled to the site, walked the tunnel repeatedly, and changed the scene; the correction did not appear in the first edition. The mistake taught him that fiction required firsthand investigation rather than desk-bound research. The term tradecraft—MI5/MI6 jargon for espionage skills—features in his work and titles a Bodleian Library exhibition. He studied modern languages at Lincoln College, worked for MI5, and bequeathed 1,200 boxes to Oxford.
Read at english.elpais.com
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