Description
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.
‘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
‘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
‘Behold the new Golden Age of Spy Kings’ – Sunday Times
