George Smiley Books in Order
John le Carré's long-running series following George Smiley, the unassuming, brilliant British intelligence officer of "the Circus," whose quiet duels with Soviet spymaster Karla form the heart of Cold War espionage fiction. The sequence runs from his 1961 debut through a 2017 coda, with a 2024 continuation novel written by le Carré's son Nick Harkaway.
Publication order
In the order the books were originally released.
-
Buy on Amazon1961 · John le Carré
George Smiley, a quiet and unglamorous intelligence officer, routinely interviews a Foreign Office clerk over an anonymous security accusation. When…
Read more → -
Buy on AmazonThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold
1963 · John le Carré
Worn-out British agent Alec Leamas is brought home from Berlin after his network collapses, only to be offered one last assignment before retirement.…
Read more → -
Buy on Amazon1965 · John le Carré
A neglected military intelligence outfit, hungry to recapture its wartime glory, seizes on rumors of Soviet missiles near the East German border.…
Read more → -
Buy on Amazon1974 · John le Carré
Pulled out of forced retirement, George Smiley is handed a secret and devastating task: a Soviet mole has burrowed into the top ranks of British…
Read more → -
Buy on Amazon1977 · John le Carré
With the Service reeling from betrayal, Smiley takes charge of the wreckage and hunts for a way to strike back at Moscow. A trail of laundered money…
Read more → -
Buy on Amazon1979 · John le Carré
The murder of an old émigré general on Hampstead Heath draws a retired George Smiley back into the field one final time. Following the dead man's…
Read more → -
Buy on Amazon1990 · John le Carré
Now running the British intelligence training school, veteran officer Ned invites George Smiley to address a class of recruits. Smiley's reflections…
Read more → - Buy on Amazon
2017 · John le Carré
Peter Guillam, long retired to France, is summoned back to London when the modern Service faces legal fallout from a Cold War operation that ended in…
Read more →
Frequently asked questions
What order should I read the George Smiley books in?
Publication order — Widely recommended by readers and order-of-books reference sites (e.g. BookSeriesInOrder, OrderOfBooks), which advise starting with Call for the Dead and following the order le Carré published the books Start with “Call for the Dead.”
How many books are in the George Smiley series?
We list 8 books by John le Carré , published between 1961–2017.
Where can I buy the George Smiley books?
Each title above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Reading order compiled from author/publisher guidance and verified bibliographic data. Spotted an error? We continuously correct the catalog.