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