Clearwater Books

JOHN LE CARRÉ. The Looking-Glass War. A novel. Heinemann, London 1965. First edition. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the front free endpaper. 8vo. 245pp. Edges a little spotting, and with just a trace of further spotting to several preliminary leaves and to very occasional margins. A very good copy in good dust wrapper, the publisher’s red spine panel colouring badly faded as is invariably the case, and with a little chafing and surface loss to the spine ends and corner tips, and half a centimetre of loss from the head of the rear panel. The author’s fourth novel, again including his spymaster George Smiley, although here only in a peripheral role. £300

JOHN LE CARRÉ. The Naïve and Sentimental Lover. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1971. First edition. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the front free endpaper. 8vo. 416pp. Publisher's purple top-edge stain, which is just a little faded in places. Backstrip ends gently bruised. Some spotting to the fore edge, and a touch more to four or five preliminary leaves, and to the lower margins of a dozen text leaves. A very good copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The author's sixth novel, and only his second not to feature spymaster George Smiley. £250

JOHN LE CARRÉ. The Little Drummer Girl. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1983. First edition. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the front free endpaper. 8vo. 430pp. Some discolouration and rippling to the cloth at the rear board. Edges, endpapers and several preliminary and concluding leaves spotted. A tiny bump to the tip of one corner, and a minor readership slant to the binding. A good copy in lightly creased dust wrapper, a little faded at the spine panel. A respectable copy of the author’s third non-Smiley standalone espionage novel. £150

JOHN LE CARRÉ. The Secret Pilgrim. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1991. First edition. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the front free endpaper. 8vo. 335pp. A touch of light spotting to the top- and fore edge, and a tiny dealer plate to the base of the front pastedown. A virtually fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. Publisher’s folded promotional press release laid-in. A novel with a printed dedication to Alex Guinness, set within the frame narrative of a series of lectures by George Smiley. £195

JOHN LE CARRÉ contributes his non-fiction piece The Unbearable Peace to Granta no. 35. Edited by Bill Buford. Granta Publications Ltd., London spring 1991. First edition. This copy signed by John Le Carré by way of a homemade title-specific plate pasted to the opening page of his contribution. 8vo. 256pp. Glossy card wrappers, just fractionally soiled and with a trace of spotting to the edges of the text block. A very good copy. The first printing of this 65-page critical essay on the life and crimes of Jean-Louis Jeanmaire, a Swizz army brigadier who passed classified military secrets to the Soviet Union between 1962-75. (Le Carré treats his subject with more care than most, deeming the information passed to the Russians just “trinkets”, and his subsequent trial “kangaroo justice”). £50

JOHN LE CARRÉ. Our Game. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1995. The correct first edition, issued for export only and, airports aside, not available for sale in the UK. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the title page. 8vo. 347pp. Map-illustrated endpapers. Ribbon place marker. Edges and endpapers spotted. A very good copy in the correct first state dust wrapper showing three silhouetted figures, and fine bar a tiny hint of creasing to the head of the spine panel. le Carré loathed the dust wrapper design and it was replaced for the general UK issue of this book. Publisher’s complements slip laid-in, alongside a fax (remember those?) from the publisher briefly outlining the difference between the two states. Uncommon thus. £325

JOHN LE CARRÉ. Our Game. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1995. First edition, with the complete number line. 8vo. 347pp. Half a dozen tiny pinpricks of spotting to the top edge, and a hint of toning to the leaf margins. Binding cracked and opened at the terminal leaf, hence only a good copy in the second state dust wrapper, very slightly faded at the spine panel. le Carré loathed the dust wrapper design and it was replaced for the general UK issue of this book, with the original version reserved for export and UK airport use only. The subsequently produced UK editions all contain a number line starting with ‘2’, but in this copy the ‘1’ is present, confirming it as one of the original first state examples, albeit now housed in a second state dust wrapper (the design showing a single silhouetted figure against a red and white background). £55

JOHN LE CARRÉ. The Tailor of Panama. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1996. First edition. This copy signed by the author on the title page. 8vo. 410pp. Cloth-backed boards. A tiny trace of toning to the top- and fore edge. A virtually fine copy in fine dust wrapper. A super copy of the author’s espionage thriller, in-part inspired by Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana. £150

JOHN LE CARRÉ. Single & Single. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 1999. First edition. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the title page. 8vo. 336pp. Top- and fore edge fractionally spotted. A virtually fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. £55

JOHN LE CARRÉ. Absolute Friends. A novel. Hodder & Stoughton, London 2003. First edition. This copy signed by the author by way of a title-specific bookplate pasted to the title page. 8vo. 383pp. Top edge lightly spotted, and with half a dozen further pinpricks of spotting to the fore edge. A light horizontal crease to the rear free endpaper. Very good indeed in dust wrapper, with some fading to the publisher’s spine panel colouring. A very good copy of this standalone espionage novel. £75

NICK HARKAWAY. Karla’s Choice. A John le Carré Novel. Penguin Viking, London 2024. First edition. This copy boldly inscribed by the author on the title page to an indecipherable recipient and dated 19 September 2024 – which is about month prior to the publication date. 8vo. xii, 298pp +,[ii] publisher’s advertisements. A tiny crease to the corner tips of three or four adjacent text leaves, else a fine copy in virtually fine dust wrapper. The author’s well-received George Smiley continuation novel, penned by the son of John le Carré and set between The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. £50