Cold War espionage author David Cornwell, known by his pen name John le Carré, has died aged 89 after a battle with pneumonia.

Le Carré lived in St Buryan, Cornwall, for more than 40 years; he owned a mile of cliff near Land's End. He was often spotted in St Ives pottering in the St Ives Bookseller.

He died at Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro on Saturday night. His death was not Covid related. 

In a statement his literary agent Jonny Geller, of Curtis Brown, said: “His like will never be seen again, and his loss will be felt by every book lover, everyone interested in the human condition.

“We have lost a great figure of English literature, a man of great wit, kindness, humour and intelligence.

“I have lost a friend, a mentor and an inspiration.”

A statement shared on behalf of the author’s family praised the Royal Cornwall Hospital staff for the care he had received: “It is with great sadness that we must confirm that David Cornwell – John le Carre – passed away from pneumonia last Saturday night after a short battle with the illness.

“David is survived by his beloved wife of almost 50 years, Jane, and his sons Nicholas, Timothy, Stephen and Simon.

“We all grieve deeply his passing. Our thanks go to the wonderful NHS team at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro for the care and compassion that he was shown throughout his stay. We know they share our sadness.”

Among his 25 novels were acclaimed best-sellers including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and The Night Manager.

Cornwell drew on his experience serving with the British intelligence services including MI6 during the Cold War in his writing.

Born in 1931, Cornwell was educated at the universities of Bern, in Switzerland, and Oxford, before embarking on his undercover intelligence career, according to Curtis Brown.

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, published in 1963, brought him worldwide acclaim and he left the service to pursue writing full time.

For six decades, John le Carré dominated the bestseller lists and review pages with his monumental body of work.

His dramatic launch onto the global scene began with the publication of his third novel in 1963, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and the public revelation of his secret life working with the British Intelligence Services.

Devoting his life to writing, he went on to define the Cold War era with the help of his character, George Smiley, and through his complex plots and beautiful prose, beamed a harsh light at the injustices of our world.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy came in the 1970s and its accompanying landmark TV series with Alec Guinness. The 1980s brought the novel that is often heralded as his masterpiece: A Perfect Spy. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, David’s focus extended beyond the Soviet/UK/US relations to arms dealing with The Night Manager.

The first decade of the new millennium brought us The Constant Gardener, a passionate critique of Big Pharma and this current decade brought back his favourite creation, George Smiley, in A Legacy of Spies.

His last novel, Agent Running in the Field, was published in October 2019.
He wrote wrote 25 novels altogether and one volume of memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel (2016), and has sold more than sixty million copies of his work worldwide.