Connie Sachs
Encyclopedia
Connie Sachs is a fictional character
created by John le Carré
. Sachs plays a key supporting role in le Carré's Karla Trilogy of spy novels including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
; The Honourable Schoolboy
; and Smiley's People
.
Sachs is an eccentric alcoholic spinster
(ultimately revealed in Smiley's People to be a lesbian
) who alternates between motherly and facetiously flirtatious relationships with her "boys", the men in the agency. Sachs devoted her personal and professional life to the study of Soviet intelligence and most notably the Soviet counter-intelligence master known as Karla
. As one of the titular "Smiley's people", Sachs devotedly follows spymaster George Smiley
through his career, happily returning from an early retirement to support him in Tinker, Tailor. By the time of the final book of the trilogy, Connie is near death from age and alcoholism
, but her encyclopedic memory of Soviet intelligence helps Smiley piece together the mystery which ultimately redeems the career of both Smiley and his "people."
In the BBC's 1979 television adaptation of Tinker, Tailor and the 1982 adaptation of Smiley's People which followed it, Sachs was played by Beryl Reid
. In BBC Radio 4
's 2009-10 adaptation of the Karla trilogy, Sachs was played by Maggie Steed
. In the 2011 film adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Sachs was played by Kathy Burke
.
Sachs was widely reputed (in outline at least) to be based on the real-life MI5
legendary Soviet watcher Milicent Bagot. Although she worked in domestic intelligence (unlike the fictional Connie), she was reportedly the first to alert British authorities that famed double agent
Kim Philby
had past associations as a Communist. Bagot died, aged 99, in 2006.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
. Sachs plays a key supporting role in le Carré's Karla Trilogy of spy novels including Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a 1974 British spy novel by John le Carré, featuring George Smiley. Smiley is a middle-aged, taciturn, perspicacious intelligence expert in forced retirement. He is recalled to hunt down a Soviet mole in the "Circus", the highest echelon of the Secret Intelligence...
; The Honourable Schoolboy
The Honourable Schoolboy
The Honourable Schoolboy is a spy novel by John le Carré. George Smiley tries to reconstruct an intelligence service and to run a successful offensive espionage operation to save the service from falling to the "war hawks" in government...
; and Smiley's People
Smiley's People
Smiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy", following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy...
.
Sachs is an eccentric alcoholic spinster
Spinster
A spinster, or old maid, is an older, childless woman who has never been married.For a woman to be identified as a spinster, age is critical...
(ultimately revealed in Smiley's People to be a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
) who alternates between motherly and facetiously flirtatious relationships with her "boys", the men in the agency. Sachs devoted her personal and professional life to the study of Soviet intelligence and most notably the Soviet counter-intelligence master known as Karla
Karla (fictional character)
Karla is a fictional character in several novels by John le Carré. A Soviet Intelligence officer, he most often appears as a distant antagonist of George Smiley...
. As one of the titular "Smiley's people", Sachs devotedly follows spymaster George Smiley
George Smiley
George Smiley is a fictional character created by John le Carré. Smiley is an intelligence officer working for MI6 , the British overseas intelligence agency...
through his career, happily returning from an early retirement to support him in Tinker, Tailor. By the time of the final book of the trilogy, Connie is near death from age and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, but her encyclopedic memory of Soviet intelligence helps Smiley piece together the mystery which ultimately redeems the career of both Smiley and his "people."
In the BBC's 1979 television adaptation of Tinker, Tailor and the 1982 adaptation of Smiley's People which followed it, Sachs was played by Beryl Reid
Beryl Reid
Beryl Elizabeth Reid, OBE was a British actress of stage and screen.-Early life:Born in Hereford, England in 1919, Reid was the daughter of Scottish parents and grew up in Manchester where she attended Withington and Levenshulme High Schools.-Career:Reid applied for and was accepted in a revue in...
. In BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's 2009-10 adaptation of the Karla trilogy, Sachs was played by Maggie Steed
Maggie Steed
Maggie Steed is an English actress and comedienne.-Youth:After studying drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol, she left the theatre for several years.-Career:...
. In the 2011 film adaptation Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (film)
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a 2011 English-language espionage film directed by Tomas Alfredson, from a screenplay written by Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan based on the 1974 novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré...
Sachs was played by Kathy Burke
Kathy Burke
Katherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
.
Sachs was widely reputed (in outline at least) to be based on the real-life MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
legendary Soviet watcher Milicent Bagot. Although she worked in domestic intelligence (unlike the fictional Connie), she was reportedly the first to alert British authorities that famed double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
Kim Philby
Kim Philby
Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby was a high-ranking member of British intelligence who worked as a spy for and later defected to the Soviet Union...
had past associations as a Communist. Bagot died, aged 99, in 2006.