Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1472119851 ISBN 13: 9781472119858

Publisher: Constable & Robinson

Synopsis

Set in blacked-out London during the ominous lull before the Blitz, this true story centres on Tyler Kent, a debonair encryption specialist at the US Embassy - who also happens to be a Soviet mole. He becomes romantically entangled with Anna Wolkoff, a Russian fashion designer and Nazi spy. Together they steal the coded telegrams between President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill: if revealed, these messages would change the outcome of the war. Hot on the trail of Kent and Wolkoff comes the brilliant but eccentric British spymaster Maxwell Knight. He infiltrates the glamorous circle of fascist conspirators gathering in the Russian Tea Rooms, just a stone's throw from South Kensington tube station.

About this title

About the Author

Paul Willetts made his literary debut in 2003 with Fear and Loathing in Fitzrovia, a biography of the bohemian writer and dandy, Julian Maclaren-Ross. His second book was North Soho 999: A True Story of Gangs and Gun-crime in 1940s Soho, a narrative non-fiction police procedural. He is also the author of Members Only, a life of Paul Raymond, which was adapted into The Look of Love, starring Steve Coogan. He has written for The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Independent on Sunday, The Spectator, History Today, and The TLS.

Review

Researched with almost breathtaking depth and ingenuity, this is a compelling story of swirling political and personal cross-currents at the time of our gravest national danger. David Kynaston Rich in period detail, and wonderfully evocative of the strange early months of the Second World War... Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms is as engrossing as a John le Carre thriller. -- Simon Evans Choice magazine Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms is entertaining non-fiction at its best... The writing is engaging, pulling the narrative from character to character. Willetts manages to form a sense of suspense more rigid tellings lack... Willetts has utilised a wonderful way of digesting history... a compelling story equal to some of the best crime fiction. We Love This Book Rendezvous at the Russian Tea Rooms is a fascinating and vivid slice of espionage history... a welcome addition to a neglected aspect of World War Two non-fiction. The book is a beautifully written example of a classic covert operation conducted by MI5's eccentric and charismatic Maxwell Knight to outwit a nest of Nazi sympathisers in the twilight world of wartime London. The protagonists leap off the page... Willetts really brings the shadow world of the London blackout alive in a haze of cocktail parties, nightclubs, secret meetings and old-fashioned tradecraft... it reads like a spy novel, and - even though the outcome is obvious - I couldn't put it down and read it in a weekend. Willetts wears his learning lightly and leaves us with a vivid account of two repellent and deluded individuals. -- Catherine Arnold A tale of Nazi spies among London's elite has all the colour of a first-class thriller The Observer A gripping tale Financial Times A gripping account of what was once hailed as the greatest spy story of the Second World War Tatler Entertaining non-fiction at its best The Bookseller A book that is a valuable addition to Intelligence history as well as an exciting tale itself The Tablet A postwar real-life Second World War spy sage by Herald Magazine favourite Paul Willetts The Herald Powerful and hugely entertaining read Press Association

Edition details

• Publisher: Constable & Robinson
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1472119851
• ISBN 13: 9781472119858
• Binding: Hardcover