Latest news with #WestonLibrary
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
John Le Carre archive to go on display, including letter from Alec Guinness
Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89. The exhibition, titled John le Carre: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends. Among them is a letter from actor Sir Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carre's best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was 'not really rotund and double-chinned'. The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim. Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carre worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Sir Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans Le Carre's time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks, and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly. It was curated by Le Carre's collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author's family. Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carre, said: 'Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it. 'The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming.' In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: 'Longstanding fans of Le Carre and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods. 'Le Carre's researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career.' The exhibition's title plays on the term 'tradecraft' which Le Carre used to describe techniques of espionage, but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said. It is due to open on October 1 2025 until April 6 2026.
Leader Live
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
John Le Carre archive to go on display, including letter from Alec Guinness
Le Carre, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89. The exhibition, titled John le Carre: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends. Among them is a letter from actor Sir Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carre's best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was 'not really rotund and double-chinned'. The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim. Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carre worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Film versions of Le Carre's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Sir Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans Le Carre's time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks, and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly. It was curated by Le Carre's collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author's family. Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carre, said: 'Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it. 'The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming.' In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: 'Longstanding fans of Le Carre and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods. 'Le Carre's researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career.' The exhibition's title plays on the term 'tradecraft' which Le Carre used to describe techniques of espionage, but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said. It is due to open on October 1 2025 until April 6 2026.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
John Le Carré archive to go on display, including letter from Alec Guinness
An exhibition celebrating best-selling espionage author John Le Carré is due to open in Oxford, showcasing the writer's annotated manuscripts and letters to friends. Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote spy novels including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and The Night Manager and died in December 2020 aged 89. The exhibition, titled John le Carré: Tradecraft, will feature research, drafts and corrections for his books as well as original sketches, watercolour paintings and letters to fans and friends. Among them is a letter from actor Alec Guinness which questioned his suitability to play George Smiley, Le Carré's best-known character, in which Guinness wrote that he was "not really rotund and double-chinned". The author successfully convinced Guinness to accept the role in the TV series of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which aired in the late 1970s to considerable acclaim. Prior to his career as a writer, Le Carré worked in British intelligence throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Film versions of Le Carré's novels include 2001's The Tailor Of Panama, starring Pierce Brosnan, Geoffrey Rush and Jamie Lee Curtis; 2005's The Constant Gardener, starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz; and 2011's big screen version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. The display at the Weston Library in the Bodleian Libraries will include material that spans the novelist's time as an Oxford student to drafts written in his final weeks and is the first time some of the archive will be displayed publicly. It was curated by Le Carré's collaborator and friend Professor Federico Varese and Dr Jessica Douthwaite with the support of the author's family. Nick Harkaway, author and son of Le Carré, said: "Oxford took my father in when he was desperate to escape his own father's malign influence and kept his place when he couldn't afford it. "The Bodleian was his refuge then and his choice for his archive now. It feels like a homecoming." In a joint statement, Professor Varese and Dr Douthwaite, said: "Longstanding fans of Le Carré and those unfamiliar with his books will be equally excited by this original exhibition of his writing methods. "Le Carré's researcher's spirit, commitment to understanding real-world problems, meticulous attention to detail and working relationships are uncovered in an engaging and colourful review of his life and career." The exhibition's title plays on the term "tradecraft" which Le Carré used to describe techniques of espionage but may also be applied to his own craft as a writer and social commentator, organisers said It is due to open on 1 October 2025 until 6 April 6 2026.
BBC News
15-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Royal manuscript on display for Oxford library's anniversary
A newly discovered royal manuscript will go on public display on the anniversary of a University of Oxford Bodleian Libraries will unveil the document, a 13th Century translation of the New Testament into old French, on 21 will coincide with the 10th anniversary celebration of the Weston Library, the home of its special collections. Visitors will be able to see the manuscript on 22 and 23 March for the first time after it was held in private ownership for 300 years. The manuscript was owned by the future King of France, Jean le Bon, before passing through the hands of three members of the English Royal Family - Thomas of Lancaster, Edmund Beaufort, and Duke names were erased from it but have now been revealed by ultraviolet light. It has finely decorated initials attributed to the artist known as the Cholet Master. Duke Humfrey gave the University of Oxford a priceless collection of books, though this document does not appear to have been part of the was purchased with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund and other benefactors, following a temporary export bar by the government. Martin Kauffman, head of early and rare collections at the Bodleian, said it was an early example of the New Testament translated into French for laypeople."As the Middle Ages wore on, more people wanted to read it for themselves who didn't know Latin," he manuscript will go on display in Weston's Blackwell Kauffman added that from 21 March, it would also be available to read on Digital Weston Library, which is also a working library and research centre, underwent a redevelopment that was completed in the last decade, it has presented 234 public events, and hosted many notable exhibitions including Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth in Kauffman said the manuscript unveiling showed that the Weston was "very much building on that whole tradition of the old Bodleian".Later in the year, the manuscript will go back on display in the exhibition Treasured, containing some of the Bodleian's most significant items. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
