MovieChat Forums > Smiley's People (1982) Discussion > What was the name of the Classical autho...

What was the name of the Classical author of the volume?

posted 16 years ago by finnegansword
7 replies | jump to latest

In the scene where George Smiley falls asleep after his day's exertions which were concluded by making a contact print from the negative hidden in the packet of cigarettes retrieved from Hampstead Heath, he is interrupted by the doorbell ringing. He peers through the curtain and sees Oliver Lacon standing on the doorstep. Smiley quickly conceals the print in an antiquarian folio volume of travellers tales. When Oliver is admitted to the basement room, he casually picks up the volume and asks, "Who the devil was Olivius?" To which Smiley responds anxiously, "A 17th century explorer." "And where did he explore?" Oliver continues. "China,"replies Smiley tersely, and then continues, "Oliver, do you mind putting that down. It is not mine and it is worth half the gross national product."
My question is this: did I hear the name correctly (Olivius) or is it something similar? I have searched Google without success and can find no explorer with even a remotely similar name who went to China in the 17th(?) century. But I feel sure that some knowledgeable person here can enlighten me!

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] finnegansword 16 years ago

“Now isn’t that jolly,” to quote boozy Barly Scott Blair from another of the le Carre novels (The Russia House). Well done that Blaue Diamant - how dare Toby Esterhase describe it as “no more a cat house.” Chap has obviously been to school! Now, I have an admission to make; I came upon this site only yesterday and read with increasing incredulity the 35 odd comments on the tin pavilion on Hampstead Heath. What fun, what games you grown-up boys get up to! It surely was worth the effort of signing up, notwithstanding the parlava of PIN numbers and Passwords - shades of MI5 ? Strength to your elbow........

[–] finnegansword 15 years ago

Blaeu Diamant's reply to my query (since deleted) was Adam Olearius, should anyone be interested.

What has become of BD? Has anyone any information?

[–] finnegansword 15 years ago

There is a rare error in Smiley's answer to Oliver Lacon's query, "Who the devil was Olearius." Back came the answer, "An explorer." "And where did he explore?" continues Lacon. "China." replies Smiley.

This terse little exchange while Oliver Lacon was holding the precious book concealing the contact print made earlier in the evening, is finally brought to a close when Smiley says, "Oliver, do you mind putting that down. It is not mine, and it is worth half the gross national product."

Not being familiar with the name Adam Olearius (kindly supplied to me by Blaeu Diamant), I looked him up on Google and learn that, in fact, the answer "China" is erroneous. From what I can gather, he travelled in "Muscovy, Tartary and Persia!"

Shame.........

[–] alfa-16 15 years ago

Tartary would be China to Lacon.

[–] finnegansword 15 years ago

Oh dear, I seem to have spent half-a-lifetime thinking that Tartary was mostly what we call Russia today. In fact, it covers a vast area from the Caspian Sea eastwards. This is what Wikipedia has to say:

"Tartary or Great Tartary (Latin: Tataria or Tataria Magna) was a name used by Europeans from the Middle Ages until the twentieth century to designate a great tract of northern and central Asia stretching from the Caspian Sea and the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean inhabited by Turkic and Mongol peoples of the Mongol Empire who were generically referred to as "Tartars", i.e. Tatars. It incorporated the current areas of Siberia, Turkestan (including East Turkestan), Greater Mongolia, Manchuria, and sometimes Tibet."

I hope honour is satisfied!

[–] magferguson 15 years ago

For all we know, Smiley may have just said the first thing that came to his mind, after all his objective was to have Lacon put the book down (and the scene implies Lacon wouldn't know the difference anyway).