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Toby Esterhase
Toby Esterhase is a fictional character who appears in several of John le Carré's spy novels that feature George Smiley, including ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', '' The Honourable Schoolboy,'' '' Smiley's People'', and ''The Secret Pilgrim''. Esterhase also makes a cameo appearance in Le Carré's ''A Legacy of Spies''. Esterhase is an intelligence officer in ''The Circus,'' le Carre's fictionalized version of MI6. He is the head of the Lamplighters, the section of The Circus responsible for surveillance and wiretapping. Hungarian by birth, Esterhase is an Anglophile with pretensions of being a British gentleman. He is the Circus' resident ne'er-do-well, often involving himself in either morally questionable or outright criminal plots, although his superiors look the other way due to his high level of competence and loyalty to the service. Initially something of an antagonist to Smiley, due to his loyalty to Smiley's bureaucratic nemesis Percy Alleline, Esterhase ultimately switc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. " neof the greatest novelists of the postwar era", during the 1950s and 1960s he worked for both the Security Service ( MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). He is considered to have been a "sophisticated, morally ambiguous writer". Le Carré's third novel, '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' (1963), became an international best-seller, was adapted as an award-winning film and remains one of his best-known works. This success allowed him to leave MI6 to become a full-time author. His novels which have been adapted for film or television include ''The Looking Glass War'' (1965), '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' (1974), ''Smiley's People'' (1979), '' The Little Drummer Girl'' (1983), ''The Night Manager'' (1993), ''The Tailor of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Launderette
A self-service laundry, coin laundry, laundromat, or coin wash is a facility where clothes are washed and dried without much personalized professional help. They are known in the United Kingdom as launderettes or laundrettes, and in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand as laundromats. In Texas and other parts of the south central United States, the term ''washateria'' is still used by some older speakers. General While most homes have their own washers and dryers, self-service laundries are used by many who do not have their own machines. Even those who have their own machines sometimes use them for large bedding and other items that cannot fit into residential washers and dryers. Staffed laundries Laundromats are an essential business in urban communities. Laundromat owners may employ someone to oversee and maintain the general laundromat throughout the day. Some laundries employ staff to provide service for the customers. Minimal service centres may simp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, changing sides in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, defection involves abandoning a person, cause, or doctrine to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty. This term is also applied, often pejoratively, to anyone who switches loyalty to another religion, sports team, political party, or other rival faction. In that sense, the defector is often considered a traitor by their original side. International politics The physical act of defection is usually in a manner which violates the laws of the nation or political entity from which the person is seeking to depart. By contrast, mere changes in citizenship, or working with allied militia, usually do not violate any law(s). For example, in the 1950s, East Germans were increasingly prohibited from traveling to the western Federal Republic of Germany where they were au ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constituent states, Berlin is surrounded by the State of Brandenburg and contiguous with Potsdam, Brandenburg's capital. Berlin's urban area, which has a population of around 4.5 million, is the second most populous urban area in Germany after the Ruhr. The Berlin-Brandenburg capital region has around 6.2 million inhabitants and is Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions. Berlin straddles the banks of the Spree, which flows into the Havel (a tributary of the Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel and Dahme, the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee. Due to i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Square. The street is recognised as the centre of the Government of the United Kingdom and is lined with numerous departments and ministries, including the Ministry of Defence, Horse Guards and the Cabinet Office. Consequently, the name "Whitehall" is used as a metonym for the British civil service and government, and as the geographic name for the surrounding area. The name was taken from the Palace of Whitehall that was the residence of Kings Henry VIII through to William III, before its destruction by fire in 1698; only the Banqueting House has survived. Whitehall was originally a wide road that led to the front of the palace; the route to the south was widened in the 18th century following the destruction of the palace. As well as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karla (fictional Character)
