Queen of Spies: Daphne Park: Britain's Cold War Spy Master - Softcover

Paddy Hayes

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0715651226 ISBN 13: 9780715651223

Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd, 2016

Synopsis

'A remarkable biography of a remarkable woman - providing real insight into MI6 of the Cold War' Gordon Corera, author MI6: Life and Death in the British Secret Service

The first and only biography of Britain's most celebrated female spy. From living in a tin-roofed shack north of Dar-es-Salaam to becoming Baroness Park of Monmouth, Daphne Park led a most unusual life - one that consisted of a lifelong love affair with the world of Britain's secret services. In the 1970s she was appointed to the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) most senior operational rank as one of its seven Area Controllers- an extraordinary achievement for a women working within this most male-dominated and secretive of organisations.

In this first biography for twenty years of any Cold War British spy -the defectors Philby and Blake apart - Paddy Hayes recounts the fascinating story of the evolution of the SIS from World War II to the Cold War and beyond through the eyes of one of its outstanding and most unusual operatives. He provides the reader with one of the most intimate narratives yet of how the modern SIS actually went about its business whether in Moscow, Hanoi or the Congo.

Queen of Spies captures the paranoia, the real life 'wilderness of mirrors' aspect of intelligence work finally unveiling all that it may be possible to know about the life of one of Britain's most celebrated spies.

About this title

About the Author:

Paddy Hayes has spent five decades researching the world of intelligence His interest in politics extends to acting as a constituency Director of Elections in the last two general elections in Ireland.

Review:

“Fascinating and long-overdue”
- The Washington Post

“[A]n excellent biography of a remarkable woman...As exciting as any good spy thriller―but it's all true.”
- Kirkus (starred review)

“Hayes is open about his own speculations, given the still-classified nature of much of this material, but he successfully conveys the inspiring nature of Park's personal story and achievements, offering an informative account of the Cold War and the workings of the supersecret SIS.”
- Publishers Weekly

“In a series of vignettes, the author tells a dramatic story that he gathered over five decades of researching the shadowy world of intelligence and those who survived it as an occupation. Miss Park’s achievements were remarkable.”
- The Washington Times

“In his richly entertaining biography, Hayes describes how she once smuggled a man whose life was in danger out of the Congo in the boot of her car. She spent part of the second world war training Special Operations Executive agents before they were dropped by parachute into occupied France.”
- The Guardian

About this edition

• Publisher: Gerald Duckworth & Co Ltd
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0715651226
• ISBN 13: 9780715651223
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336