Esterhase's former espionage partner, Peter Guillam, indicates that he's something of a polyglot, musing 'Toby spoke no known language perfectly, but he spoke them all.' In The Secret Pilgrim, though, he is seen to speak fluent Hungarian to a pair of fellow expatriates, during which the narrator Ned notes that he becomes more animate and expressive than when speaking any other language. He has a unique manner of speech which vacillates between ultra-correct English and unusual syntax.

Esterhase is known for multiple eccentricities, including 'dressing like a male model,' washing his own clothes rather than having them laundered, never smiling, and sending all of his colleagues bottles of alcohol for Christmas. He further gained the nickname 'Our shadow foreign secretary' from Bill Haydon. Initially something of an antagonist to Smiley, due to his loyalty to Smiley's bureaucratic nemesis Percy Alleline, Esterhase ultimately switches allegiances and becomes one of Smiley's top lieutenants, aiding him in a number of high-profile intelligence missions.Įsterhase is exceptionally short he's called 'Tiny Tobe' by colleague Connie Sachs and known around The Circus as 'Snow White' for his meticulously maintained white hair, which he covers with a net when he sleeps. He is the Circus' resident ne'er-do-well, often involving himself in either morally questionable or outright criminal plots, although his superiors look the other way due to his high level of competence and loyalty to the service.

Hungarian by birth, Esterhase is an Anglophile with pretensions of being a British gentleman. He is the head of the Lamplighters, the section of The Circus responsible for surveillance and wiretapping. Esterhase also makes a cameo appearance in Le Carré's A Legacy of Spies.Įsterhase is an intelligence officer in The Circus, le Carre's fictionalized version of MI6.

Toby Esterhase is a fictional character who appears in several of John le Carré's spy novels that feature George Smiley, including Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy, Smiley's People, and The Secret Pilgrim.

Fictional character in John Le Carré's novels

Bbc radio tinker tailor soldier spy