AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD (First edition - first impression)

John le Carré (Pseudonym of David Cornwell)

ISBN 10: 0241401232 / ISBN 13: 9780241401231

Published by Viking / Penguin Books, London, 2019

About this Item

First impression of the true first edition, with '001' on the printer's page. ***Near fine in black cloth-covered boards with metallic-copper titles to the spine. The boards are clean and unmarked. Top and tail of spine very slightly creased. Corners sharp. Page block edges clean. No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Internally also near fine with no inscriptions. No creases or tears. Pages clean and bright. No creases or tears. ***In a near fine colour printed dustwrapper, which has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of £20.00. The dustwrapper has no discernible faults. No creases. No tears. No fading to the light-sensitive red colour even on the spine. Dustwrapper bright. ***282 pages including a page of Acknowledgements at the back of the book. 242mm x 160mm. ***'"Agent Running in the Field" is a 2019 novel by John le Carré published on 17 Oct 2019. It was le Carré's final novel to be published before his death in 2020. The novel is set in 2018 and depicts the relationship between Nat (né Anatoly), a 47-year-old member of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and a young man (Ed) who he plays badminton with weekly. After their matches, Ed likes to rant about Brexit and the American president at the time, to which Nat quietly listens and tacitly agrees. Meanwhile, Nat is running an operation to monitor a Ukrainian oligarch living in London. Through this mission, one of Nat's agents reveals that Ed is a double agent working for Russia to undermine the European Union. Nat's MI6 colleagues begin to suspect Nat of abetting him and grill him. Through their questioning and Nat's continued investigation, Operation Jericho is revealed - a plan for the U.K. to use double agents to take down the E.U. for the U.S.?s benefit. ***In an extract from the novel published prior to publication, The Guardian describes how "Nat admits to serious reservations about the idea of England "as the mother of all democracies", describing the country as in freefall, with "a minority Tory cabinet of 10th-raters --- Labour no better. The sheer bloody lunacy of Brexit". Boris Johnson is described in the book as a "pig-ignorant foreign secretary". John le Carré's editor at Viking Books, Mary Mount, has said that "The thing about Le Carré is that he's always been as much at home in Europe as Britain. A man with his experience of the Cold War could not walk away from the divisions in Britain, and between Britain and Europe. After the referendum, there was no choice for him except to look at where we are now. It is incredibly prescient, and a very emotional book in terms of how connected he feels to the history of Britain and Europe. There's no looking away, he addresses the very current political crisis"'. (Wiki) ***First impression of the true first edition, in the original dustwrapper, in bright crisp collectable condition. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 7289x

Bibliographic Details

• Title: AGENT RUNNING IN THE FIELD (First edition - first impression)
• Publisher: Viking / Penguin Books, London
• Publication Date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0241401232
• ISBN 13: 9780241401231
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Printing: First Impression
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Crime Fiction & True Crime
  • First Editions

About this title

Synopsis

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

'Le Carré delivers a tale for our times . . . a demonstration of the British spy thriller at its unputdownable best' Robert McCrum, Observer
________________________________

Nat, a 47 year-old veteran of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, believes his years as an agent runner are over. He is back in London with his wife, the long-suffering Prue. But with the growing threat from Moscow Centre, the office has one more job for him. Nat is to take over The Haven, a defunct substation of London General with a rag-tag band of spies. The only bright light on the team is young Florence, who has her eye on Russia Department and a Ukrainian oligarch with a finger in the Russia pie.

Nat is not only a spy, he is a passionate badminton player. His regular Monday evening opponent is half his age: the introspective and solitary Ed. Ed hates Brexit, hates Trump and hates his job at some soulless media agency. And it is Ed, of all unlikely people, who will take Prue, Florence and Nat himself down the path of political anger that will ensnare them all. Agent Running in the Field is a chilling portrait of our time, now heartbreaking, now darkly humorous, told to us with unflagging tension by the greatest chronicler of our age.
_______________________________

'A rich, beautifully written book studded with surprises. Narrative is a black art, and Le Carré is its grandmaster' Andrew Taylor, Spectator

'Blisteringly contemporary . . . Each new book from le Carré is refreshingly different and uniquely compelling' Economist

'A very classy entertainment about political ideals and deception . . . laced with fury at the senseless vandalism of Brexit and of Trump. Le Carré is the master of the spy genre' Guardian

'Subtle, wry and seamless, it's an utter joy, from first page to last' Daily Mail