Nick Harkaway's New Novel Sends Smiley to the U.S. in 1965

The 1965 setting of the new novel places its protagonist in a world that mirrors the present day with uncomfortable accuracy. Nick Harkaway, the youngest son of the late John le Carré, released his second entry into the father's fictional universe this week in the United Kingdom. The book, titled “The Taper Man,” hits American shelves on November 17 via Viking.

Harkaway describes the act of writing a Cold War story in 2026 as looking into a mirror. He noted that the global situation is weirdly the same in slightly alarming ways and weirdly different in other alarming ways. The narrative follows George Smiley, the methodical head of The Circus, as he travels to California to pursue a Soviet agent.

The plot forces Smiley to navigate the culture clash with The Cousins, the fictionalized version of the CIA. The title refers to a deep-cover agent left behind after a spy ring is busted to wait for instructions. This setup allows Harkaway to contrast the unobtrusive style of British intelligence with the aggressive ethos of the American agency.

Harkaway, whose real name is Nicholas Cornwell, grew up hearing his father read passages from works in progress. He acquired language alongside the voice of Smiley, often listening for up to two hours a day. He now writes in a small office in his north London home, sitting in his father's very uncomfortable chair.

The author acknowledges the risk of revisiting a beloved series. He noted that many reviews of his 2024 novel, “Karla’s Choice,” began with the admission that readers expected to hate the book but did not. That reception sets the stage for this new installment, which brings back characters like Control and Roy Bland.

Harkaway's editor, Edward Kirke, says the new book is infused with the le Carré spirit. Kirke describes the work as profoundly intelligent and possessing a beautiful moral murkiness. The story fleshes out minor characters from previous books, a technique Harkaway credits to his father's belief that no character is throwaway.

The author emphasizes that his father viewed intelligence work as a messy, human endeavor rather than a glamorous adventure. He said his father often took away the James Bond glamour to show that these agents are just us, sometimes hungover, divorced, or stupid. This gritty view aligns with the outlook of le Carré, who became a strong critic of U.S. foreign policy in the post-9/11 years.

Harkaway is currently writing at least one more Smiley book set in the 1960s. The family is holding internal discussions about inviting other writers to the project in the future. Harkaway suggested that candidates would need great prose and a little bit of anger, noting that a woman taking the pen would be a refreshing addition to the male-dominated genre.