CHARACTERIZING KIM PHILBY

by Elizabeth Campbell

B.A. May 2005, Vanderbilt University

A Thesis submitted to

The Faculty of Columbian College of Arts and Sciences of The George Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts

May 16, 2010

Thesis directed by

Ronald Spector Professor of History

To my parents, for their love and financial support

♥♥♥♥♥

ii Abstract

Characterizing Kim Philby

Harold “Kim” Philby was a double agent in the counter-espionage unit of the

British Secret Service during the 1940’s and 50’s. For many years he evaded discovery, passing valuable intelligence over to his Soviet controllers in Moscow. Eventually British officials uncovered Philby’s treasonous activities. He took refuge behind the Iron Curtain, fleeing to Moscow in 1963. But Philby was not to be disposed of so easily. He wrote an autobiography, inspiring the scrutiny of historians, journalists, and popular novelists, who in turn wrote their own versions of the Philby affair. In the midst of the clandestine world of the Cold War, Philby’s exploits thrilled and terrified audiences all over the world.

Kim Philby became a cult figure, and soon it was impossible to separate the person from the image. To many, including his bewildered colleagues in the Secret Service, Kim

Philby became a chameleon, an impenetrable façade. Novelists like John le Carré and

Graham Greene also tried to “crack the code” of Kim Philby, to divorce the man from the myth. His story became a part of their stories: the double agent in Greene’s The Human

Factor , and le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy are based on Philby.

Philby’s story also became part of the story of the Cold War. The political and diplomatic history of the conflict cannot be extricated from its history in popular culture and public perception. The Iron Curtain has fallen, but the history of Cold War intelligence continues to be shaped by novelists, historians, and release of previously classified material from British and Soviet archives. Kim Philby has passed on, but his legacy and the interpretation of his legacy will continue to shape the history of Cold War intelligence for generations to come.

iii Table of Contents

Dedication………………………………………………………………….….page ii

Abstract………………………………………………………………………. page iii

Text……………………………………………………………………………page 1

Bibliography ……………………………………………………………….…page 57

iv “Fiction, as much as or more than actual political events, encouraged the creation of the modern intelligence bureaucracy. This bureaucracy in turn helped the modern espionage novel flourish in the second half of the century.” 1 LynnDianne Beene makes this claim in John le Carré, an analysis of the author’s works and how they fit into the genre of espionage fiction. Beene’s argument is hard to prove or disprove. Intelligence establishments would likely balk at the assertion their existence is based upon a foundation of spy stories written for the general public. Still, the espionage novel and the intelligence establishment are not mutually exclusive entities. Boundaries blurred as agents became novelists, novelists became agents, and agents became subject matter for espionage novels.

Shadowy political figures and covert operations thousands of miles away morphed into an accessible, enjoyable, marketable format: the espionage novel.

Espionage fiction and intelligence establishments became inter-reliant during the

Cold War, as diplomatic negotiations and political machinations replaced traditional large scale military and tactical operations. Intelligence establishments became more valuable, and the espionage novel was a readily accessible format for the general public to experience this secretive world. Espionage novels can be seen as a legitimate history of the

Cold War, 2 particularly as this was the primary way for the general public to penetrate the

Iron Curtain and interpret the Cold War world.

Two espionage novels, John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , and Graham

Greene’s The Human Factor , exemplify the co-dependent relationship between British

1 LynnDianne Beene, John le Carré , Twayne’s English Authors Series (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992), 17. 2 In 1991, John le Carré wrote an introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, in which he actually refers to the text as “an historical novel.” John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (New York: Pocket Books, 2002 © 1991 introduction by David Cornwell. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission), xvi. 1 espionage fiction and the British intelligence establishment. The novels were published

within a few years of each other; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was published in 1974, and

The Human Factor was published in 1978.3 Le Carré and Greene are both in the same

genre as espionage novelists, and they come from similar traditions. The novelists are

often compared to each other, and le Carré is often spoken of as Greene’s contemporary.4

Both authors were agents in the British Secret Service, and their lives and their works were

naturally shaped by their experiences; their novels are inextricably linked to their own

careers in the intelligence establishment. In particular, both novelists were fascinated with

the British spy Harold “Kim” Philby, a British agent who turned traitor and fled to the

Soviet Union in 1963. Their fascination with Philby is evident in their public statements

about Philby and in characters in their novels, particularly Bill Haydon in Tinker, Tailor,

Soldier, Spy , and Maurice Castle in The Human Factor .

At first glance, Greene’s and le Carré’s views on Kim Philby are at opposite ends of

the spectrum. To a great extent, Greene praised and defended Philby, and le Carré

denounced and criticized Philby. However, the picture becomes complicated when

factoring variables such as the identities of the participants, the connection between British

3 John le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , was originally published in 1974. It became the first volume in le Carré’s trilogy “The Quest for Karla,” a series which chronicles the battle of wits between British Secret Service agent George Smiley and Soviet agent Karla. Graham Greene’s The Human Factor was originally published in 1978. Citations are to the following editions: John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (New York: Pocket Books, 2002, © 1974 by David Cornwell. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission); Graham Greene, The Human Factor (New York: Penguin Books, 2008, © 1978 by Graham Greene. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission). 4 Greene and le Carré are often compared in terms of their contribution to the espionage genre. David Monaghan says, “Graham Greene’s spy novels provide a model for le Carré,” in The Novels of John le Carré (Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1985), 86; Tony Barley says, “…Graham Greene-the writer with whom le Carré is most often compared and with whose novels of conscience le Carré’s debate,” in Taking Sides: the fiction of John le Carré (Philadelphia: Open University Press, 1986), 1; and editor Harold Bloom calls le Carré “the literary son of Graham Greene,” in his introduction to Modern Critical Views: John le Carré (New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987), 1.

2 intelligence and espionage novels, and change over time. The authors’ public statements

on Kim Philby and his betrayal deviate from their depiction of the characters in their novels.

Le Carré, Graham Greene, and their connection to Philby must be viewed in a larger

context. The authors’ views of Philby are not static; in particular, le Carré’s views show

marked change over time. Greene and le Carré have identities as novelists, agents in

British intelligence, and as private individuals. Their views on Kim Philby are influenced

by their backgrounds and how they identified with him. An analysis of the authors’ view

of Philby helps determine the connection between espionage novels and British

intelligence, and how this connection helped shape the history of the Cold War.

Kim Philby is a useful lens to view the complex connection between espionage

novels and the history of British intelligence. Philby is an elusive personality, an enigma to

historians as well as novelists. The circumstances surrounding Philby’s life, defection,

motivations and character are all shrouded in mystery. To many people, Kim Philby

represents a question that can never be answered, an enigma that fascinates and terrifies.

There is a sense of unreality when one analyzes Kim Philby, and because of this Philby

lends himself to character portrayal, a tendency even he exploits. 5 Historians and analysts

pose countless questions when considering the puzzle of Kim Philby. Who was he, and

what were his motivations for becoming a double agent? Did he sincerely believe in the

Soviet cause? What does Philby represent for the British intelligence establishment, and

for the Cold War? Can he be seen as an aberration, an entity that should be seen isolated

5 In his autobiography, Kim Philby plays with the reader and the concept of truth, such as when he states, “I will therefore content myself with a few hints at the truth, adjuring the reader only not to fall flat on his face into traps of his own making,” in My Silent War (New York: The Modern Library, 2002. First published 1968 in Great Britain by MacGibbon & Kee Ltd.), 198. Citations are to The Modern Library edition. 3 from the history of the intelligence establishment, or is he inextricably linked to, or worse,

representative of the British intelligence establishment?

An analysis of Kim Philby should be seen in the greater context of British

intelligence, particularly in the post World War II era of MI-5 and SIS. In Secret Service:

The Making of the British Intelligence Community , Christopher Andrew describes the

Philby affair in the context of the history of the British Secret Service. Secret Service was

published in 1985, and Andrew is hesitant to speculate on the extent of the effect Philby

had on British intelligence. “It is still too early to attempt any balanced assessment of the

operational successes and failures of the British intelligence community since the era of

Philby and Penkovsky.” 6 However, it is notable that an acclaimed historian of British intelligence defines its future in terms of Philby. Andrew does not speak of it merely as a watershed moment. He uses it as a reference point, a comparative basis for subsequent events such as the capture of Anthony Blunt in 1979, after which the intelligence community became much more accountable to the British government.7

Christopher Andrew links the rise of the contemporary British intelligence community with suspicion of German subversive activities in the early twentieth century.

