John le Carré Quotes

1931–2020 England

John le Carré is the pen-name of David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 1931 – 12 December 2020), who was a British writer of spy novels and a former spy himself.

England
Educators
Novelists

Also known as: David John Moore Cornwell, John Le Carré

Random John le Carré quote

62 quotes

But so many men learnt strength during the war, learnt terrible things, and put aside their knowledge with a shudder when it ended.

A Murder of Quality (1962)

Such an effort being with people—on stage all the time.

A Murder of Quality (1962)

The fact that you can only do a little is no excuse for doing nothing.

A Most Wanted Man (2008)

He possessed, however, that persistent inquisitiveness which for journalists and lawyers is an end in itself.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)

I thought it would be valuable to record the events—even if they did not take place.

Call for the Dead (1961)

If they do not know what they want, how can they be so certain they are right?

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)

I read a story once about a poet who bathed himself in cold fountains so that he could recognise his own existence in the contrast.

A Murder of Quality (1962)

Intelligence work has one moral law—it is justified by results.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)

Chic, that’s what he is—a barmaid’s dream of a real gentleman.

Call for the Dead (1961)

Power expands through the distribution of secrecy.

The middle gear of any man is self-discipline.

The Mission Song (2006)

I shall have to wear the special grin I reserve for bearing really disastrous tidings.

Call for the Dead (1961)

He was one of those world-builders who seem to do nothing but destroy: that’s all.

Call for the Dead (1961)

The English! The rich have eaten your future and your poor have given them the food—that’s what’s happened to the English.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)

It was no use relating reports to probability when there was no quantum of knowledge from which to start.

A Murder of Quality (1962)

Was she really so angry when Stella refused to take part in the rat race of gentility?

A Murder of Quality (1962)

He knew how intelligent men could be broken by the stupidity of their superiors.

Call for the Dead (1961)

Sometimes she thought Alec was right—you believed in things because you needed to; what you believed in had no value of its own, no function.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963)

Luck's just another word for destiny...either you make your own or you're screwed.

The Mission Song (2006)

He had the nerve not to drink in a University where you proved your manhood by being drunk most of your first year.

Call for the Dead (1961)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: John le Carré (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.