Book review: Russian Roulette a real-life espionage thriller

Russian Roulette
Giles Milton
Hodder & Stoughton

The British authors Somerset Maugham and Compton Mackenzie are among the eccentric cast of characters in Giles Milton's fast-paced and colourful account of MI6's covert battle to thwart Russian Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin's efforts to foment a global revolution against the capitalist order in the early part of the last century.

Mansfield Cumming, a monocle-wearing, one-legged aristocrat with a passion for invisible ink, improvised explosives and miniature cameras, set up the British intelligence agency with the aim of more effectively combating the sophisticated new threats that were emerging in the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape of the time.

The former naval officer deployed a complex network of secret agents in Russia with orders to use whatever dirty tricks were required to put the kibosh on Lenin's plans.

As addictively readable as any good spy novel, Russian Roulette vividly brings to life the early days of modern espionage while at the same time providing a highly informative examination of a pivotal period in history.

pmuir@thenational.ae