Dear Fiona: Letters from a Suspected Soviet

In this poignant and revealing memoir, Fiona DEAR FIONA FIONA DEAR Fullerton tells for the first time the story of Letters from a Suspected Soviet Spy her friendship with Alex Alexandrowicz a category-A high security prisoner who was He was a suspected Cold War spy. to serve 22 years for a crime he didn’t com- mit. Based on their original letters to each She was a KGB double agent in a Bond movie. other, the narrative is one of startling con- trasts — the darkness of a man incarcerated When a prisoner writes to a movie star, the best DEAR FIONA and a woman surrounded by the brightest he can hope for is a signed photo. But when lights of show business. Alex Alexandrowicz wrote to glamorous actress Letters from a Suspected Soviet Spy Fiona Fullerton, he didn’t expect it to lead to a “It is you alone who has given me strength while friendship spanning 30 years. I have been in prison, the strength to restore lost and dying hope into burning resolution”. Fiona Fullerton was for 30 years a leading The book uncovers Alex’s tender poetry, FIONA FULLERTON actress in theatre, television and films. She prison diaries and artwork, often produced is now a property guru, journalist, interior in solitary confinement while Fiona shares designer and author of three books about her doubts about the fragility of celebrity. investing in the property market. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband and two “Have you ever heard of Nadejda Philaretovna children. von Meck? She and Tchaikovsky were corre- sponding for years, they never met — and yet he produced his finest work for her. My finest work shall be for you”. Makes for compulsive reading and poses profound questions about the justice system Dear Fiona is about an enduring friendship “ Edward Fitzgerald QC of mutual support, trust and dependence. Compelling, gripping, moving, insightful ” “Alex, I’ll always be here when you need me. I “ Erwin James, Guardian correspondent ” need you too, don’t forget”. www.WatersidePress.co.uk FIONA FULLERTON ISBN 978-1-904380-85-6 WATERSIDE PRESS Putting justice into words WATERSIDE PRESS 9 781904 380856 Spine 20.44mm for 304pp vancouver opaque @ Biddles DEAR FIONA Letters from a Suspected Soviet Spy FIONA FULLERTON Dear Fiona Letters from a Suspected Soviet Spy Fiona Fullerton ISBN 978-1-904380-85-6 (Hardback) ISBN 978-1-908162-15-1 (Adobe Ebook) ISBN 978-1-908162-16-8 (Kindle/Epub Ebook) Published 2012 by Waterside Press Ltd. Telephone +44(0)1256 882250 Sherfield Gables E-mail [email protected] Sherfield on Loddon Online catalogue WatersidePress.co.uk Hook, Hampshire United Kingdom RG27 0JG UK distributor Gardners Books, 1 Whittle Drive, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6QH. Tel: +44 (0)1323 521777; [email protected]; www.gardners.com North American distributor International Specialized Book Services (ISBS), 920 NE 58th Ave, Suite 300, Portland, Oregon, 97213-3786, USA. Tel: 1 800 944 6190 Fax 1 503 280 8832; [email protected]; www.isbs.com Copyright © 2012 This work is the copyright of Fiona Fullerton. All intellectual property and associated rights are hereby asserted and reserved by the author in full compli- ance with UK, European and international law. No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, including in hard copy or via the internet, without the prior written permission of the publishers to whom all such rights have been assigned worldwide. Cover design © 2012 Waterside Press. Prepared by www.gibgob.com from an original concept by Fiona Fullerton and Martha Milliken. Photograph of Alex Alexandrowicz taken from a flyer “Free Alex Now” advertising a comedy benefit night in 1993. All other photos are from the author’s private collection unless otherwise stated. Cataloguing-In-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library. e-book Dear Fiona is available as an ebook and also to subscribers of Myilibrary and Daw- sonera. See above for ISBN numbers and the formats they relate to. Printed by MPG Books Group, Bodmin and King’s Lynn. DEAR FIONA Letters from a Suspected Soviet Spy FIONA FULLERTON WATERSIDE PRESS Dear Fiona iv Fiona Fullerton Contents Acknowledgements vi About the Author vii Dedication xi Prologue ..................................................... 13 1. The First Letters ............................................... 21 2. The Journey to Parkhurst ..................................... 47 3. Dear Alex .................................................... 53 4. Getting Through the Night ................................... .83 5. The Realm of the Last Inch .................................... 127 6. A New Transition ............................................. 165 7. Rule 43 ...................................................... 201 8. A Sudden Departure ......................................... 221 9. Letting Go .................................................. 