From the author of A Double Life comes a poignant and captivating fictional reconstruction of one of the most important relationships of interwar espionage history - that between Kim Philby and Edith Tudor-Hart, the woman who introduced him to his Soviet handler.
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.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780008466411
Number of pages: 384
Weight: 260 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 23 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
‘A fine achievement’ THE TIMES ‘Behold the new Golden Age of Spy Kings’ Sunday Times ‘A dextrous writer who gives her tale a quickening, thrillerish propulsion’ NEW STATESMAN ‘Completely fascinating. A sophisticated and brilliantly constructed fictional retelling of a crucial relationship in 20th century espionage history. A tremendous achievement’ WILLIAM BOYD ‘Persuasive… involving… impressive’ LITERARY REVIEW ‘Atmospheric and rigorously researched… we’re slyly induced to fear that Edith (who is also juggling roles as a single mother and photographer) could be arrested or prevented from working, before realising that we’re rooting for a Stalinist enemy of Britain’ 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 ‘In Edith and Kim, Charlotte Philby brings to life a dangerous game of shadows that kept me reading late into the night. A dark, atmospheric and addictive novel’ CHRIS POWER, AUTHOR OF A LONELY MAN ‘I was most impressed… completely absorbing’ MICK HERRON ‘A tense and brilliantly structured story of power and intrigue… I couldn’t put it down’ JANE SHEMILT ‘Philby’s stunning fourth novel thrusts this former bit-player in the Cambridge Spy scandal to the centre stage where she belongs. Edith and Kim combines the authenticity of your favourite true crime podcast, the intrigue of a spy novel and the page-turning grip of a psychological thriller – all wrapped up in beautiful, evocative prose that transports the reader to shady corners of 1930s London and Vienna. Her best book yet’ ERIN KELLY ‘Impeccably researched and atmospheric’ Daily Mail
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“Fascinating well researched historical spy fiction”
“Dear Edith, I’ve just received copies of various articles about yours truly, in the British press, sent via my children. The Observer pictures were a bit more flattering than the ones in the Daily Mail; thankfully I... More
“Spycraft”
Great novel following the life of Edith Tudor Hart, the woman who recruited the authors grandfather, Kim Philby, to be the most famous Russian spy in history. Edith's story begins as a persecuted Jew in pre-war... More
“All the things we don't see about women in Cold War Spy novels”
This is a really engaging novel, partially based on real events. There's a really cool note at the beginning of the book, which explains the tapestry of files, correspondence, family folklore and fiction that... More
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