John le Carre’s decision to publish Silverview after his death a ‘mystery’, agent says
Acclaimed spy novelist John le Carré’s decision to posthumously publish his new novel Silverview is “a mystery” in itself, according to the author’s literary agent Jonny Geller.
Mr Geller, who worked with le Carré for just under 15 years, says the book was finished in September 2014: “He said to me ‘ok it’s ready’ … I was waiting at my house for the book but nobody delivered a box, instead I got a letter that said ‘I’ve decided this isn’t the time but if you wish to publish this after my death with the permission of my sons, please have my blessing’.”
Le Carré – who went on to publish three further books before his death in December 2020 – wouldn’t reveal to his agent why he would only release Silverview posthumously.
Mr Geller says the book was finished in September 2014
“It’s a mystery to me,” Mr Geller admits. “He said ‘Look, I don’t want you to read it because I’m worried that you’ll like it and try and persuade me and, at the moment, I don’t feel I want this book out there’.”
Mr Geller says neither he nor le Carré’s family fully understand the author’s reasons for doing so.
After the author’s death, Mary Mount, his editor of the past decade, worked alongside le Carré’s youngest son, novelist Nick Cornwell, to get Silverview ready for publishing.
“It was in a very polished shape when it arrived … we were very respectful and we were both channelling le Carré’s very strong voice throughout.”
Le Carré’s novel is being released on what the industry calls “Super Thursday”, when hundreds of books are released aimed at the Christmas market.
Le Carré’s posthumous novel Silverview is being released on what the industry calls ‘Super Thursday’
Trade magazine The Bookseller has suggested this year’s event will be the lightest in years as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with fewer titles than normal released.
Highlights include memoirs and non-fiction books by Olympic diver Tom Daley, Drag Race runner-up Bimini Bon Boulash, TV personality Paris Fury and comedians Billy Connolly, Michael McIntyre, Jack Whitehall, Rob Beckett and Julian Clary; a posthumous novel by Andrea Camilleri; new fiction from Sophie Kinsella, Christine Pride, Jo Piazza and Heather Morris; cookery titles from Nigel Slater and the Hairy Bikers; and children’s books by Julia Donaldson, Liz Pichon, Tom Fletcher and Sir Lenny Henry.
Mary Mount says the book was very polished when it arrived
Le Carré’s posthumous novel is likely to top the bestseller charts for weeks to come. A prolific writer whose work was translated into 47 different languages, the sustained popularity of his body of work speaks for itself.
But the current popularity of spy novels as a genre is a sign of the times, according to Professor Penny Fielding from Edinburgh University.
“In a world where there aren’t any truths, spy novels perhaps mirror that more, they give us a sense that knowledge is contingent and provisional rather than absolute,” she says.
Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy, says le Carré’s writing was an inspiration
Famed character George Smiley was a man from a very British institution but le Carré’s writing inspired many around the world.
Lauren Wilkinson, author of American Spy, says: “Yeah it can be a very white, very male, straight genre but I feel that a writer like le Carré sort of made me see this genre and think ‘well maybe I can my add my voice as well.'”
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How does it all end?
Well, while this is being touted as le Carre’s “last complete masterwork”, read between the lines and the implication is, amongst the extensive archive he left behind there might still be a book or two that may still come in from the cold.
Entertainment
‘People want you to stay in your lane’: Reese Witherspoon on her ‘deeply personal’ decision to write a novel
It is “pretty surreal”, Academy Award winner Reese Witherspoon admits, finding herself at the top of The New York Times bestsellers list.
When I meet the actress alongside her co-writer, best-selling author Harlan Coben, overnight the pair have learned that their thriller is now at number one.
He jokes: “I was texting her last night and saying you’ll now have to call yourself number one bestselling novelist, forget about Oscar winner!”
Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben told Katie Spencer about their novel Gone Before Goodbye
As one of the most successful authors in the world, Coben has sold over 80 million books to date, while for Witherspoon this is new ground.
Not content with running a hugely successful production company responsible for a string of hits, as well as one of the most successful book clubs in the world, she explains she felt compelled to give writing a try.
“People want you to stay in your lane… as a creative person I think it’s impossible to just choose one kind of life.
“Creativity is infinite and who I was as a creative person when I was 20 is very different from the person I am now at 49.”
Gone Before Goodbye, a thriller about a talented surgeon who finds herself caught up in a deadly conspiracy, is the result of Witherspoon daring to put her head above the parapet.
Witherspoon says she felt compelled to give writing a try
Coben admits he was “a little wary” at first.
“I don’t co-write novels but when she made the pitch and started talking about it, I was like ‘dang that’s good, we can do something with that’.”
While countless celebrities work with ghostwriters, Coben says: “I said to her from day one ‘it’s only going to be you and me in here… no third person in here, I don’t do that’. So every word you [read] comes from Reese and me.”
Coben has sold over 80 million books to date, while for Witherspoon this is new ground
Witherspoon explains: “He was like ‘if we’re going to do this, it’s going to have to be at a really high level because people going to expect a lot, so our bar was really high.”
“I said to her, in the beginning, novels are like a sausage,” Coben laughs. “You might like the final taste, but you don’t want to see how it was made and Reese got to see the full sausage getting made here.”
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When it came to writing, Coben says they “fell into a rhythm right away”, working together in three-hour stints, “back and forth with a yellow legal pad – what about this? What about that?”
Coben says they ‘fell into a rhythm right away’
Witherspoon says it “feels really deeply personal” to have their work now in print.
“Usually, as an actor, I walk into other people’s worlds and it’s already set up… but this was creating the whole world with Harlan and just from beginning to end feels very personal.”
While the story seems an obvious fit for being adapted to the screen, perhaps with a certain blonde actress in the leading role, Coben says that was never their intention.
“The biggest, biggest mistake novelists make when you write a book is to say ‘this would make a really great movie’. A book is a book, a movie is a movie, and we both focused on wanting this to be just a great reading experience.”
Given that their collaboration is already selling in big numbers, will the pair team up again to write a second?
Witherspoon says: “Let’s just see what people think of this one first.”
Kim Kardashian has revealed that she has been diagnosed with a brain aneurysm.
- Footage from the latest season of The Kardashians shows the reality TV star going for an imaging scan.
The 45-year-old appears to suggest her small aneurysm may have stemmed from stress.
Brain aneurysms are relatively common, with data suggesting they affect about one in every 50 people.
In many cases, patients may be unaware that they have one – as they tend to cause few symptoms when unruptured.
Brain aneurysms are common but often go undiagnosed. iStock file pic
Should an unruptured aneurysm grow to a larger size, it can cause headaches, balance problems and speech issues.
Those that burst are extremely dangerous and can prove fatal in some circumstances.
While aneurysms can emerge throughout the body, they are most typically found in the aorta, which carries blood out of the heart.
Research suggests brain aneurysms are most common in adults between the ages of 30 and 60 – with women disproportionately affected.
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Associate professor of neurology Dr Laura Stein told Sky’s US partner NBC News: ” The most well-described risk factors include a predisposition [family history of aneurysm], high blood pressure, cigarette smoking and inflammation.”
She went on to explain that most fatal ruptured aneurysms are in the brain, killing about one in three patients.
“When it’s a blood vessel that’s in the head and it bleeds, there’s a much higher risk of having a very bad problem just because the brain is enclosed in a fixed space,” Dr Stein added.
Low-risk aneurysms are monitored by doctors for growth or abnormalities, and there are a series of potential treatment options for those considered dangerous.
Elsewhere in The Kardashians clip, Kim admitted that her ex-husband Kanye West will be in her life “no matter what” because of the four kids they share together.
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