A Murder of Quality is the second novel by John le Carré. The main character is George Smiley. This is the only book about Smiley that is not about spying. It is a murder mystery.
Plot summary
George Smiley is a retired spy. Ailsa Brimley was a spy with him during World War II. Brimley is the editor of a small Christian magazine. She tells Smiley that she got a letter from a reader, Stella Rode. Rode wrote that her husband wants to kill her. Stella Rode is murdered. Smiley travels to Carne to investigate.
On television
John le Carré changed the novel to make a television program for Thames Television. A Murder of Quality was shown on ITV in 1991. It stars: Denholm Elliott as George Smiley Glenda Jackson as Ailsa Brimley Joss Ackland as Terence Fielding Billie Whitelaw as Mad Janie David Threlfall as Stanley Rode Christian Bale as the murdered student, Tim Perkins