Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
And then one of those people, civil servant Samuel Fennan, kills himself the day after they meet. The note he leaves behind blames Smiley, leading to political repercussions, and it suddenly seems that Smiley's time in the Circus will be ending very soon indeed. But it's not quite that simple.
to:
And then one of those people, civil servant Samuel Fennan, kills himself the day after they meet. The note [[GoodbyeCruelWorld note]] he leaves behind [[DrivenToSuicide blames Smiley, Smiley]], leading to political repercussions, and it suddenly seems that Smiley's time in the Circus [[TheScapegoat will be ending very soon indeed.indeed]]. But it's not quite that simple.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 13,14 (click to see context) from:
A film adaptation, ''The Deadly Affair'', was released in 1967 and starred Creator/JamesMason as Charles Dobbs, the renamed George Smiley.
to:
A film adaptation, ''The Deadly Affair'', ''Film/TheDeadlyAffair'', was released in 1967 and starred Creator/JamesMason as Charles Dobbs, the renamed George Smiley.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CovertGroupWithMundaneFront: [[spoiler:The East German Steel Mission is a "three men and a dog" presence in Hampstead, which originally tried and failed to lobby Britain's Board of Trade on steel exports. They later became moderately successful in agreements on machine tools and sharing technical information. However, their true purpose is to act as a front for Frey and Mundt's espionage, securely sending Elsa Fennan's stolen information back to Germany. The organisation vanishes entirely, emptying its office, once its cover is blown]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Mundt seemingly kills Samuel Fennan and Adam Scarr, almost kills Smiley on two separate occasions, and then leaves the country under a false identity before the authorities can react]]. There are no consequences for him in this book, although it's not his last appearance in Le Carré's novels.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* MysteriousNote: Smiley's interview with Samuel Fennan is prompted by an anonymous letter claiming that Fennan was a Community Party member when he was at [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford]]. The interview is swiftly followed by Fennan's PlotTriggeringDeath.
to:
* MysteriousNote: Smiley's interview with Samuel Fennan is prompted by an anonymous letter claiming that Fennan was a Community Party member when he was at [[UsefulNotes/{{Oxbridge}} Oxford]]. The interview is swiftly followed by Fennan's PlotTriggeringDeath. [[spoiler:The ending suggests that Fennan himself wrote the note, wanting a discreet way to contact someone in the security service. He'd started to suspect his wife was a spy, and planned to report his suspicions to Smiley at their second meeting]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: Samuel Fennan's suicide note blames Smiley for ruining his reputation and [[DrivenToSuicide hounding him to his death]]. When that [[spoiler:story starts to unravel, the next tactic is to frame Fennan as an East German spy, [[NeverSuicide killed by his handler]] out of paranoia after he was spotted talking to Smiley. However, Smiley's final theory is that Samuel was actually innocent - his wife Elsa was the spy, and Samuel had started to suspect that she was copying secret documents he brought home from the Foreign Office. Samuel was killed by her handler before he could tell Smiley of his suspicions, then framed for Elsa's activities]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler:Car dealer Adam Scarr is found dead in the Thames. He was drunk at the time, Scarr was a known heavy drinker and there were no signs of violence. As Smiley and Mendel already knew that Scarr was renting cars to East German agent Mundt (and Mundt had attacked Smiley at Scarr's yard), it also reinforces their evidence against Mundt and the East German Steel Mission by acting as a RevealingCoverup]].
to:
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler:Car dealer Adam Scarr is found dead in the Thames. He Scarr was drunk at the time, Scarr he was a known heavy drinker and there were no signs of violence. As However, Smiley and Mendel already knew that Scarr was renting cars to East German agent Mundt (and Mundt had attacked Smiley at Scarr's yard), so are pretty sure that Mundt killed him - in that context it also just reinforces their evidence against Mundt and (and the East German Steel Mission Mission) by acting as a RevealingCoverup]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler:Car dealer Adam Scarr is found dead in the Thames. He was drunk at the time, Scarr was a known heavy drinker and there were no signs of violence. As Smiley and Mendel already knew that Scarr was renting cars to East German agent Mundt (and Mundt had attacked Smiley at Scarr's yard), it also reinforces their evidence against Mundt and the East German Steel Mission by acting as a RevealingCoverup]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* FictionalDocument: The penultimate chapter, "Dear Adviser", is Smiley's full report on "The Fennan Case", accompanied by the covering letter he sends Peter Guillam and [[spoiler:Smiley's letter to Personnel, confirming that his resignation still stands]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* APupilOfMineBeforeHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:Dieter Frey was Smiley's student before the war, then his best agent during the war. Now he's running an East German spy ring, ordering murders in London, and they're on opposite sides. Subverted a little after their confrontation ends in Dieter's death, as Smiley realises that Dieter could simply have shot him, and comes to believe that Frey remembered and honoured their friendship, whereas Smiley simply treated him as another enemy]].
to:
* APupilOfMineBeforeHeTurnedToEvil: APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:Dieter Frey was Smiley's student before the war, then his best agent during the war. Now he's running an East German spy ring, ordering murders in London, and they're on opposite sides. Subverted a little after their confrontation ends in Dieter's death, as Smiley realises that Dieter could simply have shot him, and comes to believe that Frey remembered and honoured their friendship, whereas Smiley simply treated him as another enemy]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* TheOneThatGotAway: Smiley's wife, Lady Ann Sercomb, left him for a Cuban racing driver two years after the war ended. The prologue mentions that something inside Smiley died when she left, but his professionalism endured.
to:
* TheOneThatGotAway: Smiley's wife, Lady Ann Sercomb, left him for a Cuban racing driver two years after the war ended. The prologue mentions that something inside Smiley died when she left, but his professionalism endured. [[spoiler:Subverted when she writes to him midway through the novel, asking if he'll take her back. The last chapter suggests that Smiley will at least try to reconcile with her]].
Added DiffLines:
* APupilOfMineBeforeHeTurnedToEvil: [[spoiler:Dieter Frey was Smiley's student before the war, then his best agent during the war. Now he's running an East German spy ring, ordering murders in London, and they're on opposite sides. Subverted a little after their confrontation ends in Dieter's death, as Smiley realises that Dieter could simply have shot him, and comes to believe that Frey remembered and honoured their friendship, whereas Smiley simply treated him as another enemy]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* BoomHeadshot: Samuel Fennan types a note explaining that he was DrivenToSuicide by his unfair interview with Smiley, then shoots himself in the temple. Smiley's convinced that it [[NeverSuicide wasn't suicide]], and the ending [[spoiler:suggests that Fennan was actually shot dead by an East German spy, Mundt]].
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* NeverSuicide: Smiley isn't convinced that Samuel Fennan's death was suicide, despite the note directly linking it to Smiley's interview. [[spoiler:He's right, of course. Fennan was the husband of an East German spy, and her handler killed him to prevent him from exposing them to Smiley]].
to:
* NeverSuicide: Smiley isn't convinced that Samuel Fennan's death was suicide, despite the note directly linking it to Smiley's interview. [[spoiler:He's right, of course. Fennan was the husband of an East German spy, and it seems that her handler killed him to prevent him from exposing them to Smiley]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* OvertRendezvous: When Smiley tells Maston about his security interview with Fennan, he mentions that the Foreign Office was busy and they might be overheard, so they stepped outside, went to the park and talked while watching the ducks. Given the location of the real Foreign Office, this is implied to be St. James Park, later famous for its "bridge of spies".
