The Tailor of Panama

LE CARRE, John [David CORNWELL].

Publication Date: 1996

About this Item

INSCRIBED BY LE CARRE TO DIPLOMATIC FRIENDS SIR JOHN GRAHAM AND HIS WIFE MAUREEN LE CARRE, John The Tailor of Panama London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1996 8vo., bound in full blue morocco with two raised bands, lettered and ruled direct in gilt to spine with date to foot; decorative endpapers of a 17th century engraving showing the sacking of Panama; blue ribbon marker; pp. [viii], 9-410, [vi]; a fine, and apparently unread copy in the black slipcase (one small bump to foot). First edition, with full number line 1-10. This copy warmly inscribed by John Le Carre to the title page : "For Maureen + John, with much love, and much nostalgia for our post-imperial Embassy Days - ! David a.k.a. John le Carre 11.iii.'14". David Cornwell (John le Carre) served in the British Foreign Service during the 1960s, and was stationed at the British Embassy in Bonn, and later in Hamburg, Germany. It is likely during this post that he became acquainted with the Grahams. Sir John Graham was head of Chancery in Amman and held various high-level positions in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The inscription is particularly fitting when considering the context of the novel itself. The Tailor of Panama was Le Carre's sixteenth novel, and was surprisingly different from many of the author's other works, sometimes criticsed as being a satirical, lighthearted novel which pokes fun at British diplomacy and the nature of intelligence-gathering in a 'post-imperial' environment with which he was intimately familiar. Cornwell travelled to Panama on five separate occasions in order to carry out research for the work, which follows Harry Pendel, a British expatriate and secret ex-convict who is recruited by M16 to both gather information regarding the American handover of the Panama Canal and embezzle money from the British Government. In many ways, the plot bears a strong resemblance to Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana for its depiction of intelligence agents living undercover in Central America and the Caribbean. In 2001, the book was adapted into film starring Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush in the lead roles. Jamie Lee Curtis, Brendan Gleeson, and Harold Pinter also co-star, along with Daniel Radcliffe in his film debut. A fine copy with a wonderful association between several figures in a close-knit circle of friends working in the intelligence and diplomatic services during the 1960s.

Seller Inventory # 118

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Tailor of Panama
• Publication Date: 1996
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Firsts 2026