STARS AND SPIES

A vastly entertaining and unique history of spying and showbiz, from the Elizabethan age to the Cold War and beyond.

Throughout history, there has been a lively crossover between show business and espionage. While one relies on publicity and the other on secrecy both require high levels of creative thinking, improvisation, disguise and role-play. This crossover has produced some of the most extraordinary undercover agents and, occasionally, disastrous and dangerous failures.

STARS AND SPIES is the first history of the interplay between the two worlds, written by two experts in their fields. We travel back to the golden age of theatre and intelligence in the reign of Elizabeth I and onwards into the Restoration. We visit Civil War America, Tsarist Russia and fin de siècle Paris where some writers, actors and entertainers become vital agents, while others are put under surveillance.

And as the story moves through the twentieth century and beyond, showbiz provides essential cover for agents to gather information while hiding in plain sight. At the same time, spying enters mainstream popular culture, in books, film and on TV.

Christopher Andrew is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, in-house historian for MI5, former Visiting Professor of National Security at Harvard University, and guest lecturer at numerous universities. With Oleg Gordievsky, he published KGB The Inside Story, the book that revealed the identity of the fifth man. He is also the author of The Defence of the Realm: The Authorized Official History of MI5. Professor Andrew is also a frequent presenter of BBC TV and radio programmes on history and world affairs.

Dr Julius Green is an award-winning theatre producer and circus director, with over 250 productions to his credit. He is also an entertainment historian, who received an MA in History from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and was awarded his PhD by Goldsmiths, University of London. His books include How to Produce a West End Show and Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre.