Le Carré, John

A pseudonym for David John Moore Cornwell, born in Poole in the county of Dorset, England. John Le Carré grew up under problematic home conditions. His father was serving a prison sentence for fraud, and meanwhile his mother left the family. Le Carré was then five years old, and he did not see her again until he was 21. Instead, he grew up at boarding schools and at his father's place, before he got an opportunity to begin studies at the age of 16. Among other things, he studied languages in Switzerland and soon became so good at German that he could study German literature at the university in Bern at the end of the 40's. Later he studied at the University of Oxford and obtained a degree in modern languages. Next, he taught at Eton College during the years of 1956-58. However, he was not comfortable with his role as a teacher for the sons from England's wealthiest and most influential families and instead decided to concentrate on an uncertain and not very successful career as an illustrator. Later John Le Carré lived near Land’s End in Cornwall with his wife of a little bit more than 30 years, Jane. He had one child with her and three from an earlier marriage with Ann Sharp.