Tinker Tailor Soldier Hatmaker by John le Carré

Thanks to Fascinators Direct

Title: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Hatmaker

Author: erm… John le Carré? perhaps?

Publisher: not known 

Source book: One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next #6)

Hard to say exactly what is going on with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Hatmaker when we learn that a Triumph motorcycle narrowly missed George Smiley in an early draft of the book. Presumably someone was riding the bike, we aren’t told who. Imagine Tinker Tailor without Smiley. He’s the glue that holds it all together.

Sadly, it’s not possible to ask John Le Carré what he intended for the plot of Hatmaker, because he died in 2020. So we will never know. Hatmaker (milliner or hatter) would be an interesting undercover alias for a spy. Do we believe he wrote this book? 

Maybe the author might have reconsidered, and replaced the Hatmaker with a Spy. Maybe this was a different book entirely? Who can say.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich man, Poor man, Beggar man, Thief.

This is how, as children, we used to count the stones in our damson crumble. Where did I get the idea that the rhyme was always supposed to be about cherry stones?* Puddings didn’t seem to feature many cherries when I was a child, in fact none at all that I remember. Unless you lived in a cherry growing area like Oregon or somewhere, cherries were too expensive to waste on a pie. 

If you don’t know Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and don’t feel strong enough to attempt the book, try and find a way to watch the fabulous 1979 BBC series. It really is brilliant. But has nothing whatever to do with hats.

* Was Cherry Stones a poem by AA Milne? Yes it was.

Thanks to Vivien Sheriff