The Man Who Was George Smiley

By: Michael Jago

Narrated by: Christian Rodska

After the Iraq War, when the reputation of Britain's spooks hit an all-time low, John le Carré's intellectual hero George Smiley came to be seen as the perfect spy, a man who would never allow intelligence to be misused for political purposes. Le Carré had revealed shortly before that the model for Smiley was the author and MI5 officer John Bingham, the 7th Baron Clanmorris. Michael Jago's brilliant account of Bingham's life is the story of an intelligence officer who had a deep influence on le Carré, then a junior colleague in MI5.

Like Smiley, Bingham was an expert interrogator who persuaded his subjects to give up the intelligence they were holding deep inside. He took part in many of MI5's greatest wartime and Cold War operations, from the Double Cross operation that ensured the success of D-Day, through the tracking of Soviet spies in Cold War Britain to the monitoring of Lord Lucan in the 1970s.

©2013 Michael Jago (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Wonderful insights and history

A very good look at the life of the man who inspired the character of George Smiley in the famous John LeCarre’ books. Admirably read by Christian Rodska, it deals with the triangle of the man, the character George Smiley, and the LeCarre’s relationship to John Bingham.

Interestingly, the underpaid spymaster also was an acclaimed novelist, and his wife a successful play-write.

I could wish for more details of John Bingham’s spy work itself, but that is likely still under Official Secrets Act restrictions. Very enjoyable all around.