Agent M: The Lives and Spies of MI5's Maxwell Knight in Espionage Aficionados

Sep 20, 2017 Nooilforpacifists rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-biography, world-war-ii-thriller-espionage

Maxwell Knight wasn't the first "M" in Britain's MI5 (charged with counter-espionage at home), but he's the one on which Ian Flemming modeled his fictional "M" in the James Bond series. This account of his life, supposedly the first since declassification of most WWII and cold war files, tries to separate the man from the legend.

It does an excellent job explaining M's separate structure, not really reporting to MI5. Instead, Knight created his own fiefdom, run from his flat or a leased flat. If Maxwell Knight wasn't the first "M" in Britain's MI5 (charged with counter-espionage at home), but he's the one on which Ian Flemming modeled his fictional "M" in the James Bond series. This account of his life, supposedly the first since declassification of most WWII and cold war files, tries to separate the man from the legend.

It does an excellent job explaining M's separate structure, not really reporting to MI5. Instead, Knight created his own fiefdom, run from his flat or a leased flat. If it was the former, agents were confronted with a zoo--Knight kept curious pets, from birds to monkeys to bears. Agents beware!

The book gets high marks for describing Knight's huge stable of agents and sub-handlers, the most famous of of which were M's long-time friend William Joyce and, later in his career, David Cornwell. M warned the former, the author claims, hours before he was to be interned as a Fascist Enemy of the State--Joyce escaped Berlin, where he re-invented himself as the smoothly effective Nazi propagandist Lord Haw-Haw. The latter took the pen name John Le Carré and went on to greater literary fame…

Also well laid-out are M's espionage triumphs, which often involved female agents, who he thought more trustworthy. That wasn't true for any of his three wives: It's unclear whether he consummated any of his marriages. Knight seemed to have a fear of sex (as opposed to being homosexual, like the famous Cambridge set.)

Yet that's the weakness of this book. Because Knight kept no diary, most everything about M as a human is MIA. Oh, sure, Hemming lists his exploits, but has a more difficult time unearthing the man behind the mask. The closest he comes is late in his career and after retirement, Knight published several popular zoology books, and appeared on BBC radio and TV frequently. But that was for money: early retirement due to health issues cost M his civil service pension.

So Knight could be avuncular. All his agents also said he gave each full attention and encouragement, despite running at least twice the normal stable of agents. But the "twentieth Century's finest Spymaster" left little traces of his true self. Which just shows how good Knight was. It's a shame Hemming couldn't find more about this fascinating man.

Added Sept. 28:

Link to review in "The Weekly Standard", which provides a better flavor of the "Was he a Fascist or a Patriot"? theme:

http://www.weeklystandard.com/the-spy... ...more

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Jun 30, 2017 Cold War Conversations Podcast rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: espionage, world-war-2-western-front, eastern-europe, germany, russia

Fascinating espionage history

Henry Hemmings has put together the fascinated story of the legendary “M”. A complex individual who flirted with Fascism, an expert in animals and a pub landlord, but most famous for his espionage career.

Hemming weaves a story that’s as good as a novel. This isn’t a dry read, but an entertainingly put together story of the early days of British espionage against communist infiltration and it’s swing towards concentrating on fascism as Hitler rises to power.

Some grea ...more

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