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The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas
- BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation
- Narrated by: full cast, Simon Russell Beale
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
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Editor reviews
Summary
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.
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What listeners say about The Complete George Smiley Radio Dramas
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- clivep
- 20-06-16
brilliant
I stumbled across this presentation after listening to 2 Le Carre novels and must say that it was enthralling. So good was the acting that at times it stopped me from working just so that I could finish a story. I will look out for more in this format
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47 people found this helpful
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- Chill
- 29-06-16
Excellent series
This collection is well presented and enjoyable to listen to. The series takes George Smiley through the latter part of his Circus career and beyond, often he is not the mainstay but remains in the background as the master puppeteer.
The condensing of the books has been done well, it is not necessary to have read the books in order to follow the plot.
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44 people found this helpful
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- Turquelblue
- 24-06-16
BBC radio adaptation at its best
Any additional comments?
The BBC does great radio adaptations of well known novels and this ranks alongside The Lord of the Rings, War and Peace and Asimov's Foundation Trilogy as one of the best.
A good introduction to the Smiley series for those new to Le Carre and tasty comfort food for fans like myself who know his books well.
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37 people found this helpful
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- CrisH
- 07-03-17
A satisfying marathon listen
Once I started this compendium radio drama I couldn't stop. It took the best part of two weeks to finish but it was well worth it.
All of the novels about George Smiley are here faithfully dramatised by Simon Russell Beale and a fantastic supporting cast.
It took me a while to get the image of Alex Guinness out of my mind but Simon is a worthy successor to the role and gave a suspenseful and subtle performance.
My favourite was episode was The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, but all of the stories were involving.
John Le Carre is a masterful writer in the spy genre and these productions from the BBC bring the stories to life.
Highly recommended.
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25 people found this helpful
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- Robin Lapper
- 04-07-16
You'll come back again and again
If you are reading this you probably know Le Carre and you know Smiley.
What you may not know it's that this is very well produced, acted and directed. It's episodic nature combined with it's complex nuanced plots and characters combine to make it the best audiobook collection I have to go back to if I have time or if I don't.
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17 people found this helpful
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- DomJazzure
- 01-08-16
Best audiobook for some time!
Clear speaking voices; heard and understood every word; storylines were perfectly dramatised and paced, allowing total immersion.
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16 people found this helpful
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- Mr. E. A. Shanks
- 21-07-16
BBC brings Smiley to life
The cast of these radio plays bring the world of George Smiley to life. Right from the first moment you will be hooked.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Geoff
- 24-01-17
Excellent.
Masterfully told coak and dagger stories of Cold War espionage. Convincingly performed and well produced.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Theo Goddefroy
- 06-01-17
Excellent
John le Carrè is one of my favourite writers. We need some more radio dramas of his books.
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5 people found this helpful
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- DT teacher
- 01-08-16
very good
loved it very good escapism alot of food for thought, would recommend it to all
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5 people found this helpful