John le Carré’s mistress reveals their secret love life was just as intriguing as his books

His novels are full of excuses and intrigue.

But far from being limited to the pages of his books, it seems that spycraft was essential to John Le Carré as he pursued his private passions.

The late author led a double life, engaging in energetic adultery up to four times a day, his self-proclaimed lover has said.

According to the alleged mistress, who has not revealed her true identity, Le Carré used ghost techniques straight from his books — and his years in MI5 and MI6 — to keep their affair a secret from his long-suffering wife.

The woman – who calls herself Suleika Dawson and is reportedly 25 years younger than the author – discusses their alleged sexual assignments in London, Lesvos, Elba and Zurich in lurid detail in a forthcoming book.

Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell and whose books have included Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, and The Night Manager, died of pneumonia two years ago at age 89.

Miss Dawson, who posed for a photo in The times yesterday, while keeping her real name a secret, the paper said their affair started when she met him after she was hired to shorten his spy novel Smiley’s People for an audiobook, which he was reading.

When he was 50, he attacked and kissed her uninvited in Piccadilly Circus, she claimed.

Le Carré, whose real name was David Cornwell, wrote The Night Manager, which was adapted for TV. Pictured: Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Debicki in a steamy scene from the BBC adaptation

When the reporter noted that this would count as sexual harassment today, Miss Dawson said, “Oh, he’d be there with [disgraced Hollywood mogul] Harvey Weinstein, I’m sure.

“I mean, no, he wouldn’t be there with Harvey Weinstein, but he would have been pilloried in the #MeToo movement, let’s put it this way. It must be very boring to be young these days.’

She told the paper that their first bedroom meeting took place the following year after he got his wife Jane on the phone asking him to adapt his novel The Little Drummer Girl for audio just so he would have an excuse that her number would be on bills. to appear.

Le Carré, pictured here (right) at the UK premiere of the film adaptation of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth, died of pneumonia two years ago at age 89

When the affair began after a lavish restaurant meal, it was with “sex that only the hero and heroine can have — sex for the cameras, sex for the gods.”

Miss Dawson claimed she had used ice cubes on his private parts during lovemaking, saying his “recovery” was “miraculous” even after he passed retirement age, allowing them to have sex “three or four” times a day.

With a smile she added, “He was absolutely legendary.”

During a second and final phase of the affair, as the writer approached 70, the couple would still enjoy “five hours of extraordinarily intense sex,” it is claimed.

Le Carré was married twice, first to Alison Sharp, until an affair with Jane Cornwell at his publisher Hodder and Stoughton led him to marry her in 1972.

He and Jane lived together in Hampstead, North London and Cornwall until his death in 2020. Jane passed away early last year.

Le Carré and Miss Dawson first met in 1982 and their affair raged for the first time for two years starting the following summer, she claims in her book The Secret Heart, due out in a fortnight.

Le Carré was married twice, first to Alison Sharp, until an affair with Jane Cornwell at his publisher Hodder and Stoughton led him to marry her in 1972.

He showered her with jewels, flowers, chocolates, caviar and champagne, but sex was central.

Miss Dawson claimed that he constantly behaved as if they were in danger of being discovered. When he was together on Lesvos, he asked for directions to the beach – and after pretending to go there, he walked in the opposite direction.

Their romantic weekends were initially paid for from a ‘reptile fund’ – as used by spies – with untraceable money. Le Carré also erroneously wrote her address as being in NW3 in his contact book, when it was actually SW3. “The deception and the hiding and the covering up, the running for cover and the life undercover were a vital part of it,” said Miss Dawson.

She claimed she ended their first affair after his gift of a bedroom mirror made her feel like a “looking glass whore.”

Suleika Dawson admits he’s had many other affairs but claimed to have been ‘the love of his life’

The second phase of their affair continued for another six months in 1999 after she attended a lecture he gave. He saw her in the crowd and their intense romp started again, she said.

It ended abruptly after Le Carré tried to persuade her to book a dirty weekend on Elba herself and sent cash, she claimed. She said it made her feel paid for sex.

Miss Dawson admits she’s had many other affairs, but claimed to have been “the love of his life.”

Le Carré’s relatives have only said about the new book that they wish the author ‘the very best’.