One of ‘the heirs to John le Carré’ The Times

‘A tremendous achievement’ WILLIAM BOYD

‘Behold the new Golden Age of Spy Kings’ Sunday Times


To betray, you must first belong…




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.




A future classic:




‘A fine achievement’ THE TIMES


‘Completely fascinating. A sophisticated and brilliantly constructed fictional retelling of a crucial relationship in 20th century espionage history. A tremendous achievement’ WILLIAM BOYD


‘Atmospheric and rigorously researched’ Sunday Times


‘Persuasive… involving… impressive’ LITERARY REVIEW


‘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


‘A dextrous writer who gives her tale a quickening, thrillerish propulsion’ NEW STATESMAN


‘Mother, lover, revolutionary, spy… Philby’s stunning fourth novel thrusts this former bit-player in the Cambridge Spy scandal to the centre stage where she belongs… Her best book yet’ ERIN KELLY


‘Blending SIS files and imagined letters from her grandfather, Philby shines a spotlight on Edith Tudor-Hart as activist, spy and often desperate single, working mother’ SARAH VAUGHAN


‘Completely absorbing’ MICK HERRON


‘A tense and brilliantly structured story of power and intrigue’ JANE SHEMILT


‘Unforgettable… a fascinating exploration of a key moment in history and a stunning piece of fiction’ HOLLY WATT