John le Carré was born in 1931. He was educated at the Universities of Bern and Oxford, taught at Eton College and served as Second Secretary at the British Embassy in Bonn and British Consul in Hamburg during the Cold War.

His third novel, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, secured him a wide reputation, which was consolidated by his trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley's People. His recent work includes The Tailor of Panama, The Constant Gardener and The Mission Song. His latest novel, A Most Wanted Man, received widespread critical acclaim and reached the top ten of both The Sunday Times and The New York Times bestsellers lists.  

Listen to an interview with John Le Carré for the Paris Review here.