Can there ever be another great le Carré novel?

Characters do not die with their creators. Some live on in bold new guises in modern spin-offs and mash-ups. Over the past two decades, authors have brought Shakespeare’s protagonists and Jane Austen’s heroines into the 21st century in a range of inventive “retellings”. Another sort of resurrection can come in the form of a continuation novel. Literary estates commission authors they regard as a safe pair of (typing) hands to breathe new life into a franchise and further the adventures of much-loved characters.