About the Author

Andrew Lownie first became interested in the Cambridge Spy Ring when, as President of the Cambridge Union Society in 1984, he arranged an international seminar on the subject. After graduating from Cambridge University, where he won the Dunster Prize for History, Lownie went on to take a postgraduate degree in history at Edinburgh University. He is now a successful literary agent, and has written or edited seven books, including a biography of John Buchan.

Reviews

An abundance of vivid detail from many different voices, viewpoints and nationalities...Stalin's Englishman is a matchless and splendidly exciting read. - The TimesThis exhaustively researched and absorbing book, the first full biographical study and likely to remain the definitive life. - New StatesmanA meticulously researched biography...an astonishing piece of research. - Sunday TimesComplicated, revelatory: a superb biography more riveting than a spy novel. - Sunday TelegraphAs one of this country's foremost literary agents, Andrew Lownie certainly knows what makes a good book, and in Stalin's Englishman he has delivered one of his own - many times over. - IndependentNot every question has been answered, but most have, and those that remain probably never will be. - Independent on SundayIn this meticulous biography of the most colourful of the quintet, espionage expert Lownie argues convincingly that Burgess - often seen as a clownish buffoon - was the key member of the ring, and his treachery the most damaging. - ObserverA magnificent biography...Burgess has all the right ingredients for an engrossing story and Lownie, who has spent 30 years researching this biography, makes the most of it... a narrative as gripping as a thriller. - Daily Express