LE CARRÉ, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

The Little Drummer Girl. First edition, inscribed by the author to a friend and valued critic on the dedication page: "and to Kit, with much affection, from David alias John le Carré, 13 Aug '89". Kathleen Wedgwood "Kit" Coryton frequently hosted le Carré at Pentillie Castle, Cornwall, which the author described as "a splendid Cornish castle near Saltash" in The Secret Pilgrim (1991, p. 258).Le Carré inscribed many books for Coryton (1916/17-2009) and routinely presented her with proof copies to gain her thoughts during the drafting stages.The Little Drummer Girl was the only le Carré novel to feature a female protagonist, who was based on his half-sister Charlotte Cornwell. It was adapted into a film in 1984 starring Diane Keaton, and into a television series by the BBC in 2018, starring Florence Pugh.

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