Synopsis
'Compulsively readable . . . thrilling' – Sunday Telegraph
'Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine' – Sunday Times
In June 1952, a woman was murdered by an obsessive colleague in a hotel in South Kensington. Her name was Christine Granville – Churchill's favourite spy. That she died young was perhaps unsurprising. That she had survived the Second World War was remarkable.
The daughter of a feckless Polish aristocrat and his wealthy Jewish wife, Christine fled to Britain on the outbreak of war and persuaded MI6 to make her their first female recruit. She took on mission after mission, skiing into occupied Poland, serving in Egypt and later parachuting into occupied France.
Her quick wit, courage and determination won her release from arrest more than once, and she saved the lives of several fellow officers, including one of her many lovers just hours before he was due to be executed by the Gestapo.
Of more strategic importance, the intelligence she smuggled to Britain, and her service in France, including single-handedly securing the defection of an entire Nazi German garrison, was a significant contribution to the Allied war effort. She was awarded the George Medal, the OBE and the Croix de Guerre.
In The Spy Who Loved, author Clare Mulley has brought Christine vividly to life – a complex, courageous and very effective special agent who deserves to be better remembered.
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Reviews
“A stunning biographical achievement”Alison Weir, lison Weir, New York Times bestselling author of Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth
“A breath-taking story, told with panache and sympathy for an extraordinary heroine. Mulley vividly brings to life not only a resourceful and unusual woman but in doing so helps us understand what makes an ordinary person act with superhuman courage in times of adversity. The Spy Who Loved is required reading for anyone interested in understanding what makes an ordinary person act with superhuman courage in times of adversity. This is a gripping read”Anne Sebba, New York Times bestselling author of That Woman
“Not only was Christine Granville Britain's first woman agent in World War II but carried out some of the most daring missions ever conceived. Her biographer Clare Mulley has provided a vivid account of her activities yet maintains a balanced assessment of the results. Careful research has created sustained tension, vitality and immediacy which are truly page-turning”Gordon Thomas, bestselling author of The Pope's Jews and Gideon's Spies
“I enjoyed and admired The Spy Who Loved . . . A really gripping account of the remarkable Christine Granville”Simon Mawer, bestselling author of Trapeze and The Glass Room