The Secret Service Bureau was formed in 1909, and shortly after split into two sections; a domestic section to protect Britain from foreign attack (what would later be termed MI5), and a foreign section devoted to obtaining intelligence information abroad (what would later be termed MI6 or Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)).8

6 Christopher Andrew, Secret Service: The Making of the British Intelligence Community (London: Heinemann, 1985), 499. 7 Ibid, 504. 8 Andrew, Secret Service , 58-59; Stephen Twigge, Edward Hampshire, and Graham Macklin, British Intelligence: Secrets, Spies, and Sources (Kew: The National Archives, 2008), 21. 4 The role of British intelligence became increasingly important during World War II, largely

due to Winston Churchill’s efforts to accredit the intelligence community. Churchill had

long appreciated the importance of studying intelligence, from his years as home secretary,

first lord of the Admiralty, and as a minister of Parliament. He became Prime Minister on

May 10, 1940, and quickly encouraged the expansion of the intelligence community,

particularly at Bletchley Park, the location of the Government Code and Cypher School

(GC & CS). 9 GC & CS was created in 1919 as “a peacetime cryptographic unit.” 10 It had a dual purpose: to protect security interests of government agencies by serving as a consultant, and to keep watch on developments in international cryptography by analyzing and intercepting ciphers and giving them to the Foreign Office. 11

GC & CS was a small unit, led by Alastair Denniston from 1919-1942. Denniston was an efficient manager, very involved in the development of the unit. He kept GC & CS fairly independent and self-contained. At the same time, Rear Admiral Hugh Sinclair, leader of SIS, was the official director of GS & CS, and he emphasized the importance of keeping a vigilant watch over the Russians. 12 During the early twenties, code-breakers at

GS & CS focused on cracking Russian codes. As time passed, and as the Communists came to power, Russia was increasingly perceived to be a risk to British national security. 13

After World War II, the new-found importance of British intelligence had both positive and negative consequences. MI5 grew in scale and scope of activity, yet at the

9 Ibid, 448-9. 10 Ibid, 259. 11 Ibid. For further reading, Andrew suggests: A.G. Denniston, Untitled memoir on GC & CS, December 2, 1944, CCAC Denniston MSS DENN ¼; W.F. Clarke, “The Years Between,” CCAC Clarke MS CLKE 3; Report of the Inter-Service Directorate Committee, April 9, 1923, PRO WO 32/4897. 12 Ibid, 295. Sinclair was called “‘a terrific anti-Bolshevik.’” Andrew cites: Young, ed., Lockhart Diaries , vol. I, 97. 13 Andrew, Secret Service , 260, 294-296, 338. 5 same time it was “highly improvised;” 14 a mentality that affected the nature and ability of

the agents they recruited. SIS fared worse; there was friction within the ranks, and Andrew

cites Graham Greene’s judgment of the ineptitude present within the department. 15

The laxity in the intelligence community, particularly in SIS, made the department

more vulnerable to infiltration from abroad as well as from subversion within. In the

World War II and post World War II era, British intelligence was increasingly co-

dependent upon American intelligence agencies, and Britain allied with the United States

against the Soviets in the Cold War struggle. The Cold War coincided with the creation of

new nations and an international community, and for SIS the threat of foreign intervention

became especially acute. SIS not only expanded their operations, but they changed the

very nature of their work. They became much more involved in covert operations, whereas

previously this had not been their focus. 16

These changes within the SIS made it easier for people like Kim Philby to function

as double agents. Philby had previously profited from the latitude within the department:

“Kim Philby saw in the wartime tension between amateurs and professionals a remarkable

opportunity to worm his way to the top of SIS.” 17 This latitude was compounded by the

outdated leadership and social biases present in the SIS. Leaders such as Colonel Claude

Dansey and Colonel Valentine Vivian were old soldiers who had served abroad in the

British colonies. Their old-school vision of Empire affected the development of the Secret

Service in the years prior to, during, and after WWII, creating conflicts with the new

14 Andrew, Secret Service , 459. 15 Ibid. See Andrew’s chapter “Winston Churchill and the Making of the British Intelligence Community,” and “Epilogue: War and Peace” for a look at the post-WWII British Intelligence community. For Greene’s judgment on the competency of the SIS, see 461. 16 Andrew, Secret Service . See “Epilogue: War and Peace,” with special reference to 489-491. 17 Ibid, 462. 6 recruits. 18 There were also class conflicts within the SIS. The social structure of the SIS

had remained rigid, even as the prosaic reality of WWI and the post-war era shook the

notion of national security and the immutability of the British upper class. “This mystique

of class superiority came as naturally to its members as breathing; that it might be a false

mystique which had dangerously outlived its validity simply did not occur to anyone.” 19

The rigidity and aloofness made it easier for a seemingly innocuous individual like Kim

Philby to enter the SIS and move up in the ranks.

It is exceptionally difficult to decipher Kim Philby. The boundaries between fact

and fiction blur as one analyzes his life and motivations for defection. Speculation and

myriad possibilities can quickly spiral out of control, and it becomes difficult to find a

reality in which to ground an analysis of Kim Philby. There are few details known about

his life, few certainties to anchor an analysis and establish a basis of comparison. Harold

Kim Philby was born on January 1, 1912. He was born to a celebrated politician and

explorer, St. John Philby, and Kim’s desire for fame and recognition likely evolved from

his mixed feelings towards his father. St. John Philby’s rebellious personality and

extremist political views led to his reputation as the “bane of the Foreign Office.” 20 Kim

was alternately awed by and intimidated by his father, and likely felt pressure to achieve a

similar degree of notoriety, by rebellion if not by emulation. 21 Kim grew up in the

aftermath of World War I. The war was devastating to Britain, and life in the country

could not go on as before. Domestically, the war wreaked havoc upon the social structure

18 Ibid, 346, 357, 461. 19 Andrew Boyle, The Fourth Man: The Definitive Account of Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and Donald Maclean and Who Recruited Them to Spy for Russia (New York: The Dial Press/James Wade, 1979), 218. For more on class conflicts in the Secret Service, see 218-219. 20 Verne W. Newton, The Cambridge Spies: The Untold Story of Maclean, Philby, and Burgess in America (Lanham: Madison Books, 1991), 41. 21 Ibid, 41, 50. 7 of the British upper class. Over a million men were killed, many belonging to the public

school set. These men were seen as representing the country’s future, and their loss was

felt keenly. 22 The war ended in 1918, when Harold Kim Philby was a young child.

Philby completed boarding school in Westminster, and subsequently entered

Cambridge University in 1929. 23 Britain was still adjusting to the aftermath of World War

I, and in this amorphous state, the country was especially susceptible to alternative political

ideologies. With the success of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, Marxist ideology

became an appealing alternative, particularly to the impressionable young men at public

schools. In Cambridge, in 1933, “the cult of Communism established itself openly as

something more pervasive and sinister than a passing fashion.” 24 Moreover, this was the

beginning of the Great Depression, and the global climate of uncertainty and unrest was

echoed on the campus. This period, like so many in Philby’s life, is shadowed in mystery,

and it is unclear why, how, or even when exactly Philby joined the Communist Party. 25

While at Cambridge, Philby met Marxist converts and future double agents Guy Burgess,

Donald Maclean, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross. The five, known as the Cambridge

Five, were known only by number, and the hunt for their identities would plague the British

Secret Service for four decades.

These young men would secretly pledge their loyalty to Moscow and the

Communist cause. They would join the British intelligence establishment and pass secret

information to KGB headquarters in Moscow. Kim Philby was one of these students, but

he was the “third man;” a follower not the ringleader. The first man was Guy Burgess, an

22 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 42. 23 Newton, The Cambridge Spies , 41. 24 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 74. 25 Newton, “Philby: The Drug of Deceit,” in The Cambridge Spies, with special reference to 41-3, 50. 8 eccentric, outspoken student notorious for his vicious outbursts and rumored homosexual

proclivities. 26 Maclean, the son of a Liberal MP in the National Government, was an intellectual, more subdued, less brash than Burgess, a writer rather than a speaker. He suppressed his Socialist leanings while his father was alive, but after his death Donald became an ardent Communist. Maclean met Burgess and Burgess’s friend, Anthony Blunt, at Trinity Hall at Cambridge. 27

Guy Burgess became a Marxist recruiter, and he began spending a great deal of time with Harold “Kim” Philby. Kim was outwardly unremarkable: he was not an outstanding student and he had a stutter which rendered him an observer rather than a participant. Burgess knew Philby was the son of the illustrious St. John Philby, and as such thought he would be a valuable recruit for the Soviets. Burgess thought the glamour of

Communism would pique Kim Philby’s interest. In the aftermath of the War, Philby would not have his father’s opportunities in the post WWI “hidebound British diplomatic service.” 28 Philby came to know Burgess and Maclean. He joined the Labour Club, but he did not outwardly display Marxist convictions.29 Philby was particularly cautious, but

Headquarters in Moscow ordered Philby, Maclean, and Burgess to hide their allegiance to the Party. 30 Christopher Andrew credits the Russians with the foresight to see the potential in students such as Blunt, Maclean, and Philby, a foresight SIS did not share. “At a time

26 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 70, 76, 79, 83. 27 Ibid, 51, 53, 67-70, 108. 28 Ibid, 89. 29 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 71-2, 88-9. In chapter two, “The Young Misfits,” Boyle describes the childhoods of Burgess, Maclean, and Philby, (the First, Second, and Third men of the Cambridge Five) and their friendship, their personalities, and the degree of their commitment to Marxism. 30 Andrew, Secret Service , 407. 9 when the Foreign Office remained anxious to recruit some of the ablest graduates straight

from university, it remained apparently content that SIS should recruit almost none.” 31

After his years at Cambridge, Philby travelled to Vienna, where he met the woman who would become his wife. Litzi was a vocal Communist, and in the pre-war years,

Vienna was in the midst of a struggle between Socialists and the Monarchists. Philby did help Litzi in the struggle against the Monarchists, but he was more discreet, staying in the background and leaving his actions up to interpretation. 32 He aided Socialists fleeing from

Germany, and participated in a transportation strike in which the Schutzbund, the militia of the Viennese Social Democrats, rallied against the Austrian government. 33 After returning to England, Philby worked in the propaganda wing of the Anglo-German Fellowship, an agency that criticized the British media’s filtration of British and German politics. 34

Philby moved to Spain in 1937, taking a job as a newspaper correspondent for The Times .

