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The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas

BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation

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The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas

Written by: John le Carré
Narrated by: full cast, Simon Russell Beale
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About this listen

The complete collection of acclaimed BBC Radio dramas based on John le Carré's best-selling novels, starring Simon Russell Beale as George Smiley. With a star cast including Kenneth Cranham, Eleanor Bron, Brian Cox, Ian MacDiarmid, Anna Chancellor, Hugh Bonneville and Lindsay Duncan, these enthralling dramatisations perfectly capture the atmosphere of le Carré's taut, thrilling spy novels. 'Call for the Dead' is the first Smiley novel, which sees him looking into an apparent suicide only to uncover a murderous conspiracy; 'A Murder of Quality' finds Smiley investigating a murder in a private school; 'The Spy Who Came in from the Cold' introduces Alec Leamas, a British intelligence officer whose East Berlin network is in tatters; 'The Looking Glass War' features former spy Fred Leiser, lured back from retirement to investigate a claim that Soviet missiles are being installed close to the West German border; 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' is the first book in the Karla trilogy, and sees Smiley searching for a mole who has infiltrated the Circus; 'The Honourable Schoolboy' sees Smiley determined to destroy his nemesis, Karla, and his spy networks; 'Smiley's People' finds George Smiley called out of retirement to exorcise some Cold War ghosts from his clandestine past; and 'The Secret Pilgrim' sees Smiley invited to dine with the eager new recruits at the Circus. He offers them his thoughts on espionage and, in doing so, prompts a former colleague to re-examine his own eventful secret life.

©2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2016 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd
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What listeners say about The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Nobody does audio adaptations like the BBC

This is a wonderful way to listen and enjoy le Carré's great works. Nothing weak here, not the acting nor the production. I really enjoy the BBC's adaptations to radio and am glad that many are available on Audible. The Smiley collection is first rate.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

the character of George Smiley is beyond sharp.

I liked it all but not enough to write a fifteen word review of it. :)

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Spectacular Radioplay Adaptations

John Le Carré's George Smiley is dedicated, competent, and unsurpassingly clever - while remaining amazingly relatable (this is no indestructible James Bond-like superspy). Former SIS Intelligence Officer David Cornwell (nom-de-plùme: Le Carré) writes stories that rather provide an immersive, believable, extremely realistic foray into the world of Cold War espionage.. his stories justifiably generated legions of fans. The main strength of Le Carré efforts is his incredibly complex plots - sinuous and engrossing.. but that is the main drawback, too - there are far too many names and places. The Smiley catalogue is a challenging read.
Fortunately, the professionals at BBC Radio-4 understand the stories intimately - analagous to Peter Jackson with 'The Lord Of The Rings'. Just as Jackson actually *improved* on Tolkien's vision by being incredibly faithful to the text, the BBC writers make Le Carré more accessible by doing the same. They relate his spy scenarios with painstaking accuracy, but make judicious use of extra dialogue, editorial comment, and setting descriptions to turn the author's efforts into mind's-eye quality iterations.

One of the other keys to the success of these treatments is the quality of the Full Cast performances. All voice-actors turn in brilliant readings, with Simon Russell Beale meriting particular praise: his emotion comes through beautifully to bring George Smiley to life [portraying his angst about whether accomplishments of the "Circus" (an MI-6 analogue) are worth the costs, for example]. BBC Worldwide adds sound effects, music, and background noises to generate cinema-quality fare.

Unparalleled performance, excellent production value, and prescient adaptation combine to present John Le Carré's legendary spymaster in a most enjoyable, easily digestible format. The stories are a little bit uneventful/boring for me personally, but these recordings are worth 9.5 stars out of 10 for Le Carré fans.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good story telling

I am never bored listening to this narrator and the George Smiley Radio broadcasts and the narrator does not disappoint.

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