man he knew during his diplomatic service whom he referred to only as "Herr Junger," an "embassy fixer" who was able to acquire discount goods for the staff using his various contacts in other embassies. He created the first drafts of the book in Vienna, where Simon Wiesenthal helped him with Karfeld's background. Allusions/references to actual events David Cornwell (John le Carré) worked as an intelligence officer for MI6 under diplomatic cover as the 'Second Secretary' of the British embassy in Bonn, during the period depicted in this novel. At the time of publication there were worries that the extreme right was rebuilding in West Germany, particularly with the success of the far-right National Democratic Party in various state and municipal elections after its founding. However, these fears later proved to be unfounded. West German Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger, was, like Karfeld, a former Nazi, who had joined the Nazi Party in 1933. Although Kiesinger was cleared of war crimes by the denazification courts, radical groups such as the Red Army Faction argued that an informal but powerful network of ex-Nazis, including Kiesinger, controlled the country. Real locations in Bonn such as the British Embassy feature prominently. Trivia The Economics Minister at the Bonn embassy was James Marjoribanks. One of the characters in Le Carré's book is also called Marjoribanks; later, in his book Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the first chapter begins with the death of another, unrelated character named Marjoribanks. Release details 1968, UK, William Heinemann, , October 1968, Hardback 1970, UK, Pan, , 3 July 1970, Paperback Dramatisation Serialised in seven episodes for BBC Radio 4, broadcast in Summer 1982. References 1968 British novels Novels by John le Carré British spy novels Novels set in Germany Heinemann (publisher) books