He was seen as a respectable, trustworthy correspondent, yet at the same time he publicly avowed pro-Nationalist, anti-Socialist views. He thus established his anti-Communist credentials, ensuring he would be seen as credible and impartial. He was so successful that

Franco actually gave him the Red Cross of Military Merit. Philby and Litzi separated, and

Philby courted Lady Lindsay-Hogg, a Canadian actress who mingled with Spanish socialites. But Philby soon left her and returned to London. 35

31 Ibid, 408. 32 Bruce Page, David Leitch, and Phillip Knightley, “Commitment in Vienna,” in The Philby Conspiracy (New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1968), 53-61. 33 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 123-124. 34 Ibid, 139-140. 35 Page, Leitch, and Knightley, “The Spanish Decoration,” in The Philby Conspiracy , 85-96. 10 Philby returned to London, resigned from The Times , and joined Section D of the

Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1940. 36 Section D, formed a mere two years earlier, was hastily created in an attempt to promote propaganda and carry out sabotage operations.

The rapidity of Section D’s creation and the unformulated nature of its assignments led to a poor reputation in the early days of the war. The ineptitude within the department meant

Burgess and Philby, even as lower-level staff, had a degree of power in creating policy.

Burgess suggested the formation of ‘Guy Fawkes College’ to train new recruits who would be embarking on secret intelligence operations. With the official corroboration in place,

Burgess and Philby went to work at the new school. However, the college was quickly subsumed by the restructuring of intelligence operations under the Minister of Economic

Warfare. 37

In 1941, Kim Philby transferred to the counterespionage department of SIS, then under the command of Felix Cowgill. 38 At this time, SIS was partial to hiring from the

upper strata of British society, and “gentlemen were preferable to players.” 39 Philby was

adept at mingling amongst the different stratums of society,40 he had forged connections at

Cambridge, and he also had good connections within SIS. Colonel Valentine Vivian, SIS’s

deputy chief and an old friend of Philby’s father, was instrumental in helping him enter

MI6. 41 Philby was hired to help improve the strained relations between MI6 (counter

espionage) and MI5 (domestic intelligence). The organizations had a long history of

36 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 188-190. 37 Ibid, 189-194. 38 Ibid, 215-217. 39 Ibid, 218. 40 Newton says of Philby: “a born bureaucratic politician, both the Old Guard, to whom he was correctly deferential, and the young Turks, who seemed to detect a knowing twinkle in his eye, thought of him as one of their own.” The Cambridge Spies , 53-4. 41 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 220. 11 rivalry: years before, MI6 had taken over their counter espionage department. During

WWI, MI5 records were destroyed by German bombings, and the head of MI5, Major-

General Sir Vernon Kell, was held responsible. 42

Philby’s Socialist leanings at Cambridge were not unusual at this time; many

students had espoused Marxist ideals in the pre World War II years. Most of these had

renounced their commitment to Communism after the disastrous results of the Spanish

Civil War, and after the Soviet collusion with the Nazis. Philby, it seemed, fit neatly into

this order of impetuous young men who had matured and seen the error of their ways.

Philby’s personality and temperament also ensured his success. He was charming and

well-mannered; ambitious yet painstakingly diligent. He was popular with the staff as well

as the upper rank of officials. 43 “The most general reaction was simply to idolise him, and

those who did not actually idolise him relied on him.” 44

In his new position at MI6, Philby was quick to appreciate the changes in the nature

of classified operations. During World War II, rapid advances in code-breaking technology

meant it was easier to gather and intercept intelligence through the airwaves. Secret

operations were no longer limited to SIS; code-breakers at the Government Code and

Cypher School in Bletchley Park regularly intercepted enemy intelligence, and the staff at

SIS frequently used their findings. 45 Meanwhile, during this time period Philby was not in a position to gather much information for Moscow. Philby’s drive, along with pressure from headquarters in Moscow, led his quest to move up in the ranks of SIS. He worked hard to learn the logistics of the operations, and became friendly with the staff and officers.

42 Ibid, 221-222. 43 Page, Leitch, and Knightley, The Philby Conspiracy , 146-147. 44 Ibid, 147. 45 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 225. 12 He also came to know Cowgill’s enemies over in MI5, particularly Valentine Vivian and

Claude Dansey, and he helped the American officers in the Office of Strategic Services

(OSS). 46

In late 1943, Philby once again took the lead and used departmental rivalries to his advantage. In Berne, Switzerland, an employee of the German Foreign Office stole classified documents and gave them to Allen Dulles, an OSS agent. Dulles was obliged to share copies of the documents with Colonel Claude Dansey in MI5. Dulles believed the documents were legitimate and could prove vitally important. However, Dansey, annoyed with what he saw as OSS over-stepping its boundaries, quickly discredited the documents and their source. Philby quickly stepped in, passing the documents over to the Foreign

Office and the code breakers at Bletchley Park. 47

Meanwhile, the Allies were finally beating back the Axis powers, and the war was drawing to a close. Britain and the United States had allied with Russia against Germany, but towards the end of the war, Stalin’s drive for power and conquest became increasingly obvious. In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, Britain and the United States ceded

Poland to the Russians. 48 In the wake of the Russian threat, SIS decided to form a new department, Section Nine, to focus exclusively upon Soviet counter-espionage. Felix

Cowgill wanted to head this prestigious new department, but Philby and his leaders in

Moscow thought this was a chance for Philby to obtain a uniquely desirable position. As head of Soviet counter espionage efforts, Philby would be able to pass along information vital to Soviet national security interests. Philby conspired against Cowgill, using

46 Ibid, 225-232, 239. 47 Ibid, 239-240. 48 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 263-4. 13 Valentine Vivian to discredit Cowgill and the work he had done for SIS. The plan worked,

and Philby assumed control of the new department in late 1944. 49 In the following years, the information Philby passed along to the Soviets cost the lives of many British agents. 50

In August 1945, Philby averted a catastrophe. In Istanbul, Konstantin Volkov, a Soviet defector, bargained the identities of three British double agents. Learning of the threat,

Philby quickly stepped in, and Volkov was exiled to Moscow. 51

After the war, intelligence was seen as less vital for national security. The new

Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, reduced and restructured the SIS, recalling many agents overseas. “The decision reduced the direct damage Philby would otherwise have been able to inflict on the service during this first uncertain period of the Cold War.” 52 Meanwhile, dramatic changes were occurring within the British Intelligence community . During the war, the focus of intelligence operations was centered upon code-breaking operations, most prominently in Bletchley Park. After World War II, SIS formed five divisions: Finance and Administration, Production, Requirements, Training and Development, and War

Planning. The emerging Cold War containment philosophy made Britain increasingly suspicious of Stalin and the Soviet Union, especially after Stalin took over Poland and

Czechoslovakia. 53 Britain needed more information on Soviet intelligence operations, so they formed the Information Research Department (IRD) “to collect information on

49 Ibid, 253-6. 50 Ibid, 285-6. Boyle emphasizes there is no way of knowing exactly how many lives were lost due to Philby, but Boyle wages 30-40 British agents were killed in the years 1945-1947. 51 Ibid, 268-9. 52 Ibid, 285. 53 Twigge, Hampshire, and Macklin, British Intelligence , 79-80. 14 Communist policy, tactics and propaganda and to provide material for anti-Communist

publicity abroad.” 54

While Philby was in Section Nine, Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess were also busy passing secrets to the Soviets. Burgess took a position at the Foreign Office as aide to

Hector McNeil, the Foreign Secretary’s assistant. Maclean went to serve as diplomat at the

British Embassy in Washington, DC. 55 But Burgess and Maclean were starting to lose their

nerve. Burgess became depressed, started abusing alcohol and narcotics, and began

throwing fits, often embarrassing his friends and co-workers. McNeil transferred Burgess

to the IRD, under Christopher Mayhew, but Mayhew fired Burgess after only three months,

relegating him to a lesser post in the Far Eastern Department of the Foreign Office. 56

Meanwhile, at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, officials suspected a mole, but at first their search centered not on Maclean, but upon the atomic scientists. Even so,

Maclean, like Burgess, was beginning to feel the strain of constantly putting on a false front. Maclean began drinking, and on a sailing trip in Egypt, he assailed a watchman in front of his co-workers. After therapy sessions, Maclean went to London to work in the

American Department of the Foreign Office. 57

Eventually, suspicion centered upon Maclean. Guy Burgess, who had been aware of developments, was entrusted with helping Maclean flee the country. Burgess drove to his home late at night on May 25, 1951. Initially, Burgess was to take Maclean to

Southampton, where Maclean would sail to France, then Russia. However, Burgess took the extra precaution of taking Maclean to France. The Russians thought it best that

54 Ibid , 80. 55 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 267-8, 290. 56 Ibid, 317-323, 325. 57 Boyle, The Fourth Man , 324, 327-331, 357-8. 15 Burgess come to Moscow with Maclean. Thus, the first and second man were effectively

out of reach, behind the Iron Curtain, and Philby remained in London. 58

The departures of Maclean and Burgess did not terrorize the SIS. The atmosphere was one of “confusion, misunderstanding and divisions.”59 The hunt for the third man was underway. At the same time, with the ordeal of Maclean and Burgess, intelligence officials

“had quite enough on their plate already.” 60 Philby was subsequently probed by Dick

White, a senior official in MI5, but even then former colleagues had mixed emotions; “the sympathy expressed on his behalf was unfeigned.” 61 Philby’s name was tainted, and he was forced to leave. 62 Following the British ineptitude in the Suez War in 1956, the SIS attempted to reorganize. Dick White became the new Chief of SIS, and he made a concerted effort to stop the leaks within the department. During White’s tenure in office, agent George Blake was caught in 1961, the Portland spy ring was captured in 1961, and

Soviet Colonel Oleg Penkovsky provided an extraordinary amount of information to the

