Christopher Andrew
Spies Like Us
Greek Memories
By Compton Mackenzie
Biteback 304pp £19.99
The reappearance, almost eighty years after it was banned, of the uncensored version of Greek Memories, Compton Mackenzie’s memoir of his time as MI6 – then MI1(c) – head of station in Athens in the middle of the First World War, is something of a literary event. Its original publication in 1932 led to Mackenzie's conviction under the Official Secrets Act.
Among Mackenzie’s alleged offences was to have revealed the identity of the first Chief of MI6, Sir Mansfield Cumming. When Mackenzie was posted to Athens, even he did not know Cumming’s identity and was told to refer to the Chief simply as ‘C’ (a designation still used by today’s
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
It is a triumph @arthistorynews and my review @Lit_Review is here!
In just thirteen years, George Villiers rose from plain squire to become the only duke in England and the most powerful politician in the land. Does a new biography finally unravel the secrets of his success?
John Adamson investigates.
John Adamson - Love Island with Ruffs
John Adamson: Love Island with Ruffs - The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham by Lucy Hughes-Hallett
literaryreview.co.uk
During the 1930s, Winston Churchill retired to Chartwell, his Tudor-style country house in Kent, where he plotted a return to power.
Richard Vinen asks whether it’s time to rename the decade long regarded as Churchill’s ‘wilderness years’.
Richard Vinen - Croquet & Conspiracy
Richard Vinen: Croquet & Conspiracy - Churchill’s Citadel: Chartwell and the Gatherings Before the Storm by Katherine Carter
literaryreview.co.uk