Norman Mailer stabbed his wife, Orwell treated his as a lackey and John le Carré was spectacularly unfaithful. Ysenda Maxtone Graham reviews the best biographies of writers in 2023... Why literary lions make terrible husbands

When Adam Sisman approached David Cornwell, aka John Le Carré (pictured), as his possible biographer in 2010, Le Carré cited 'my messy private life' as a reason for being nervous.

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