John Le Carre Books in Order
30 books are credited to John Le Carre, published between 1961 and 2022; 2 of them appeared after John Le Carre's death in 2020. The first book is Call for the Dead (1961) and the newest is A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré (2022). Publication order is the reading order below.
John Le Carre is the pen name of David John Moore Cornwell.
- Books
- 30
- Published
- 1961–2022
- Confirmed
- 30 of 30 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,961 in 23 of 30 books
- Reading time
- 149–224 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,961 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 23 of 30 titles with a page count on record.
John le Carré was the pen name of David John Moore Cornwell, an English novelist of espionage who lived from 19 October 1931 to 12 December 2020. During the 1950s and 1960s Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and late in life took Irish citizenship. The catalogue counts 30 books, from Call for the Dead (1961) to A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré (2022). The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963), the third novel, was an international bestseller and an award-winning film. George Smiley is the recurring figure, with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974) and Smiley's People (1979) in the list. Subjects include the Cold War, spies and intelligence officers.
How many John Le Carre books are there?
John Le Carre has 30 books, released between 1961 and 2022. 2 of them were published after John Le Carre's death in 2020. 9 of them belong to the George Smiley series.
John Le Carre Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 30 John Le Carre books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 11961–3/4
- 21962–3/4
- 319632403/4
- 419652883/4
- 519683523/4
- 619715563/4
- 719744003/4
- 819776083/4
- 919794163/4
- 10The Little Drummer Girl / A Death in the FamilyJohn Le Carre Standalone Novels #31983 · 473 pages · confirmed 3/419834733/4
- 1119866083/4
- 1219893403/4
- 1319903843/4
- 1419934743/4
- 1519944003/4
- 1619964023/4
- 171999643/4
- 1819993683/4
- 1920014823/4
- 2020034663/4
- 2120064003/4
- 222008–3/4
- 2320103203/4
- 242013–3/4
- 252016–3/4
- 2620163203/4
- 2720172643/4
- 282019–3/4
- 2920213363/4
- 302022–3/4
John Le Carre series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- George Smiley books in order 10 books
John Le Carre books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
John Le Carre Standalone Novels
17 books17 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
John Le Carre Non-Fiction
2 books2 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
John le Carr Short Story
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
John Le Carre Short Stories/Novellas
1 book1 title published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
John Le Carre Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the John Le Carre books run from Call for the Dead (1961) to A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré (2022), the sequence in the table above. The George Smiley series also has a separate in-universe order on record: George Smiley books in chronological order. No other John Le Carre story order is on record.
Do you have to read John Le Carre books in order?
You only need to read John Le Carre books in order within the George Smiley series, which holds 9 of the 30 John Le Carre books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
What order should you read John Le Carre books in?
Read them in publication order, starting with Call for the Dead (1961), the first George Smiley book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.
What is the newest John Le Carre book?
A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré (2022) is the newest John Le Carre book released so far.
Is there a new John Le Carre book coming?
No next John Le Carre book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards John Le Carre has won
Wikidata records 8 awards and 1 nomination for John Le Carre. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- German Crime Fiction Award2018Wonfor A Legacy of Spies
- Helmerich Award1990Won
- Cartier Diamond Dagger1988Won
- Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation1986Wonfor A Perfect Spy
- The Grand Master1984Won
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize1977Wonfor The Honourable Schoolboy
- Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel1965Wonfor The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- Somerset Maugham Award1964Wonfor The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
- International Booker Prize2011Shortlisted
John Le Carre at a glance
- Died
- John Le Carre died in 2020, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to John Le Carre are still being published after John Le Carre's death in 2020; the newest appeared in 2022.
- Release pace
- John Le Carre books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 8,961 pages across the 23 of 30 books with a recorded length, a median of 400 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Le Carre books, 6 of 30, were published in the 2010s.
What the John Le Carre books are about
27 of the 30 John Le Carre books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: espionage is tagged on 12 of 27. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Espionage 12 of 27 books
- Intelligence service 8 of 27 books
- George Smiley (Fictitious character) 7 of 27 books
- Intelligence officers 7 of 27 books
- English Spy stories 5 of 27 books
- Smiley, george (fictitious character) 5 of 27 books
- Spies 4 of 27 books
- British 3 of 27 books
- Cold War 3 of 27 books
- Great Britain 3 of 27 books