M

Hemming, Henry

£9.99

Despite an almost total lack of qualifications, Maxwell Knight – or ‘M’, as he was known – succeeded in becoming a legendary MI5 spymaster. Throughout his career, he had at his fingertips a vast network of undercover agents hidden within extremist political groups. What set him apart was not only his extraordinary ability to keep these agents in play for so many years, but his pioneering belief in the use of female secrataries as MI5 spies. Here, Henry Hemming tells the story of this remarkable and often conflicted man.

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Publish Date: 08/02/2018

Description

*** The Sunday Times bestseller ***

‘Vividly imagined and prodigiously researched’ Helen Davies, Sunday Times, Books of the Year

‘Such a rewarding read’ John Preston, Daily Mail, Books of the Year

‘This odd, secretive man is brought to life’, Robbie Millen, The Times, Books of the Year

Maxwell Knight was a paradox. A jazz obsessive and nature enthusiast (he is the author of the definitive work on how to look after a gorilla), he is seen today as one of MI5’s greatest spymasters, a man who did more than any other to break up British fascism during the Second World War – in spite of having once belonged to the British Fascisti himself. He was known to his agents and colleagues simply as M, and was rumoured to be part of the inspiration for the character M in the James Bond series.

Knight became a legendary spymaster despite an almost total lack of qualifications. What set him apart from his peers was a mercurial ability to transform almost anyone into a fearless secret agent. He was the first in MI5 to grasp the potential of training female agents.

M is about more than just one man however. In its pages, Hemming reveals for the first time in print the names and stories of seven men and women recruited by Knight, on behalf of MI5, and then asked to infiltrate the most dangerous political organizations in Britain at that time. Until now, their identities have been kept secret outside MI5. Drawn from every walk of life, they led double lives-often at great personal cost-in order to protect the country they loved. With the publication of this book, it will be possible at last to celebrate the lives of these courageous, selfless individuals.

Drawing on declassified documents, private family archives and interviews with retired MI5 officers as well as the families of MI5 agents, M reveals not just the shadowy world of espionage but a brilliant, enigmatic man at its centre.

Additional information

Weight 311 g
Dimensions 198 × 129 × 27 mm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

xiv, 400 , 16 unnumbered of plates

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

327.12092 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K