Investigator, interrogator, agent runner: the perfect inspiration for the perfect spy. This first full-length biography traces the life of the remarkable John Bingham, the man behind John le Carré's George Smiley.

The heir to an Irish barony and a spirited young journalist, John Bingham joined MI5 in 1940, taking part in many of MI5's greatest wartime missions - including Operation DOUBLE CROSS, which ensured the success of D-Day - and later spent decades running agents in Britain against the Communist target. His skills were legendary and he became a mentor to many a novice spy - including one David Cornwell, later le Carré.

Bingham, too, was an innovative writer; he perfected the psychological thriller, marrying cold objectivity with an explanation of the darkest reaches of human behaviour. His early novels were applauded, but he struggled to match the fame of the man he had inspired.

Drawing on Bingham's published and unpublished writings, as well as interviews with his family, Michael Jago skilfully tells the riveting yet poignant tale of the man who was George Smiley.