British and the Americans. Philby traveled around the Middle East, his reputation safe if not secure, until 1961, when conclusive evidence proved Philby was the sought for third man. Kim Philby’s betrayal was confirmed by Soviet agents Anatoli Golitsin and Michal

Goleniewski. Philby was condemned, though he escaped to the Soviet Union two years later from Beirut. Philby fled in January of 1963, leaving from Lebanon. 63

Philby’s remaining years behind the Iron Curtain are even more mysterious, especially from a Western perspective. This is yet another reason Philby fascinates so

58 Ibid, 367-377. 59 Ibid, 387. 60 Ibid , 388. 61 Ibid , 393. 62 Ibid, 389-393. 63 Twigge, Hampshire, and Macklin, British Intelligence , 83; Andrew, Secret Service , 495-497. 16 many. He represents a window into the East, a look behind the Iron Curtain during the

Cold War era. But it is not only Philby’s actions which fascinate people, it is the reasons

behind his actions. There is no still no conclusive answer as to why Philby defected, or

how loyal he was to the Soviet cause. Philby encouraged this speculation. He wrote an

autobiography, entitled My Silent War , which was published in Britain in 1968. In the

introduction, Philby says his work is “not a history or a treatise or a polemic,” but “a

personal record.” 64 Philby entices the reader. He tries to gain credibility by refuting the

claim he was a double agent, saying his mission was simple: “all through my career I have

been a straight penetration agent working in the Soviet interest.” 65 However, within the

work he changes sides, not only literally as an agent, but as a narrator. He plays with the

notion of “us” and “they” and concepts such as history and truth. The tone is light-hearted

and nonchalant, such as when he describes his rise in SIS “Section V, to which I found

myself attached,”66 downplaying his ambition and releasing himself of responsibility.

The carefree tenor is even more evident in a chapter entitled “Ordeal,” when Philby

says he “experienced some mild social embarrassment,” 67 when the British newspapers

published stories about his suspected treason. In the end, Philby purposefully leaves the

reader with more questions than answers. At the end of the work, Philby states, “the first

duty of an underground worker is to perfect not only his cover story but also his cover

personality.” 68 The whole of My Silent War can be seen as Philby’s “cover personality.” At

first glance, the work can be seen as intensely personal, because of the powerful yet

64 Philby, introduction to My Silent War , xxx. 65 Ibid, xxix. 66 Philby, My Silent War , 43. 67 Ibid, 180. 68 Ibid, 201. 17 mocking presence of the narrator. But the subject matter, the gravity of Philby’s life, his

political views and defection, and even the effort it took Philby to write the text all hint at

an underlying seriousness.

The text is not merely an autobiography, or a defense, or a tribute to the Soviet

cause. Philby deliberately leaves his reader guessing at the truth behind the man, behind

the story, and behind his motivations for writing My Silent War . There is a

commercialization behind the text. Philby tries to sell himself, to sell the book, at the

expense of whatever truth he has to offer regarding his life and his defection to the Soviet

Union. 69 Philby understands the appeal of his elusive, enigmatic façade, and he wants that appeal to trump his real motivations and reasons for defection, whatever those may be.

Graham Greene and John le Carré, like so many others, attempted to decipher the mystery of Kim Philby. They had a personal and professional interest in Philby. Le Carré and Greene had much in common with each other, and they each had much in common with Kim Philby. Greene, le Carré, and Philby had careers in British Intelligence; Greene with Philby in Section V in SIS, and le Carré with the National Service and SIS. They all became authors, though Greene and le Carré are known first and foremost as novelists, and

Philby’s literary achievement is an autobiography commercializing his life. To a greater

69 In an article for the New York Times , Ron Rosenbaum sheds light on Philby’s motivations for writing My Silent War . Rosenbaum interviewed Mikhail Lyubimov, a former KGB agent who used to work with Philby, and who knew Philby after he defected to Moscow. Lyubimov describes Philby’s disappointment at his new home in Moscow, and his attempt to regain prestige through the publication of My Silent War. Rosenbaum calls My Silent War “one of the chief instruments of torture the K.G.B. used against him.” Philby never was able to attain the degree of celebrity in the Soviet Union that, in absentia, he achieved in England. It was not only that the Soviets blocked his efforts, but they did not see Philby as worthy of their consideration; “it took 12 years of delays, of brutal editing, of bad translations for Philby to get a mutilated version of ‘My Silent War’ into print in Russian.” Ron Rosenbaum, “Kim Philby and the Age of Paranoia,” New York Times , July 10, 1994, http://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/10/magazine/kim-philby-and-the-age-of- paranoia.html?scp=1&sq=Ron%20Rosenbaum%20Kim%20Philby%20Age&st=cse 18 extent, Greene and le Carré allow their personal lives to remain in the background. They are analysts, whereas Philby is the subject of analysis.

Graham Greene knew Kim Philby personally: he worked for him in the Section V office of MI6 in London. Greene even wrote an introduction to Philby’s autobiography,

My Silent War . Interestingly, Greene seems to have felt a personal loyalty to Philby as a friend, yet he was still able to see him in an impersonal light. He says Philby “was serving a cause and not himself.”70 He feels a connection to Philby, yet at the same time he objectifies Philby. Greene clearly admires Philby, but does not want to seem too close to him. Greene defended Philby partially out of friendship, but also out of Greene’s desire to stand out as an individual, a tendency that translates to his identity as a novelist. Greene constantly went against the grain, defying convention and categorization. He rebelled against an investment in public opinion, and this is a factor in his passionate defense of

Philby. 71

John le Carré was also intrigued by Kim Philby, his career in British intelligence, and his defection to the Soviet Union. Le Carré, like Greene, served in British intelligence .

He never met Philby: in fact, in an interview with Rod Liddle, le Carré confessed he avoided meeting with Philby. He had an opportunity in 1987, but he turned it down. Le

Carré said, “‘I just couldn’t do it. … And remember, he was responsible for sending

70 Graham Greene, foreword to My Silent War (foreword reprinted by permission of David Higham Associates, London: Granada Publishing Ltd., 1968), xx. 71 In his introduction to The Human Factor , Colm Tóibín analyzes the friendship between Greene and Philby “it is important not to exaggerate their closeness.” Tóibín emphasizes Greene’s reputation as a novelist was his primary vanity and concern: “Greene was ambitious enough as a novelist to want his novels to be as significant as public events.” Colm Tóibín, introduction to The Human Factor (London: Penguin Books, 2008, © 2008 introduction by Colm Tóibín. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by permission.), x. In Greene’s foreword to My Silent War , he alternates tone. He speaks of Philby from the perspective of a personal friend but also from a more detached perspective, evaluating Philby in terms of a Soviet double agent. 19 countless British agents to their deaths.’”72 But le Carré concedes his words were perhaps

too simply put. He “was trying to convey my emotional response.”73 It seems le Carré feels it is what he ought to have said, the reaction he thought he should give when in reality the situation was far more complex. Le Carré felt a strong connection to Philby because of their similarities, which he concedes in a 1991 introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy .

Le Carré states, “I disliked Philby because he had so many of my attributes. He was public-school educated, the son of a wayward and dictatorial father…he drew people easily to him and he was adept at hiding his feelings, in particular, his seething distaste for the bigotries and prejudices of the English ruling classes.” 74 This paradoxical separation from

Philby and connection to him coalesces into an intense condemnation of Philby.

Greene’s and le Carré’s views of Kim Philby are naturally influenced by their own lives and their identities as novelists. Graham Greene is difficult to categorize as a novelist.

He is noted for his subversive political views, his views on the Catholic Church, and the dark, psychological portrayals of his characters. At first glance, espionage may seem one more facet of Greene’s identity as a novelist. Yet Michael Sheldon, author of Graham

Greene: The Man Within , claims, “it is impossible to make sense of Greene’s life until one acknowledges the extent of his devotion to spying.” 75 Greene, like Philby, led a life immersed in secrecy and espionage. He was born on October 2, 1904, to Charles and

Marion Greene. He was born into a “typical English middle-class family.” 76 He had three brothers, two sisters, and, including other relatives, he grew up in a household of sixteen.

72 Rod Liddle, “John le Carré has a surprising new story to tell,” interview with John le Carré, Sunday Times , September 14, 2008, http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4746982.ece 73 Liddle, “John le Carré has a surprising new story to tell.” 74 Le Carré, introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , xiii. 75 Michael Sheldon, Graham Greene: The Man Within (London: Heinemann, 1994), 29. 76 Norman Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene: Volume One: 1904-1939 (London: Jonathan Cape, 1989), 5. 20 The Greenes were also physically similar. They were an imposing group; many were over

six feet tall. 77 Amongst his forbearers were Robert Louis Stevenson and several lesser-

known individuals prominent in the community at Berkhamsted. The Greenes felt a shared

notion of identity: to be a Greene was to be one of a type. 78 Many of his family members

worked in the world of intelligence, most notably his sister, Elisabeth, who worked in SIS,

and his uncle, Sir William Graham Greene, a celebrated officer in the British Admiralty

who worked with naval intelligence. Greene’s father, Charles Henry, was the headmaster

at Berkhamsted, and Charles encouraged school children to act as spies and informants, a

philosophy which affected his own children. 79

When Graham was a teenager, he became a pupil at Berkhamsted School. The

experience was a traumatic one. Graham was gangly and uncoordinated, and as the

headmaster’s son, he quickly became prey for the other students. He became suicidal, and

his parents decided it would be best for him to go away to London. 80 Greene’s troubles at

school, psychological struggles, and domineering family likely contributed to his

independent nature and difficulty in trusting people.

Greene later became involved in British intelligence, though he is characteristically

silent about the nature and duration of his involvement. He admits to working in Section V

of SIS during World War II, beginning in July of 1941. He was station chief in West

Africa for fourteen months, then transferred to the Section V division in England, where he

came to know Kim Philby. Greene officially quit SIS on May 9, 1944, but he likely stayed

77 Sheldon, Graham Greene: The Man Within , 22-23. 78 Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene: Volume One , 3-5. 79 For more on Graham Greene’s family background, see chapter 2, “I Spy,” in Sheldon’s Graham Greene: The Man Within , with special reference to 19-29. 80 Sheldon, “Yes and No,” in Graham Greene: The Man Within , 63-5. 21 involved, assisting them for the next four decades. Greene was a world traveler, and his

plans and locals frequently coincided with revolts and political insurgencies, notably in

Prague in 1948 and Hanoi in 1951. He often traveled behind the Iron Curtain to places

such as Moscow, Warsaw, and East Berlin. He also worked with filmmaker Alexander

Korda, who was also involved in secret service work, most notably with Claude Dansey of

the SIS. Greene even went to Prague in 1948 to conduct research for Korda’s The Third

Man .81

Greene was always influenced by the world of espionage. It probably appealed to

him because of the secrecy, the melodrama, the psychological gauging of one’s opponent.

In espionage, individuals work alongside constructs such as nations and political

institutions. This naturally appealed to Greene, who did have strong feelings about modern

society, even if it took the nature of opposition or rejection. Sheldon says Greene, “did not

care for countries or politics, no matter how often he may have pretended to,” 82 but he did

care enough about them to incorporate them into his writing. Greene had difficulty

separating himself as an individual from constructs such as countries and religion. He

prized his individualistic identity, yet he felt a debt to his upbringing, his Catholicism, his

British heritage, and his career in SIS. This tortuous divide marks Greene and his work.

He wanted to remain above the world around him, to create an individualistic identity as a

novelist, yet the material for his novels was necessarily derived from his own past

experiences. 83

81 Sheldon, “I Spy,” in Graham Greene: The Man Within , with special reference to 29-36. 82 Sheldon, Graham Greene: The Man Within , 43. 83 For more information of Greene’s involvement in espionage and his identity as a novelist, please see: John G. Cawelti and Bruce A. Rosenberg, “At a Crossroads: Eric Ambler and Graham Greene,” in The Spy Story (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987); Norman Sherry, “The spy within,” Sunday Times , October 3, 22 John le Carré was also profoundly influenced by his family background and his career in British Intelligence, but he was more successful at assimilating into the world around him. Like Greene, le Carré came from a modest background. But le Carré’s family was fragmented and lacked the respectable middle-class solidarity of Greene’s family. 84

John le Carré was born David John Moore Cornwell in 1931. His family life was far from ideal. His father, Ronald Thomas Archibald Cornwell was a gambler and criminal, and his wife, Olive, left when David was a young child. Ronald Cornwell frequently neglected

David and his other children, which caused them to be self-sufficient but guarded about their personal lives. Ronald Cornwell pushed his children to succeed. David went to preparatory school, then to Sherborne School, the same prestigious boarding school Kim

Philby attended. 85 Le Carré, like Greene, had difficulty fitting in at preparatory school.

Sherbourne “disillusioned” David; it “offered gross repression, not education.” 86

Cornwell went to Berne University in 1948, joining the National Service a year later. He worked with Czech refugees in Austria, and went back to England in 1952, enrolling in Lincoln College at Oxford. 87 After marrying, le Carré decided to try his hand at teaching. He took a position teaching German at Eton, a prestigious preparatory school for boys. The experience brought mixed emotions for le Carré. He was drawn to the romance of the world of British upper-class society, which he linked to Britain’s days of

2004, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article489552.ece ; V.S. Pritchett, “The human factor in Graham Greene,” interview with Graham Greene, New York Times , February 26, 1978, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=110937398&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD& VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1251235765&clientId=31812

84 For more on le Carre’s upbringing, see Beene, John le Carré , 2-7, and Eric Homberger, John le Carré (London, Methuen & Co. Ltd.), 14-17; Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene: Volume One , 5. 85 Beene, John le Carré , 2-3. 86 Ibid, 3. For more on le Carré’s life at preparatory school, see Beene, John le Carré , 3-5 and Homberger, John le Carré , 15-16. 87 Beene, John le Carré , 5-6; Homberger, John le Carré , 16-17. 23 leader of a vast Empire. At the same time, he was repelled by the class biases of places

such as Eton, especially after his experiences amongst the working class when he had

travelled abroad. 88 “He found himself involved in a ‘social war,’ living midway ‘between the drawing room and the servants’ green baize door.’”89

He joined the Foreign Service in 1958, where he worked for the next five years.

David Cornwell, like Graham Greene and Kim Philby, was private about his work in the

intelligence world. He “has always and consistently denied that he had been a spy,” 90

though there are rumors he may have been more actively involved in intelligence

operations, in both MI5 and MI6. David Cornwell published Call for the Dead in 1960,

changing his name to John le Carré to appease the Foreign Service officials. He quit the

Foreign Service in 1964, soon after the release of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold .91

The authors’ generational divide, differences in upbringing, and varied careers in

the intelligence world affect the way they view the world of British Intelligence, the way

they view Kim Philby, and the way they portray him in their novels. Greene had a

structured family, and many of his relatives worked in intelligence. Greene was born into a

world of rigidity. It is understandable that he wanted to rebel and define himself by his

individualistic identity as a novelist, even defying categorization by genre, era, or subject

matter. By contrast, John le Carré’s his family life was far from structured. He had to find

his own way, whereas Greene revolted against a more proscribed lifestyle. Le Carré was

88 Homberger, John le Carré , 16-18. 89 Ibid, 17. Homberger cites: John le Carré, interview by Robert Pitman, Sunday Express , February 14, 1965. 90 Homberger, John le Carré , 18. For rumors about le Carré’s life as a spy, Homberger cites Anthony Masters, The Man Who Was M: The Life of Maxwell Knight (Oxford: Blackwell, 1984); John le Carré, interview by Edward Behr, Hampstead and Highgate Express , March 25, 1983; and Andrew’s Secret Service . John le Carré was written in 1986, and, though le Carré remains secretive, his views have moderated with the passing of the Cold War. Also, see: Liddle, “John le Carré has a surprising new story to tell.” 91 Homberger, John le Carré , 18-20; Beene, John le Carré, 7. 24 probably more susceptible to become involved with politics and intelligence because of the

void in his own upbringing. 92

It is difficult to classify Greene as a writer, yet alone determine how the political

climate in post-war Britain affected his writing style. By contrast, John le Carré, “belongs

to the generation of English writers for whom the Cold War was their formative political

experience.” 93 Le Carré, more so than Greene, is a product of his time. Greene and le

Carré are from very different generations. Greene was born in 1904; Le Carré in 1931.

Greene lived through two world wars, and saw Britain, Europe, and the boundaries of

world change repeatedly before the onset of the Cold War. Le Carré was much more

susceptible to become profoundly affected by the Cold War era. He accepts the

classification of espionage novelist, and adopts the structures of politics, intelligence, and

British society. The political events and fluctuations in British society had a great impact

on le Carré, particularly Britain’s fall from an imperial world power after World War II.

“The reality of Britain, as perceived by le Carré, was of a society which no longer afforded

people of his background anything to hope for.” 94 He took this loss very personally,

transcribing it upon his own lifestyle. He resented Britain’s decline, and he blamed the

intelligence establishment for its role.

Le Carré’s background and investment in the Cold War era affected his view of

Philby. In his 1991 introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , he wrote, “I knew, if you

like, that Philby had taken a road that was dangerously open to myself, though I had

92 For more on le Carre’s upbringing, see Beene, John le Carré , 2-7, and Eric Homberger, John le Carré (London, Methuen & Co. Ltd.), 14-17. For more on Greene’s upbringing, see Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene: Volume One , 3-5; Sheldon, “I Spy,” in Graham Greene: The Man Within . 93 Homberger, John le Carré , 16. 94 Ibid, 18. 25 resisted it. I knew that he represented one of the-thank God, unrealized-possibilities of my

nature.” 95 He saw himself in Philby, yet at the same time he was keenly aware that he did not choose Philby’s path. He despised Philby and he blamed him for his part in Britain’s decline. 96 Greene was never as invested in Britain, British intelligence, or the Cold War era. He was more rebellious, more of an individualist, more prone to change. He admired

Philby for his independence and his rebellious nature. For Greene, Philby’s defection represented courage and individuality, whereas for le Carré it represented deceit and betrayal. But it is too simplistic to see friendship as the basis for Greene’s defense of

Philby.

In the introduction to The Human Factor , Colm Tóibín explores Greene’s personal

connection to Kim Philby, and to what extent the main character, a double agent named

Maurice Castle, was based on Philby. For Greene, a novel is a psychological, highly

personal undertaking; he “sought his inspiration from within.”97 A review of Philby’s

autobiography does not define or involve Greene in the same way a novel does. Greene

repudiated any connection between Kim Philby and Maurice Castle, and Greene admitted

he stopped working on The Human Factor because he thought people would see a link

between the two. 98 Greene’s connection to Kim Philby, and how or even if that connection

played out in The Human Factor , are difficult issues to consider. There is no definitive

answer as to whether The Human Factor was based upon Kim Philby, but it is certainly

arguable. Greene did not admit a connection, but Greene’s biographer, Norman Sherry,

95 Le Carré, introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, xiv. 96 For more on le Carré’s views on Philby, see Liddle, “John le Carré has a surprising new story to tell,” and Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley. 97 Colm Tóibín, introduction to The Human Factor , by Graham Greene, xi. 98 Ibid, ix-x.

