The Taper Man
A Novel of John le Carre's Circus
Will be published approx. on 5. November 2026
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-0-241-79530-9 (ISBN)
Description
Nick Harkaway's bestselling take on George Smiley is back, and this time the iconic spy is on the trail of a traitor right at the top of American intelligence...
It is 1965, and the Cold War has never been colder. The Circus - the secret centre of British intelligence - has one prize asset left in Moscow: a senior Red Army officer with access to the enemy's deepest secrets. But when a British agent is shot in Helsinki, George Smiley uncovers a Soviet operation that imperils this irreplaceable source.
The trail leads Smiley not to Berlin or Vienna, but Los Angeles - the most foreign place he has ever known. There, in the murky heart of US intelligence, a Communist sleeper agent - a 'Taper Man' - is poised to expose Britain's operative in Moscow. To save him, Smiley must navigate an America riven with political tension, all while his spy in Leningrad, Roy Bland, risks everything in pursuit of a Russian defector who holds the final piece of the puzzle.
The Taper Man, the latest novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Nick Harkaway, is a gripping return to the shadow world of John le Carre. Elegant, tense and morally intricate, it is an extraordinary and timely continuation of one of literature's greatest espionage legacies - and a landmark work of modern spy fiction.
'Smiley is back at the Circus in the safest of hands'
RICHARD OSMAN
'Note-perfect'
MICK HERRON
'Le Carre's legacy is in good hands - Smiley is back with a vengeance!'
IAN RANKIN
It is 1965, and the Cold War has never been colder. The Circus - the secret centre of British intelligence - has one prize asset left in Moscow: a senior Red Army officer with access to the enemy's deepest secrets. But when a British agent is shot in Helsinki, George Smiley uncovers a Soviet operation that imperils this irreplaceable source.
The trail leads Smiley not to Berlin or Vienna, but Los Angeles - the most foreign place he has ever known. There, in the murky heart of US intelligence, a Communist sleeper agent - a 'Taper Man' - is poised to expose Britain's operative in Moscow. To save him, Smiley must navigate an America riven with political tension, all while his spy in Leningrad, Roy Bland, risks everything in pursuit of a Russian defector who holds the final piece of the puzzle.
The Taper Man, the latest novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Nick Harkaway, is a gripping return to the shadow world of John le Carre. Elegant, tense and morally intricate, it is an extraordinary and timely continuation of one of literature's greatest espionage legacies - and a landmark work of modern spy fiction.
'Smiley is back at the Circus in the safest of hands'
RICHARD OSMAN
'Note-perfect'
MICK HERRON
'Le Carre's legacy is in good hands - Smiley is back with a vengeance!'
IAN RANKIN
Reviews / Votes
Harkaway has done an extraordinarily good job with his father's legacy * The Telegraph * Le Carre's legacy is in good hands - Smiley is back with a vengeance! -- Ian Rankin Harkaway is a fine writer and he has resurrected his father's books brilliantly * The I *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
750 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-79530-9 (9780241795309)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
approx. 11/2026
Penguin Books Ltd
€14.99
Not yet available
Book
approx. 11/2026
Viking
€20.00
Not yet published
Person
Nick Harkaway is the acclaimed author of Gnomon, The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker, Tigerman, Titanium Noir and Karla's Choice. He is the son of John le Carre, and has a
unique insight into his father's work. The Guardian writes of Harkaway that 'his great gift as a novelist is to merge the pace, wit and clarity of the best "popular" literature with the ambition, complexity and irony of the so-called "literary novel" - a rare combination which le Carre himself also achieved.' He lives in London with his wife and two children.
unique insight into his father's work. The Guardian writes of Harkaway that 'his great gift as a novelist is to merge the pace, wit and clarity of the best "popular" literature with the ambition, complexity and irony of the so-called "literary novel" - a rare combination which le Carre himself also achieved.' He lives in London with his wife and two children.