In a twist worthy of his great thrillers, John le Carré, the most English of contemporary novelists, “died an Irishman”. In a BBC documentary to be broadcast on Saturday, le Carré’s son Nicholas says his father, bitterly disillusioned by Brexit, embraced his Irish heritage and became an Irish citizen before his death last December. Under his real name of David Cornwell, le Carré served as a British diplomat and, secretly, as a spy for the counter-intelligence agency MI5. His son Nicholas says “the Irish connection was very real and it mattered to him very much”. He died an Irishman.”A Writer and His Country will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday evening.

Source: The Irish Times April 01, 2021 04:00 UTC