"Absolutely fascinating"
This superb biography reveals in depth the many "lives"
led by art historian spy Anthony Blunt who worked
concurrently for British and Soviet espionage agencies
during WW II, but actually betrayed his homeland. Miranda
Carter deeply researches her subject going into the
notorious Blunt's salad days as a disconsolate, lonely, and
abused student. The author follows her subject into Great
Depression England when communism turns appealing to the
leftist intellects especially homosexuals like Blunt that
distrusted and often felt paranoid about English
authority. During WW II, Blunt served in British
intelligence, enabling him to supply secrets to the
Soviets. When his friends defected to the Soviet Union,
Blunt and other Cambridge intellectual playmates were
investigated. In 1964, he received immunity in exchange
for his cooperation. He secret was kept for fifteen years
by the embarrassed British intelligence community until
Prime minister Margaret Thatcher exposed Blunt in 1979. Miranda Carter provides an incredible insight into the
life of one of the strangest enigmatic individuals of the
past century. The author paints the complete picture so
that fans of true life espionage stories and biographies in
general will simultaneously be stunned yet bluntly
fascinated by this spy, almost two decades after his
death. ANTHONY BLUNT HIS LIVES is an intelligent and
engaging true-life account of the infamous art historian
counterspy worth reading. Harriet Klausner
Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted January 13, 2002
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