A Beautiful Spy
Registered by gypsysmom of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on 1/18/2022
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
My terrific husband ordered this book for me for Christmas 2021 but it wasn't released until Jan 4 2022 so I just got it. Sounds like a winner.
I am currently watching Ridley Road on PBS and I keep flashing back to this book which sort of deals with the same subject matter. The one big difference is the time period. This book is set during the 1930s whereas Ridley Road takes place during the Swinging 60s. Despite that 30 year time difference it seems the British government's concern about fringe political movements warrants sending in untrained people to infiltrate them.
Minnie Gray was brought up by her widowed mother in a middle-class town in rural England. She worked as a secretary and, for a while, dated a nice young man but she aspired to more. When a woman she knew intimated that she might work for the secret service if she moved to London, Minnie was intrigued by the possibility. After some time she was contacted by a government official who asked her to infiltrate the Communist Party. Bit by bit Minnie was able to do so but the deeper she got into the Party the more nervous she became. She even had to take a trip to India to hand over money to the Communists there. When she was asked by one of the members of the Party to set up a safe house she was very reluctant to do so but her handler was able to persuade her. The house was used to photograph documents which Minnie was able to determine were plans for a naval vessel. Surely this evidence would be enough to ensure arrests and convictions? Minnie finally was released from her undercover activities but it almost sent her into a complete breakdown.
This novel is based upon the life of a real woman, Olga Gray, who did spy on the Communist Party in the 1930s. During World War II she met a Canadian airman and married him. They moved to Canada after the war and she was quite happy to get away from Britain.
Minnie Gray was brought up by her widowed mother in a middle-class town in rural England. She worked as a secretary and, for a while, dated a nice young man but she aspired to more. When a woman she knew intimated that she might work for the secret service if she moved to London, Minnie was intrigued by the possibility. After some time she was contacted by a government official who asked her to infiltrate the Communist Party. Bit by bit Minnie was able to do so but the deeper she got into the Party the more nervous she became. She even had to take a trip to India to hand over money to the Communists there. When she was asked by one of the members of the Party to set up a safe house she was very reluctant to do so but her handler was able to persuade her. The house was used to photograph documents which Minnie was able to determine were plans for a naval vessel. Surely this evidence would be enough to ensure arrests and convictions? Minnie finally was released from her undercover activities but it almost sent her into a complete breakdown.
This novel is based upon the life of a real woman, Olga Gray, who did spy on the Communist Party in the 1930s. During World War II she met a Canadian airman and married him. They moved to Canada after the war and she was quite happy to get away from Britain.
Journal Entry 3 by gypsysmom at Little Free Library in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on Thursday, August 25, 2022
Released 1 yr ago (8/24/2022 UTC) at Little Free Library in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book inside the Little Free Library on Kylemore Avenue.
When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
