Order of Book Series
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George Smiley Books in Order

George Smiley contains 10 books, published between 1961 and 2024. The first book is Call for the Dead (1961) and the newest is Karla's Choice (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
10
Published
1961–2024
Confirmed
10 of 10 titles
Pages on record
2,600 in 7 of 10 books
Reading time
43–65 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,600 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 10 titles with a page count on record.

See all 10 books in order Printable George Smiley checklist

George Smiley is a spy fiction series by John le Carré about a British intelligence officer, set against the Cold War. Call for the Dead (1961) introduces Smiley, and A Murder of Quality (1962) and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) follow. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), The Honourable Schoolboy (1977) and Smiley's People (1979) are mid-run titles. The series reaches 10 books with Karla's Choice (2024), the one book credited to Nick Harkaway rather than le Carré. Both publication and chronological reading orders are listed.

How many George Smiley books are there?

George Smiley has 10 books, released between 1961 and 2024.

George Smiley Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 10 George Smiley books in the order they were published, 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.

  1. Cover of Call for the Dead by John Le Carre, book 1 of the George Smiley series (1961)
  2. Cover of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre, book 3 of the George Smiley series (1963)
  3. Cover of The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre, book 4 of the George Smiley series (1965)
  4. Cover of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre, book 5 of the George Smiley series (1974)
  5. Cover of The Honourable Schoolboy by John Le Carre, book 6 of the George Smiley series (1977)
  6. Cover of Smiley's People by John Le Carre, book 7 of the George Smiley series (1979)
  7. Cover of The Secret Pilgrim by John Le Carre, book 8 of the George Smiley series (1990)
  8. Cover of A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carre, book 9 of the George Smiley series (2017)
  1. 1
    Call for the Dead1961 · confirmed 3/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    A Murder of Quality1962 · confirmed 3/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold1963 · 240 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1963240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Looking Glass War1965 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1965288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy1974 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1974400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Honourable Schoolboy1977 · 608 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1977608
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Smiley's People1979 · 416 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1979416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Secret Pilgrim1990 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    A Legacy of Spies2017 · 264 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2017264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Karla's Choice2024 · confirmed 3/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

George Smiley Books in Chronological Order

In story order, Call for the Dead comes first and A Legacy of Spies comes last. Chronological order follows the events inside the story rather than the release dates. The 10 books below run in that in-universe sequence.

  1. 1
    Call for the Dead1961 · confirmed 3/4
    1961–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    A Murder of Quality1962 · confirmed 3/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Spy Who Came in from the Cold1963 · 240 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1963240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 10
    Karla's Choice2024 · confirmed 3/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 4
    The Looking Glass War1965 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1965288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 5
    Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy1974 · 400 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1974400
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 6
    The Honourable Schoolboy1977 · 608 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1977608
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 7
    Smiley's People1979 · 416 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1979416
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 8
    The Secret Pilgrim1990 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 9
    A Legacy of Spies2017 · 264 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2017264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Do you have to read George Smiley books in order?

You should read the George Smiley books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each George Smiley book also stands alone.

Where to start with George Smiley

Start with Call for the Dead (1961), the earliest published title.

What is the newest George Smiley book?

Karla's Choice (2024) is the newest George Smiley book released so far.

Is there a new George Smiley book coming?

No next George Smiley 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 George Smiley has won

Wikidata records 4 awards for George Smiley. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

George Smiley at a glance

Still running
George Smiley is still running, with a title published as recently as 2024.
Release pace
George Smiley books have appeared about one every 7 years on average.
Length
2,600 pages across the 7 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 384 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most George Smiley books, 4 of 10, were published in the 1960s.
Attribution
Of the 10 titles, 9 are credited to John Le Carre and 1 to Nick Harkaway.

What the George Smiley books are about

9 of the 10 George Smiley 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 6 of 9. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.