Novelist holds lecture in honour of spy writer
AWARD-WINNING novelist Mick Herron was in Penzance last week to give the first John le Carré Memorial Lecture at the Acorn Theatre.
The event was organised by The Morrab Library to honour the memory of David Cornwell, better known as spy writer John le Carré, who lived at St Buryan and was a great supporter of the Morrab.
In his lecture, Herron detailed how le Carré’s books influenced his own approach to writing about the murky world of espionage.
The lecture, which sold out within days of being announced, was introduced by the Morrab’s current president, West End theatre and film producer Michael Grandage, who grew up in Penzance.
The event received support from David Cornwell’s family, and his sons, Simon and Nick, and their families came to Penzance for the occasion.
Nick Cornwell, who writes as Nick Harkaway, and whose new novel will feature his father’s most memorable creation, George Smiley, prefaced Herron’s lecture by speaking movingly about his father, paying tribute to how much the family’s life in Cornwall contributed to le Carré’s success.
Herron, who has often been described as le Carré’s successor and is best known for his Slough House thrillers, which have been adapted into the critically acclaimed TV series Slow Horses, starring Gary Oldman, delivered his lecture to an enthusiastic and appreciative audience. He combined a deep analysis of the Smiley novels, also known as the Karla Trilogy, with insights into his own creative process.
The lecture was the centrepiece of a series of events organised by the Morrab to celebrate le Carré’s life in West Cornwall. The programme included the unveiling of a portrait of le Carré by Gary Long, a wellknown local artist and tutor at the St Ives School of Painting.
The portrait, which will hang in the Morrab, was commissioned by The Arts Society West Cornwall, a major sponsor of the event along with The Arts Society nationally.
The portrait sets le Carré in the library, with a staffer shelving books in the background, while a pigeon painted in flight gives a nod to le Carré’s first memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories from My Life.
Penlee House Gallery and Museum simultaneously presented an exhibition of John le Carré memorabilia that included photographs, magazine covers, cartoons and an invitation to lunch from the late Queen.
A meeting hosted by Penzance Mayor Cllr Stephen Reynolds allowed a number of people who had attended the lecture to question Herron about his books, his characters and the television adaptations of Slow Horses.
Herron also visited Penwith College, where he lunched in the Senara Restaurant and gave a writing workshop to students on A-Level English courses. He described how his voracious reading at the same age “filled a well” from which he still draws inspiration.
Finally, as a great supporter of independent bookshops, Herron attended a sold-out Q&A session with devoted readers at The Edge of The World bookshop in Market Jew Street.
John le Carré became president of the Morrab Library in 1997 and established the Morrab Fellowship, which provided a bursary to local sixth formers to purchase books for their studies.
He once said: “Whether you’re an impassioned bibliophile or just someone who loves a good read, the Morrab is for you: a Cornish treasure house, a meeting place for likeminded souls, and a vibrant forum for contemporary writing.”
For more information visit morrablibrary.org.uk and theartssociety. org/westcornwall