Sidney Reilly: Master Spy

by Benny Morris

A revealing biography of Sidney Reilly, the early twentieth-century virtuoso of espionage
 
“Mr. Morris’s dogged research . . . lends impressive rigor to this portrait of an often-cryptic figure.”—Diane Cole, Wall Street Journal
 
Sidney Reilly (c. 1873–1925) is one of the most colorful and best-known spies of the twentieth century. Emerging from humble beginnings in southern Russia, Reilly was an inventive multilingual businessman and conman who enjoyed espionage as a sideline. By the early twentieth century he was working as an agent for Scotland Yard, spying on émigré communities in Paris and London, with occasional sorties to Germany, Russia, and the Far East. He spent World War I in the United States, brokering major arms deals for tsarist Russia, and then decided to become a professional spy, joining the ranks of MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service. He came close to overthrowing the Bolshevik regime in Moscow before eventually being lured back to Russia and executed. Said to have been the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s iconic James Bond character, Reilly was simultaneously married to three or four women and had mistresses galore. Sifting through the reality and the myth of Reilly’s life, historian Benny Morris offers a fascinating portrait of one of the most intriguing figures from the golden age of spies.

Genres: Biography, Espionage, Nonfiction, History, Judaism

208 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2022

About the author

Benny Morris is professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Be'er Sheva, Israel. He is a key member of the group of Israeli historians known as the "New Historians".

Reviews

[Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Sidney Reilly – master spy” interested me because as much as I have read about real life spies his name never came up.

This book might just as well be called fiction since about 80-90% is supposition and conjecture. Why an author would write a “Biography” with such scant facts is my question.

Sidney Reilly isn’t even the man’s real name, his real place and date of birth are also in question.

Furthermore I discovered there are other biographies and an “autobiography”. One of those books claims Reilly “is the real-life inspiration behind fictional hero James Bond.”

From the facts that the author can actually verify Reilly was a many-faceted character but the suggestion of Master Spy seems a bit much. While he may have done a bit of ‘spying’ here and there it only happened if and when it was to his advantage. Fortunately he favored the British rather than their enemies.

He appears to have been a Master manipulator, a Master philander, and a Master opportunist.

Nothing of interest here folks!

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book about an interesting guy I didn't know about, but apparently was a big deal. Reilly did a great job spying on Germany in World War I and then went hard after the Bolsheviks in Russia after that. This was a good enough story; sadly for the author, I think I probably would have gotten more from some of the books cited in the bibliography because I didn't care much for the author's style. Also, this was totally on accident, but it was really neat that I read Operation Kronstadt: The True Story of Honor, Espionage, and the Rescue of Britain's Greatest Spy, The Man with a Hundred Faces immediately before reading this book. The work of Paul Dukes and Sidney Reilly in the 19-teens is fascinating to read.

[Bob T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very difficult reading, likely because of the numerous foreign names and intense detail. Thankfully the final chapter serves as a good summary.

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sidney Reilly was a Russian Jewish businessman who changed his identity and alliances so many times during his career that he can seen as an unreliable narrator. He was simultaneously married and in relationships with multiple women, and moved back and forth between the US, Europe and Russia. He served as intelligence spy for MI6 (the British version of the CIA), and brought information back from Russia after he had been brokering arms deals for the Russians. No one really trusted him but he managed to see himself as a Napoleonic character that was going to save Russia from the Bolsheviks. He even collected Napoleonic artifacts that he sold for what would be worth $1 million today. He turned to Russia after being warned not to because he may have been seeking artifacts or hoping to join the Russians in espionage. Reilly was reported to be killed by was living in a Russian prison until a later date when he was tricked into “going for a ride.”

This book is part of the Jewish Lives Series published by Yale University Press, and I have read many books in this series. This particular biography is one of the best books in the series, and one of the most interesting books I have read so far this year. The author went to a great deal of work to research to put this book together and he is to be commended for that.

[Gregg Voss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very, very detailed, almost an academic tome. Perfect for academics but a non-academic reader like myself missed the colorful history of Sidney Reilly.

[Gabriel Stein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Sidney Reilly may or may not have been one of the inspirations for James Bond. But he certainly was a fascinating character, with an amazing life. His story is another example of how fact beats fiction.