Overview

At the end of the war MI5 suspected him of espionage and interrogated him but he did not confess. Nevertheless they kept James, his wife Jean and their young family under close surveillance for a number of years, regularly intercepting their mail and recording their telephone conversations. Only after James's death did the true significance of what he might have revealed become clear: in his wartime office role, James had access to the plans for Operation Overlord, D-Day. In this book, James's son Hamish tells the story of his parents, their interaction with the communist party and their flirtation with wartime espionage. It is a unique portrait of two very ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary events of World War Two and the Cold War.

Full Product Details

Author:   Hamish MacGibbon (Independent Writer)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   I.B. Tauris
Dimensions:   Width: 16.20cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 22.60cm
Weight:   0.515kg
ISBN:  

9781784537739

ISBN 10:   178453773
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   01 September 2017
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of Plates - ix Acknowledgements - xi Prologue - 1 1. Son of the Manse - 3 2. 'Ma V=voisine chez Shakespeare' 12 3. Spain - 15 4. The Party and British Attitudes to the USSR - 25 5. War: James Recruited by the Intelligence Corps - 38 6. The Family in Berkshire, 1940-1941 - 47 7. Barbarossa - 52 8. Natasha - 58 9. Code Name 'Dolly' - 64 10. The Red Army: From Disaster Towards Victory - 72 11. Tehran and the D-Day Plans - 76 12. 'He'll be writing yellow boots' - 80 13. The Good Life in America - 88 14. The Security Service Takes an Interest - 96 15. A New Author; A New Firm - 108 16. 'Not the way it's generally done' 115 17. A Visit from Mr Skardon - 151 18. Mr White Misses the Plane - 161 19. A New Director: Would He Fit In? 171 Epilogue - 179 Appendix - 187 Notes - 206 Sources - 217 Index - 219

Reviews

`Hamish MacGibbon has written a thrilling account of English charm and Russian espionage, of politics and passion. It's also a portrait of a marriage and a window onto a fascinating period of European history viewed through the eyes of two intelligent, sensitive, unashamedly partisan witnesses.' - Lara Feigel, author of The Bitter Taste of Victory.

Author Information

Hamish MacGibbon was Director of the Publishing House James and James. He is the son of James and Jean MacGibbon.

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