To betray, you must first belong…
In June 1934, Kim Philby met his Soviet handler, the spy Arnold Deutsch. The woman who introduced them was called Edith Tudor-Hart. She changed the course of 20th century history.
Then she was written out of it.
Drawing on the Secret Intelligence Files on Edith Tudor-Hart, along with the private archive letters of Kim Philby, this finely worked, evocative and beautifully tense novel - by the granddaughter of Kim Philby - tells the story of the woman behind the Third Man.
A future classic:
'A fine achievement' THE TIMES
'Completely fascinating. A sophisticated and brilliantly constructed fictional retelling of a crucial relationship in 20th century espionage history. A tremendous achievement' WILLIAM BOYD
'Atmospheric and rigorously researched' Sunday Times
'Persuasive… involving… impressive' LITERARY REVIEW
'A fascinating contribution to the literature of the Cambridge spies by a clever, nimble writer with some genuine skin in the game' CHARLES CUMMING
'Complex and powerfully written… a persuasive repurposing of the lives of real-life figures' i NEWSPAPER
'A dextrous writer who gives her tale a quickening, thrillerish propulsion' NEW STATESMAN
'Mother, lover, revolutionary, spy… Philby's stunning fourth novel thrusts this former bit-player in the Cambridge Spy scandal to the centre stage where she belongs… Her best book yet' ERIN KELLY
'Blending SIS files and imagined letters from her grandfather, Philby shines a spotlight on Edith Tudor-Hart as activist, spy and often desperate single, working mother' SARAH VAUGHAN
'Completely absorbing' MICK HERRON
'A tense and brilliantly structured story of power and intrigue' JANE SHEMILT
'Unforgettable… a fascinating exploration of a key moment in history and a stunning piece of fiction' HOLLY WATT
ISBN: | 9780008466411 |
Publication date: | 16th March 2023 |
Author: | Charlotte Philby |
Publisher: | The Borough Press an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |
Format: | Paperback |
Pagination: | 384 pages |
Genres: |
Espionage and spy thriller Second World War fiction Political / Legal Thrillers Narrative theme: Interior life Narrative theme: Politics Fiction based on or inspired by true events Biographical fiction / autobiographical fiction Historical Fiction |