The great gift of the carry for me is the Englishness of ease and fun. There's a nice line in Spyth, coming from the cold, just to give you a little example. He describes this rather large German woman as being like an aunt of his who beat him for wasting string. In a way, it's a little bit flinging, you could say. But I think what he does is he marries European seriousness with British Chwadavivra. More European seriousness than British Wadavivra, but there is fun. And more words,. because the books get longer and longer and longer as this career continues.
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They are the titans of the spy novel, who have elevated thrillers to the level of literary fiction. Much imitated, much adapted by the big and small screens, Ian Fleming and John Le Carré have painted our picture of post-war espionage: Fleming through the dashing figure of James Bond, with his lush locations and Martinis as icy as his heart; Le Carré through his damning portrait of the British secret service drawn from his own time in MI5 and MI6. But which of the two novelists is the greater? In this thrilling contest, Fleming’s case will made by Anthony Horowitz, creator of the bestselling Alex Rider spy novels and author of the official Bond continuation novel Trigger Mortis. Championing Le Carré – whose memoir about his life as a former spy currently sits in the bestseller lists – will be David Farr, Emmy-nominated screenwriter of the BBC’s adaptation of The Night Manager. Actors Lesley Manville, Simon Callow, Matthew Lewis and Alex Macqueen join us to bring both authors' works to life along with our host, author and critic Erica Wagner.
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