John le Carré: I was beaten by my father, abandoned by my mother

Exclusive: Autobiography gives definitive account of life as writer and sometime spy, with most personal passages covering father Ronnie

• Read the full extract in Saturday’s Guardian weekend magazine and online from 8am BST

John le Carré was beaten up by his father and grew up mostly starved of affection after his mother abandoned him at the age of five, he reveals in his hugely awaited autobiography The Pigeon Tunnel, serialised in the Guardian.

Le Carré – one of the greatest novelists of the postwar era – gives a definitive account of his life as a writer and sometime MI6 agent. He insists he is an author who “once happened to be a spy” rather than a “spy who turned to writing”.

Related: After The Night Manager: five of the best Le Carré novels

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