The Looking-Glass War - John le Carré (Heinemann, First Edition, 1965)

This Heinemann first edition (1965) is of interest to collectors of John le Carré first editions, Cold War spy fiction, and 20th century British literature.

About: Very Good copy in the original yellow cloth binding with the striking coral/red dust jacket bearing bold yellow and dark grey typography; dust jacket in a clear protective wrapper, bright and sound with some rubbing and light creasing to extremities; boards clean and binding firm; pages bright and clean; a handsome and collectible first edition of le Carré's fourth novel, the direct successor to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, with the Heinemann London imprint and the bibliography on the verso listing all four le Carré novels to date.

Details:

• Title: The Looking-Glass War
• Author: John le Carré
• Publisher: Heinemann, London
• Publication Date: 1965
• Edition: First Edition
• Binding: Hardcover — original yellow cloth
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good (in protective wrapper; bright and sound; light rubbing to extremities)

Synopsis: Heinemann first edition, London 1965; striking coral/red dust jacket with bold graphic typography in protective wrapper; direct successor to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold; bibliography verso lists all four le Carré novels; appealing to collectors of le Carré first editions, Cold War spy fiction, and 20th century British literature.

Review: John le Carré's The Looking-Glass War, first published by Heinemann in 1965, is the fourth George Smiley novel and the direct successor to the landmark The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Where its predecessor was lean and devastating, The Looking-Glass War is a more expansive and melancholy study of institutional decay — following a group of ageing British intelligence officers who mount a doomed Cold War operation using outdated methods and broken men. Graham Greene called The Spy Who Came in from the Cold "the best spy story I have ever read," and this first edition — with its bold graphic jacket design — represents a significant and collectible moment in le Carré's early career.