253 10. The Night Sky of My Soul .................................... .269 Epilogue: 2011 ............................................... .283 Index ............................................................ 289 v Dear Fiona Acknowledgements I am indebted to the following people: The editor of the Lancashire Telegraph BBC Points West The Koestler Trust Lesley-Anne Hornbogen for typing-up Alex’s handwritten letters with such speed, enthusiasm and efficiency. Ross Slater for finding Alex and for being so gentle. Professor David Wilson for letting me use quotes from some of his writings. Bryan Gibson for permission to use extracts from The Longest Injustice, a book Alex Alexandrowicz co-wrote after his release from prison with David Wilson. That work includes Alex’s ‘Prison Chronicles’ — a manuscript he created telling of his life, arrest, trial, imprisonment and fight for justice. Piers Martin for generously printing the proof copies. Corinna Honan for her sound editorial advice. All those who have given kind permission to use their photographs. Alasdair Kirk for scanning all the archive material. Martha Milliken for her help with the cover. Janie and Mike Wilson for providing a retreat in France. Karen Todner of Kaim Todner for her legal help to re-open Alex’s case. Edward Fitzgerald QC for supporting this book and Alex’s fight for justice. And to K, for returning my letters to me all those years ago. Without them, this book would not have been possible. Fiona Fullerton 2012 vi Fiona Fullerton About the Author Fiona Fullerton was for 30 years a leading actress in theatre, television and films. She is now a property guru, journalist, interior designer and author of three books about investing in the property market. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband and two children. vii Alex Alexandrowicz’s story is one of a disturbing miscarriage of justice. Alex’s perseverance in exposing injustice in this case is admirable. Fiona Fullerton’s book makes for compulsive reading and poses profound questions about the justice system here. Edward Fitzgerald CBE QC This book is dedicated to all those who have suffered a miscarriage of justice. And to Rhea Paige Keogh, Alex’s goddaughter. Prologue ometimes, a true friend can come to you from the most extraordinary Scircumstances. And so it was with Alex. In April 1976, I received a charming letter from prisoner 789959, Anthony Alexandrowicz who was in HM Prison Parkhurst (He is known to everyone as Alex). I was appearing weekly in a popular television series, so fan letters were not unusual, but it was the contents of this one that made me pay attention (coupled with the artistry of the sender’s miniscule and meticulous handwriting). Anyone who pays you a massive compliment and then gives it a twist is worth getting to know, I reckoned. ‘Your face could launch the US Navy and a couple of submarines,’ he wrote, ‘but my pal says just the US Navy.’ I was intrigued. I replied, briefly, but this first simple exchange led to a correspondence that lasted for 12 years. His letters to me were profoundly wise, humorous and comforting and he wrote and dedicated poems to me that were full of pathos and beauty. He could lift my spirits instantly with his witty descrip- tions of life inside, such as his account of lunch on Christmas Day. ‘Heard no bells jingling. Only keys. I’ve just had my Christmas lunch. Yeah, we had turkey. All three hundred of us — a slice each. I held mine up to the light and I could see right through it.’ With his wise counsel and extraordinary intellect (aided by his voracious appetite for literature), Alex took on the role of mentor, always advising me to give that little bit extra, to seek perfection in everything, a practice he called ‘The Realm of the Last Inch’. He supported me through a crumbling marriage that was causing enormous heartache and a roller-coaster career. He would research film roles for me in the prison library, whether it was about 13 Dear Fiona Lady Jane Grey or Van Gogh’s mistress, Rachel. ‘She was partial to drinking gin,’ he wrote, ‘so she fairly quickly lost what remained of her prettiness.’ The eternal pupil in me responded, enraptured, to my new tutor. In return I was there for him during his interminable incarceration, giv- ing him news of my nomadic existence as my career took me around the world. I would encourage him to stay out of trouble inside, knowing that misdemeanours usually meant a stint in solitary confinement. He began to depend on my letters—a lifeline to the outside world, but also a world so very different to anything he could imagine. He couldn’t quite believe that I cared sufficiently to keep writing to him. ‘By the way, you must get hun- dreds of letters every week … do you reply to every one?’ he asked. ‘It is a continuous case of wonderment to me, you know.’ So why did I keep writing? It’s simple. Because I was lonely and something about his situation resonated with mine.

Load more