Read more
'Love and Deception: Philby in Beirut is a racy confection of known facts and new insights, woven into a surprisingly sympathetic account of the alcohol-fuelled love affair that lit up Philby's last years in the West' George Carey, BBC producer of "The spy Who Went into the Cold"
'The true story of Kim Philby as told by James Hanning surpasses the best spy fiction' Edward Wilson
'James Hanning has unearthed much new information and has written a book of real power' Richard Frost
Love and Deception is the extraordinary story of Eleanor, an able, cultured American woman living in the espionage hot spot of 1950s Beirut and - despite herself - falling in love with the kindest, most sensitive of men, a Lebanon-based journalist with a mysterious past. Unknown to her, the young, idealistic Kim Philby had signed up to help the Russians fight fascism in the 1930s and was to become the 20th century's most notorious double agent. But not only did he adore and marry her - just as the British authorities were closing in on him - but their love survived the most shattering of calamities.
Drawing on some of those closest to the main players, Love and Deception sheds new light on the love of Philby's life and breaks remarkable new ground in revealing the loyalty of his Cambridge contemporaries and the failure of the British authorities to convict them
About the author
Former deputy editor of the Independent on Sunday James Hanning is co-biographer of David Cameron and secured the exclusive collaboration of News of the World investigator Glenn Mulcaire for an expose of the phone hacking scandal. Including new evidence from key figures, Love and Deception: Philby in Beirut is the result of 20 years of research into one of the Cold War's most mysterious episodes.
Summary
'James Hanning's book is excellent . . . The fascination of Love & Deception lies in the meticulously detailed account it gives of Philby's strange half-life in Beirut, where he was banished in 1956' Guardian
Love & Deception is the extraordinary story of how Eleanor, an able, cultured American living in the espionage hot spot of 1950s Beirut, fell in love with the kindest of men. Unknown to her, that man, Kim Philby, was under suspicion by the British and US intelligence services of having secretly signed up to help the Russians fight fascism in the 1930s, and of remaining in their pay at the height of the Cold War. Despite his mysterious past, Eleanor adored and married Philby, but the strength of their love was challenged as the net steadily closed in on him.
The outline of Philby's story is familiar to many, but Love & Deception breaks remarkable new ground. Through extensive research, Hanning produces an eye-opening tale of friendship, politics, love and loyalty.
'Fascinating and superbly researched' TLS
'I am always gripped by the Philby story and James Hanning succeeds in putting new flesh on this fascinating period in his double life . . . I thoroughly recommend it' Marina Hyde
'If ever there was a cautionary tale about the true costs of male privilege in the higher echelons of the British establishment - this is it' Amanda Foreman
Additional text
'Hanning's work is not just a revised look at this passage of Philby's life but an appreciation of how it unfolded through the eyes of Eleanor Kerns - the wife of US correspondent Sam Pope Brewer who became entranced with Philby'