26 wrote “I have no doubt that Greene had in mind the treasonable activity of Philby when

creating Castle.” 99

Historians have attempted to piece together a cohesive historical record of Philby’s

life and his defection. Three notable texts on Kim Philby are: The Philby Conspiracy

(1968) by Bruce Page, David Leitch, and Phillip Knightley, The Fourth Man: The

Definitive Account of Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, and Donald Maclean and Who Recruited

Them to Spy for Russia (1979) by Andrew Boyle, and The Cambridge Spies: The Untold

Story of Maclean, Philby, and Burgess in America (1991) by Verne W. Newton. An

analysis of these texts reveals how Philby has been portrayed by historians and how his

story has been chronicled. These texts are useful for comparative value, and they show

how historical portrayals of Philby’s defection compare with the views of le Carré and

Greene. Le Carré and Greene are occasionally in the three texts, and an analysis of the

context of these references is valuable to determine how their views have been perceived

by historians.

In The Cambridge Spies, Newton offers an American perspective to the story of

Maclean, Burgess, and Philby. Newton assesses whether Maclean, Burgess, and Philby

even “truly make a difference” 100 when looking at the international arena of the Cold War.

In a chapter entitled, “Philby: The Drug of Deceit,” early on Newton states, “Philby never

has been able to explain the reason that he became a spy. Instead he described at great

length the reason that he became a communist, as if there were a self-evident connection

99 Sherry, “The spy within.” Norman Sherry also wrote a three volume biography of Greene, entitled The Life of Graham Greene . Also, in an article for the Washington Post , David Ignatius links Philby and Castle in “The real ‘Perfect Spy,’” Washington Post , May 15, 1988, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=406848731&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD& VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1251236186&clientId=31812

100 Newton, introduction to The Cambridge Spies , xiv. 27 between the two.” 101 Newton is not necessarily questioning Philby’s devotion to

Communism, but he is rejecting ideology as a motivation for his defection. Newton implies Philby’s defection was fundamentally self-serving, very much in line with the views of John le Carré.102 Newton quotes le Carré extensively in this chapter. In the first

instance he attributes a quote to “John Le Carré, the master espionage writer,” 103 praising him and giving credibility to his judgments on Philby. Newton frequently defers to le

Carré, using him as an authoritative source on Philby, even though le Carré is a novelist and not a historian. 104

The Fourth Man, written in 1979, is a seminal work on the story of Kim Philby,

Donald Maclean, and Guy Burgess. The “fourth man,” whom Boyle carefully calls only by

the codename, “Maurice,” was shortly afterwards identified publicly as Anthony Blunt.

Andrew Boyle places the story of Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, and Guy Burgess in the

context of the British intelligence establishment, and their efforts to capture the agents. 105

Boyle makes several references to Graham Greene, and these references take two distinctly

different shapes. Boyle describes the history of Greene’s friendship with Philby, including

Greene’s work under Philby in SIS and his reaction when Philby was suspected of being a

double agent. 106

101 Newton, The Cambridge Spies , 42. 102 In his introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , le Carré states, “Philby has no home, no woman, no faith. Behind the political label, behind the inbred upper-class arrogance, the taste for adventure, lies the self-hate of a vain misfit for whom nothing will ever be worthy of his loyalty.” Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 7. 103 Newton, The Cambridge Spies , 43. 104 Newton’s portrayal of Philby can be found in the chapter “Philby: The Drug of Deceit,” in The Cambridge Spies , 41-58. 105 For more on Boyle’s motivations for writing, see prologue to The Fourth Man. 106 Ibid. For more on Greene’s anecdotes about his SIS work with Philby, see 257-9. For Greene’s reactions when Philby departed, see 422. 28 These references are included as part of a description of Philby’s life. Boyle speaks

of Greene in terms of how he fits into the story of Kim Philby: he is not passing judgment

as much as he is chronicling Philby’s life. But Boyle also details Greene’s opinions on

Philby, and here he judges the legitimacy of these opinions. Boyle analyzes a passage in

Greene’s introduction to My Silent War . Boyle says Greene “went clean overboard in a slightly mischievous effort to catch the paradoxical radiance of a traitor’s tarnished halo.” 107 Boyle’s feelings on Kim Philby and Graham Greene are evident here. He uses strong language in depicting Philby as a “traitor;” he does not describe him as a double agent or spy. Boyle does not denounce Greene, or assess his culpability in writing the introduction, but he does imply Greene takes Philby’s actions with an unacceptable degree of levity.

The Philby Conspiracy , by Bruce Page, David Leitch, and Phillip Knightley, is focused solely on Kim Philby. Published in 1968, it provides a valuable glimpse into how the Philby affair was portrayed before the exposure of the fourth man or Newton’s work and the end of the Cold War. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , and The Human Factor were also published in this interim period between Philby’s defection and the unmasking of

Anthony Blunt. In the “Author’s Preface,” Page, Leitch, and Knightley explicitly state their attempt at impartiality, saying, “we have not tried to glorify what Philby and his associates did, but merely to describe it, without moralizing over it.” 108 However, John le

Carré wrote the introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , and, as previously stated, his views

107 Boyle, epilogue to The Fourth Man , 444. Boyle is reacting to Greene’s assertion: “Like many Catholics who, in the reign of Elizabeth, worked for the victory of Spain, Philby has a chilling certainty in the correctness of his judgement, the logical fanaticism of a man who, having once found a faith, is not going to lose it because of the injustices or cruelties inflicted by erring human instruments.” Greene, introduction to My Silent War , by Kim Philby, 7. 108 Page, Leitch, and Knightley, author’s preface to The Philby Conspiracy , vi. 29 on Philby are particularly vitriolic. “Deceit was Philby’s life’s work; deceit, as I

understand it, his nature,” 109 gives an indication of le Carré’s introductory tone, and it is

notable that the authors use his introduction as the beginning point to an ostensibly

objective, non-judgmental history of Kim Philby.

It is not possible to publish an unbiased historical account of anyone, but especially

of a person like Kim Philby. The authors of these texts are westerners from capitalist

societies, and they are unlikely to portray a Soviet defector in a positive light. But Philby,

Greene, and le Carré are British subjects, and the story of Philby, to a greater extent, is of

interest to British and Americans, particularly when considering Philby in the context of the

British intelligence establishment and the Cold War era. The Fourth Man , The Philby

Conspiracy , and The Cambridge Spies are significant because they show that le Carré’s

opinions on Kim Philby are much closer to the mainstream portrayal of Philby. Graham

Greene’s opinions on Kim Philby are not given as much credibility; his sympathetic

depiction of Kim Philby is the exception, not the rule.

Greene’s praise of Philby is most evident in his foreword to Philby’s autobiography

My Silent War , published in 1968. Greene speaks with authority, as a friend of Philby but

also as a person with a background in SIS. He describes My Silent War as “honest” and

“far more gripping than any novel of espionage I can remember.” 110 “His account of the

British Secret Service is devastatingly true. … His character studies are admirable if

unkind.” 111 The tone is intimate, yet quick and light-hearted; a contrast to the removed,

quiet melancholy of novels such as The Human Factor . Greene speaks as a friend and

109 Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 7. 110 Greene, foreword to My Silent War , by Kim Philby, xvii. 111 Ibid, xviii. 30 admirer; the foreword is best described as a dedication to Philby and My Silent War . But in

the midst of the praise are hints of critique and detachment. An example is Greene’s

assessment of Philby’s involvement in the conspiracy against Felix Cowgill, another

contender for the head of the Section V division of MI6:

…one feels for a moment the sharp touch of the icicle in the heart. I saw the beginning of this affair-indeed I resigned rather than accept the promotion which was one tiny cog in the machinery of his intrigue. I attributed it then to a personal drive for power, the only characteristic in Philby which I thought disagreeable. I am glad now that I was wrong. He was serving a cause and not himself, and so my old liking for him comes back... (Greene, foreword to My Silent War , by Kim Philby, xix-xx) 112

It is noteworthy that Greene chooses this incident, in place of the (likely many) instances

where Kim Philby was directly or indirectly responsible for the killing of British agents.

Greene speaks from a very personal point of view. He speaks as a friend, and goes on to

defend Philby, launching into reminiscences of the times they spent together. At the same

time, Greene is also criticizing Philby, and simultaneously flaunting his own moral

superiority in resigning.

Greene also looks at Philby from a more detached perspective:

If this book required a sub-title I would suggest: The Spy As Craftsman. No one could have been a better chief than Kim Philby when he was in charge of the Iberian section of V. … No Soviet contact this time would be able to wonder whether he had penetrated the right outfit. A craftsman’s pride, yes, and of course something else. Only an efficient section could thoroughly test the security of the Russian service. It was a fascinating manoeuvre, though only one side knew that it was a mock war. (Greene, foreword to My Silent War , by Kim Philby, xix )

Greene speaks in a tone of admiration, but at the same time he objectifies Philby. He downplays his ideological commitment to Communism and describes him as a tactician rather than a zealot.

