The exhibition features manuscripts, research notebooks, photographs, drawings, and correspondence, many of which are on public display for the first time.
It unveils le Carré’s rigorous approach to research, which included international fieldwork and close professional relationships with journalists, academics, intelligence operators, corporate whistle-blowers, and humanitarians.
The exhibition shows how le Carré gathered information, plotted stories, and developed iconic characters such as George Smiley and Karla, and reveals how le Carré’s relationships with friends and family were instrumental to his creative process.
Historically, le Carré has been put forward as a spy who became a writer; in our positioning, we flipped this narrative on its head, pitching him as a writer who briefly worked as a spy. This shone a light on the highly collaborative nature of his research process, appealing to le Carré’s longstanding fanbase as well as breaking ground with new audiences.
Our media campaign resulted in compelling feature coverage, comment pieces, and exhibition reviews in national newspapers across the UK and Europe, including an exclusive exhibition announcement in The Guardian.
The team facilitated two archive visits for national media in August, providing an opportunity for journalists to preview the exhibition material up close and develop well-researched feature angles ahead of the dedicated press preview in October.
We placed curator interviews in a number of literary-interest podcasts, drawing on Professor Federico Varese’s personal relationship with le Carré as well as Dr Jessica Douthwaite’s insights into what the archive material reveals about the peerless author.
