Sarratt

Cratered by former ponds, the village green dips and rises for a third of a mile. In true English tradition it appears to have more pubs than houses, The Cricketers (about 1851), Boot Inn (1822) and Cock (1820) where they stored and prepared corpses before being deposited opposite in the graveyard of the Church of the Holy Cross, with it's unusual saddleback roof.
The village was nicknamed 'Backward Sarratt', even by the slow-moving populace known as 'Hertfordshire
Hedgehogs'. The saddlery, forges, wheelwrights, shops and bakehouses have all gone, but the dell, old pump and pond are still part of Sarratt today.

There has never been a spy school in the village of Sarratt, Hertfordshire, nor, as far as we know, did the KGB ever single out a grave in the village for a dead letter drop. But in this unique collection, a captivating English village is transformed by the writer's imagination into 'a kind of secret haven' as intriguing as the ancient history of Sarratt itself.

Sarratt and the Draper of Watford brings together for the first time the writings of two men who are no longer separated by an Iron Curtain following the disintegration of Communist rule in the former Sovier Union - John le Carre, one of Britain's most eminent writers of spy fiction, and the former KGB Colonel Mikhail Lyubimov. The books includes four further short stories revolving around village life, and a fascinating transcript of an interview with Colonel Lyubimov.

The purpose of the book, which was inspired by John le Carre's fictional depiction of Sarratt as the location of a training school for spies, is to raise funds to preserve the village heritage for future generations. Two registered charities - The Friends of Holy Cross Church and The Sarratt Village Hall Trust, will share the proceeds of sale equally.
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Last Update:
18/10/700

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