112 For a description of Philby’s involvement in the plot against Cowgill, see Boyle, The Fourth Man , 252-7. 31 Le Carré’s introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , also published in 1968 , is notable for his vehement criticism of Kim Philby, his ambiguous feelings towards the

British Secret Service, and his views on Britain in the post war world. Le Carré repeatedly excoriates Kim Philby:

Philby has no home, no woman, no faith. Behind the political label, behind the inbred upper-class arrogance, the taste for adventure, lies the self-hate of a vain misfit for whom noting will ever be worthy of his loyalty. (Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 7)

Le Carré does acknowledge the personal connection he feels to Kim Philby, but at the same time he is careful to detach himself from Kim Philby

Philby’s is one of those cases which force us to define our own place in society. I suppose by ‘we’ I mean the world to which I myself vaguely belong: middle-class, graduate, intellectual. Philby’s world, but indoors. (Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 2)

Le Carré does not mention his background in intelligence, and he presents himself as a

closeted intellectual, not as a person with field experience.

Le Carré criticizes the Secret Service, deeming them responsible for continuing to

employ Philby, for treating him with laxity, and for glorifying him, albeit in terms of

notoriety. Le Carré links Philby with the world of British intelligence, which he describes

as “microcosms of the British condition, of our social attitudes and vanities.” 113

Ultimately, he connects the Philby affair and British intelligence with Britain’s decline

after World War II. But le Carré reserves the worst criticism for Philby. He does not

absolve Britain or British intelligence, and he does use Philby as a metaphor for the

113 Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 7. 32 problems of British society. Still, he sees Philby as uniquely evil, and he ends up defending Britain and siding squarely with them in the Cold War environment:

We shall never, I hope, create a society that is proof against his kind: the little man who found a big name for cheating. Philby is the price we pay for being moderately free; for being able to read this book…. Stupid, credulous, smug and torpid as the Establishment may have been, it erred on the side of trust. (Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 16)

As a critic, le Carré’s views seem diametrically opposite from Graham Greene’s.

But the situation becomes more complex when analyzing their character portrayals of Kim

Philby. “Like a great novel, and an unfinished one at that, the story of Kim Philby lives on in us: it conveys not merely a sense of participation but of authorship.” 114 As novelists, le

Carré and Greene have a degree of freedom that they do not have as critics. They do not have this freedom when asked to comment on Kim Philby. In these instances, there is pressure to defend or to accuse, to glorify or crucify, to cast Philby in a purely positive way or an entirely negative light. The pressure is augmented with a person as controversial as

Kim Philby: it is difficult to give a mediated opinion on a Soviet defector accused of treason. It is easier to give a nuanced portrayal of a fictional double agent.

The novelist is in a powerful position when he creates a character based upon a historical figure. The novelist can mold this character, he can imbue him with his own beliefs and re-create the historical figure. This character becomes intensely personal. At the same time the novelist has a degree of distance; this person is a character, not a notorious historical figure. The novelist has the latitude to give a more subjective portrayal of this historical figure, and a novelist can present a defense of plausible deniability if people criticize their interpretation.

114 Le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley, 1. 33 John le Carré and Graham Greene are critics of Philby, but they are primarily known for their skills as novelists. They have each made significant contributions to the history of the espionage genre. Espionage fiction began its development in the early part of the twentieth century, and gained credence and popularity with the rise of the intelligence establishment, particularly in England and the United States. In The Spy Story , Bruce A.

Rosenberg and John G. Cawelti state, “the spy story was largely a British invention,” 115 and the most important novelists, such as John Buchan, Eric Ambler, Ian Fleming, Graham

Greene, and John le Carré, are British subjects. The genre of espionage fiction cannot

“belong” to any nationality, but the most prominent novelists were British and likely influenced by the British intelligence establishment, and this is an important consideration when placing the genre in an international context.

Donald McCormick and Katy Fletcher, authors of Spy Fiction: A Connoisseur’s

Guide , identify the years of 1939-1969 as “the golden age of spy fiction,” 116 and they note in subsequent years novelists are more interested in depicting the real world of politics and espionage; it becomes a “quest for ultra-realism.” 117 Graham Greene and John le Carré, to a greater extent, are part of this “realistic” school of espionage. They are indebted to authors such as Conrad and Buchan, who explore the darker side of human nature. They represent

115 Bruce A. Rosenberg and John G. Cawelti, The Spy Story (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987) , 156. 116 Donald McCormick and Katy Fletcher, Spy Fiction: A Connoisseur’s Guide , (New York: Facts On File Limited, 1990), 7. 117 McCormick and Fletcher, Spy Fiction , 7. McCormick and Fletcher discuss the evolution of the spy novel in their introduction, and they emphasize the ways in which intelligence establishments are indebted to spy novels and vice versa. They note “the most enduring feature of the spy novel is precisely its flexibility as far as political change is concerned,” 11. 34 a different strain of espionage fiction from authors such as Ian Fleming, who represent the

“heroic” or “escapist” form of espionage fiction. 118

Le Carré fits squarely into the genre of espionage fiction, whereas Greene is more

of an outsider. Greene can be seen as a pioneer, a contributor, a forerunner, but he is harder

to categorize. He did not begin his literary career as an espionage novelist; he “worked

from conventional mainstream plot structures toward the spy novel formula only after he

had considerable experience in writing.” 119 Still, Greene was from an earlier generation,

and his contributions to the espionage genre should not be minimized. He had a great

influence on later espionage novelists, especially John le Carré. 120

Le Carré is often compared to Greene. Both focus on the psychological

complexities of their characters, and le Carré later combined this character analysis with a

portrayal and critique of the problems of the outside world. David Monaghan, author of Le

Carré and the Spy Novel , compares the views of Greene and le Carré in terms of the

individual versus society. “Conrad, Greene and le Carré are in general agreement that

modern society…is essentially loveless and dehumanizing. However, whereas for Conrad

and Greene such a denial of value to the individual is an inevitable consequence of

organizing people into groups, for le Carré it is simply a characteristic of a society which

has become decadent.” 121 Greene does not envision a positive future for society, and he

118 See Rosenberg and Cawelti, “The Spy Story’s Story: A Brief History” and “Bonded Excitement: Ian Fleming,” in The Spy Story , with special reference to 49-53; Beene, “A Brief History of a Sentimental Man,” in John le Carré , 21. Cawelti and Rosenberg and Beene reference the Bond character as a hero, an escapist form of entertainment in the context of the difficult climate of post WWII England. 119 Rosenberg and Cawelti, “At a Crossroads: Eric Ambler and Graham Greene” in The Spy Story, 115. 120 Rosenberg and Cawelti credit Greene and The Confidential Agent (1939) with the development of the modern espionage novel. They also note the similarities between The Confidential Agent and The Human Factor , published four decades later, in: Rosenberg and Cawelti, “At a Crossroads: Eric Ambler and Graham Greene” in The Spy Story, 115. 121 Mongahan, “Le Carré and the Spy Novel,” in The Novels of John le Carré , 97. 35 frequently portrays characters as individuals who are in a hopeless state of conflict with the

constructs of the modern world. This colors his view of nations, political and religious

institutions, and the intelligence establishment. For le Carré, there is hope for appeasement

between the problems of the individual and the constructs of contemporary society, notably

the constructs of a Cold War world. “Le Carré…offers an ideal of the well-ordered society

in which a proper balance is achieved between the claims of the group and those of the

individual.” 122 Le Carré poses a solution for the problems of contemporary society. He

believes there is a solution; he believes the modern world is moldable, able to be shaped.

Greene rejects it entirely; for him, absolution resides in the individual identity of his

characters. 123

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy represents le Carré’s portrayal of Kim Philby. The

character Bill Haydon is widely acknowledged to be based on Kim Philby. 124 The novel

can be considered a record of the life of Kim Philby in a way that The Human Factor

cannot. But at the same time, le Carré admits he is unable to look objectively at Philby. He

has difficulty separating fact from fiction; in the introduction he calls Philby’s life the

“documentary background” 125 for the novel, then says “the rest is an informed fantasy.” 126

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is an attempt to portray Kim Philby, but it is not a biography. It

certainly has biographical elements to it, but first and foremost it is a work of fiction.

122 Mongahan, The Novels of John le Carré, 76. 123 Ibid, 76, 97. 124 Ignatius, “The real ‘Perfect Spy;’” James LeMoyne, “2 more Britons spied with Philby, new book says,” review of The Climate of Treason by Andrew Boyle, Washington Post , October 28, 1979, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=131461292&SrchMode=2&sid=2&Fmt=12&VInst=PROD& VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1251237767&clientId=31812 ; Andrew Rutherford, “The Spy as Hero: Le Carré and the Cold War” in John le Carré , by Harold Bloom, ed., 20-5; Lars Ole Sauerberg, Secret Agents in Fiction: Ian Fleming, John le Carre and Len Deighton (London: MacMillan, 1984), 171; Rosenberg and Cawelti, The Spy Story , 175; Beene, John le Carré , 12. 125 Le Carré, introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, xiv. 126 Ibid. 36 John le Carré and Graham Greene, to a certain degree, both separate their characters

from Kim Philby. The characters Maurice Castle and Bill Haydon are based on Philby,

they show similarities to Philby, but at the same time they are fictional characters. In fact,

Graham Greene and John le Carré both hesitate to admit, or concede, the link between

Philby and their characters. Graham Greene would not concede Castle was actually based

on Philby, despite the similarities between the two. 127 But le Carré also keeps a degree of

distance between his character Bill Haydon and the real Kim Philby. In the introduction to

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , le Carré never explicitly states that Haydon was based on Kim

Philby. Le Carré gives his motivations for writing the novel, saying, “I was determined to

describe…the inside-out logic of a double-agent operation,” and he launches into his

personal recollection of the hunt for Kim Philby. 128

Haydon is the double agent character in the story, and the connection is certainly

heavily implied. But it is notable that le Carré uses this indirect route, and Bill Haydon is

killed off at the end of the novel, whereas Kim Philby survived and fled to Moscow. Le

Carré chose not to focus upon Philby, but instead to make Karla the archenemy of Smiley.

