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.
Details
11 April 2013
9781447201182Reviews
A stunning biographical achievementAlison Weir, lison Weir, New York Times bestselling author of Innocent Traitor and The Lady Elizabeth
Clare Mulley tells her story with a bravura that matches Christine's charismatic characterSaga
A fine account of Christine Granville's extraordinary war, told with skill and care . . . Mulley succeeds in making her human . . . inspiringLiterary Review
Compulsively readable . . . Clare Mulley has done a dogged piece of detective work piecing together Christine's ultimately tragic life. Understandably obsessed by her charismatic subject, she has written a thrilling book and paid due homage to a difficult woman who seized life with both handsDaily Telegraph
