Sunday 27 May 2018

MI5 and Me, A Coronet Among the Spooks by Charlotte Bingham

"I should have liked it if my life could have returned to what nice people would call normal, but now I  was part of the inner circle that surrounded my father, I had a feeling that it was not going to be possible."

Having read the synopsis for this new release, I was totally on board and quickly secured a copy. This memoir is delightfully understated and therein lies much of its charm. Lottie bumbles about with a kind of Hugh Grant-esque britishness that doesn't seem real. Accidentally discovering communist plots after being told by her father about the real circumstances of his employment, In reality he was supposed to be the inspiration for the character of George Smiley - and you know how much I do love those novels.

I'm not sure how much of the book I can discuss without ruining it. It meanders in a delightful manner and I ate it up. Is it the kind of work that I could wax lyrical about for hours - probably not. Having said that, it is just as tasty as the many tea-cakes sprinkled within its pages.

A look back at a time when stakes were high and the world was not what it seemed. Maybe some things never change.


5 out of 5 - Don't order the lobster.


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