Espionage writer John le Carré dies at 89

British espionage writer John le Carré has died aged 89, following a short illness, BBC News reports, citing his literary agent.

The author of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy died from pneumonia on Saturday.

Fellow authors paid tribute, with Stephen King calling him "a literary giant and a humanitarian spirit".

Historical fiction writer Robert Harris said le Carré, who chronicled the world of Cold War spies, was "one of the great post-war British novelists".

Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood tweeted that his novels featuring spymaster George Smiley - described by le Carré as an "antidote" to James Bond - were the "key to understanding the mid-20th Century".

Historian and novelist Simon Sebag Montefiore described le Carré as "the titan of English literature" and said he was "heartbroken".