Karla is a recurring character in the works of John le Carré. A Soviet Intelligence officer, he is the head of the Thirteenth Directorate of Moscow Centre, le Carré's fictional version of the KGB, and the nemesis of le Carré's frequent protagonist George Smiley. Karla is nominally an unseen character who operates either through functionaries, hitmen, or by turning his enemies into double agents. Although other characters recount their past meetings with him, he only appears once during the events of the books. His real name is never revealed; instead, he takes his code name from that of the first spy network that he recruited. Karla is the central antagonist in ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', ''The Honourable Schoolboy'', and ''Smiley's People'', three novels which were later published as a single omnibus edition entitled ''Smiley Versus Karla'' or ''The Quest for Karla'' in the US. In the BBC's television adaptations of both ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and ''Smiley's Peo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mole (espionage)
In espionage jargon, a mole (also called a "penetration agent", "deep cover agent", or "sleeper agent") is a long-term spy (espionage agent) who is recruited before having access to secret intelligence, subsequently managing to get into the target organization. However, it is popularly used to mean any long-term clandestine spy or informant within an organization (government or private). In police work, a mole is an undercover law-enforcement agent who joins an organization in order to collect incriminating evidence about its operations and to eventually charge its members. The term was introduced to the public by British spy novelist John le Carré in his 1974 novel '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'' and has since entered general usage, but its origin is unclear, as well as to what extent it was used by intelligence services before it became popularized. Le Carré, a former British intelligence officer, has said that the term mole was actually used by the Soviet intelligence agen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Control (fictional Character)
__NOTOC__ Control is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Control is an intelligence officer who acts as the head of "The Circus" (Cambridge Circus, London), the British overseas intelligence agency. He is a character in the novels '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'', ''The Looking Glass War'' and ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', and is referred to in several others, usually by association with le Carré's recurring protagonist George Smiley, who has served as Control's right-hand man. "Control" is a ''nom de guerre''; the character's real name is never given, and it is suggested that he successfully kept his true identity secret even from his inner circle of advisors. His wife believes him to be a minor civil servant in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. In the original screenplay for the film adaptation of ''Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', Smiley muses that Control had once told him that Howard Staunton was the greatest chess master Britain had ever produced. "S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, established authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at direct and open violence against the laws. Seditious words in writing are seditious libel. A seditionist is one who engages in or promotes the interest of sedition. Because sedition is overt, it is typically not considered a subversive act, and the overt acts that may be prosecutable under sedition laws vary from one legal code to another. Roman origin ''Seditio'' () was the offence, in the later Roman Republic, of collective disobedience to a magistrate, including both military mutiny and civilian mob action. Leading or instigating a ''seditio'' was punishable by death. Civil ''seditio'' became frequent during the political crisis of the first century BCE, as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel, St. Gallen a.o.). , coordinates = , largest_city = Zürich , official_languages = , englishmotto = "One for all, all for one" , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , religion = , demonym = , german: Schweizer/Schweizerin, french: Suisse/Suissesse, it, svizzero/svizzera or , rm, Svizzer/Svizra , government_type = Federal assembly-independent directorial republic with elements of a direct democracy , leader_title1 = Federal Council , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = Walter Thurnherr , legislature = Federal Assembly , upper_house = Council of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website = www.bern.ch Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale, link=no, it, città federale, link=no, and rm, citad federala, link=no). According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental institutions such as the Federal Assembly and Federal Council. However, the Federal Supreme Court is in Lausanne, the Federal Criminal Court is in Bellinzona and the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Patent Court are in St. Gallen, exemplifying the federal nature of the Confederati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esterházy
The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time that it was part of the Habsburg monarchy and later Austria-Hungary. During the history of the Habsburg empire, the Esterházy family was consistently loyal to the Habsburg rulers. The Esterházys received the title of ''Graf'' (Count) in 1626, and the Forchtenstein line received the title of '' Fürst'' (Prince) from the Holy Roman Emperor in 1712. History The Esterházys arose among the minor nobility of the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary (today's southwest Slovakia), originally a branch of the Salamon clan (''de genere Salamon'') by the name ''Zerházi'' (''de Zerhásház'' / ''de Zyrház'' / ''de Zyrhas''). Their first known ancestor was Mokud (Mocud) from the Salamon clan, who was a military serviceman and landowner in the Csal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
