LE CARRÉ, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Secret Pilgrim. First UK edition, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the dedication page, "and for dear Kit, now you have struggled through the Proof, here is the Evidence - with love and all good things - David, 26 June '91 at Tregiffian". Within the novel, Le Carré describes the recipient's home as "a splendid Cornish castle near Saltash" (p. 258).Kathleen Wedgwood "Kit" Coryton (1916/17-2009) owned Pentillie Castle, Cornwall, where she frequently hosted her friend le Carré. The inscription in this copy refers to his practice of presenting her with proof copies to gain her thoughts during the drafting stages.Le Carré has also signed the half-title. Set in a spy training school, the work is "a summation of how futile and wasteful 40 years of cold war espionage really were. In the end, it was not spies but Mr Gorbachev and the ordinary people of Eastern Europe who laid Stalinism low" (Boyd). It was first published in the US earlier the same year.

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