Bill Haydon is not only a fictional character, he is a secondary character, the subject of a

search for the mole in the “Circus,” or the British Secret Service. The real focus is on the

British spy George Smiley and his battle with the Soviet agent Karla. Tinker, Tailor,

Soldier, Spy is the first work in the trilogy The Quest for Karla . Tinker, Tailor, Soldier,

Spy is remembered for the character Bill Haydon, but in the novel he is overshadowed by

129 Smiley, Karla, and the trilogy The Quest for Karla .

127 Colm Tóibín, introduction to The Human Factor , by Graham Greene, x. 128 Le Carré, introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, xii. 129 Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy . 37 The portrayals of Maurice Castle in The Human Factor and Bill Haydon in Tinker,

Tailor, Soldier, Spy are more complex, more nuanced than the public opinions Greene and le Carré voiced on Kim Philby. Maurice Castle and Bill Haydon are very different characters, but they are both British spies who defected to the Soviet Union, and an analysis of their situations reveals the authors’ views on double agents, politics, and Cold

War intelligence.

The Human Factor centers on the figure of Maurice Castle, a British agent stationed in South Africa. Espionage and betrayal are central themes in the novel, but equally important are the themes of apartheid, racism, and family loyalty. Maurice Castle is married to a black woman, Sarah, whom he loves deeply. Sarah has a son, Sam, and she and Maurice pretend Maurice is the biological father. The couple met years ago, when

Sarah was Maurice’s agent. She was perceived to be a threat, and to protect her from the

British, Maurice became a double agent for the Soviets. Maurice’s role is not dramatically exposed to the reader, nor is he presented as a traitor. Instead, his story unfolds gradually.

Even Sarah is not aware of the nature or the extent of Maurice’s involvement with the

Communists, though they have been married many years. Eventually, the superiors in MI5 suspect a double agent, but suspicion first falls upon Castle’s assistant, Davis. The officers in charge murder Davis, poisoning him to make it look like an accident, though Castle suspects foul play. Castle is remorseful, but his loyalty to his family still overshadows his guilt and any loyalty he has to either his country or the Soviet Union. Sarah, Sam, and

Maurice relocate to England with the help of the Soviets. Maurice defects to the Soviet

Union for his own safety, though he believes he will be reunited with Sarah and Sam.

38 However, the reunion never takes place. Sarah and Sam remain unhappily secluded in

England, and Maurice languishes in Moscow. 130

Maurice Castle as a character bears little resemblance to Kim Philby. Philby is popularly portrayed as ambitious and self-serving. By comparison, Maurice Castle is very subdued: he is genuinely modest, and becomes a double agent for his family, not for his own drive for power. British intelligence officials consider him as a double agent, but they ultimately reject him, depicting him as a ‘“dullish man, first-class, of course, with files-it’s generally the brilliant and ambitious who are dangerous.”’ 131 Kim Philby is usually portrayed as conceited, but Maurice Castle does not have a positive self-image. Sarah, his wife, regrets that Maurice is not the father of her child, but Maurice tells her, ‘“I love Sam because he’s yours. Because he’s not mine. Because I don’t have to see anything of myself there when I look at him. I see only something of you. I don’t want to go on and on forever. I want the buck to stop here.”’132

Castle does turn double-agent, but he is not a dedicated Communist. His views are more complex. He tries to see the humanity in people, and he is unsure whether this humanity can transcend to political philosophy. In an argument with his wife, Castle says,

“When people talk about Prague and Budapest and how you can’t find a human face in Communism I stay silent. Because I’ve seen-once-the human face. I say to myself that if it hadn’t been for Carson Sam would have been born in a prison and you would probably have died in one. One kind of Communism-or Communist- saved you and Sam. I don’t have any trust in Marx or Lenin any more than I have in Saint Paul, but haven’t I the right to be grateful?” (Greene, The Human Factor , 104)

130 Graham Greene, The Human Factor . 131 Ibid, 26. 132 Ibid, 19. 39 This passage shows Castle’s ambivalence towards ideologues, a trait Greene shares.

Greene was divided over his devotion to the Catholic Church, and he did not see this ambivalence to be incompatible with his ambivalence towards Communism or democracy.

Castle became a double agent in order to save his family, and both he and Sarah have little faith in political philosophies or nations. But while Sarah is very close-minded, Castle is inquisitive, and he wavers in his beliefs.

Castle is firm about his commitment to South Africa and its citizens, not just to

Sarah. He meets with his Soviet contact, Boris, who persuades him to continue relaying information to the Soviets. Castle is willing, not because of his commitment to

Communism, but because of his hatred of the “Uncle Remus” operation.

He said, “Uncle Remus is the last straw-that behind the scenes we should be joining with the States to help those apartheid bastards. Your worst crimes, Boris, are always in the past, and the future hasn’t arrived yet. I can’t go on parroting, ‘Remember Prague! Remember Budapest!’-they were years ago. One has to be concerned about the present, and the present is Uncle Remus. I became a naturalized black when I fell in love with Sarah.” (Greene, The Human Factor , 116)

Castle is vehemently opposed to helping the British conduct the “Uncle Remus” operation, because he feels he has become black. He has overcome the construct of race because of his love for Sarah, and he tempered his views of Communism because of his friend Carson.

He has loyalty to individuals, and from those loyalties he tries to broaden his perspective to understand constructs such as race, nations, and politics.

Castle has qualities of both Graham Greene and Kim Philby. Castle, like Philby, is a double agent who helps the Soviet Union and ultimately defects to Moscow. Greene’s portrayal of Castle in Moscow is intriguing for several reasons. Greene mailed Kim Philby a copy of The Human Factor , and Philby disputed Greene’s portrayal of Castle’s seclusion

40 in Moscow. Philby said the reality was much more glorious than Greene had depicted. 133

Greene’s portrait is certainly tepid. Castle’s apartment is bland, and his only contacts are a

daily maid and low-level Soviet agents who give him limited information on Sarah’s and

Sam’s whereabouts. The entire last chapter revolves around the telephone as a metaphor

for Castle’s last hope to reach Sarah and Sam.

The most valuable object in the apartment seemed to be the telephone. It was covered with dust and disconnected, but all the same it had a symbolic value. One day, perhaps soon, it could be put to use. He would speak through it to Sarah-to hear her voice meant everything to him, whatever comedy they would have to play for the listeners, and there certainly would be listeners. To hear her would make the long wait bearable. (Greene, The Human Factor , 248-9)

Castle finally is allowed to speak with Sarah, but in the middle of the conversation the line cuts off, and Castle is left alone and isolated in Moscow.

Castle’s predicament shows Greene may not have admired Kim Philby as much as his public comments would indicate. Moreover, Greene’s portrayal of Castle’s tenure in

Moscow belies the light-hearted introduction Greene wrote to Philby’s autobiography. The

Human Factor has a dark, serious tone to it; a stark contrast to the tone of Greene’s introduction and Philby’s tone in My Silent War . Castle is not a zealot, and he fulfills his duties with a sense of resignation. Castle is devoted to his wife, not to Communism, or to any cause. He ultimately regrets becoming involved in any intelligence work:

133 Tóibín, introduction to The Human Factor , by Graham Greene, xiv-xv; Rosenbaum, “Kim Philby and the Age of Paranoia.” Tóibín and Rosenbaum have different perspectives on the veracity of Greene’s depiction of the apartment, and on Greene’s motivations for including the depiction. Tóibín cites Eleanor Philby’s positive portrayal of the apartment itself, and opines, “Greene preferred to dwell on her view of the building they lived in. … In Greene’s bleak vision, even heaven itself would have to be disappointing.” (xiv-xv) Rosenbaum takes a more cynical point of view: “Greene must have had the novelist’s sixth sense from this exchange that the melancholy portrait of the lonely mole in his Moscow apartment, vainly boasting how ‘grateful’ everyone was, had struck home with Philby.” Rosenbaum spoke with Mikhail Lyubimov, who used to be a KGB agent, and who knew Philby after Philby defected to Moscow. Lyubimov describes Philby’s disappointment at the Soviet’s apathy towards him. “He was told that he was not and never would be a K.G. B. officer of any kind; rather he was an ‘agent,’ a hireling.”

41

It seemed to him that all his life after he joined the service in his twenties he had been unable to speak. Like a Trappist he had chosen the profession of silence, and now he recognized too late that it had been a mistaken vocation. (Greene, The Human Factor , 262)

Perhaps Greene is demonstrating the superiority of his position. As a novelist, he has a

freedom Kim Philby can never have. My Silent War can be interpreted several ways.

Philby is holding back information, but he does this at the cost of his freedom of speech.

Even the title betrays a hint of loneliness, a quality Philby may wish to deny, but one which

Greene does not hesitate to exploit.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the first novel in the series “The Quest for Karla,” where British secret agent George Smiley tries to capture his archenemy Soviet agent

Karla. In Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , Smiley is recruited to find a mole within the department and follow the trail to capture Karla. The Secret Service, or “the Circus” had long suspected an agent was leaking information to the Soviets, and suspicion centered around five of the top officers in the department, including Smiley. The title Tinker,

Tailor, Soldier, Spy , an adaptation from a children’s nursery rhyme, represents the code

names derived for the officers suspected of treason. 134

The novel centers around the tension between Smiley, Karla, Anne, and Haydon.

Haydon is a handsome, enigmatic, charismatic, artist who is Smiley’s longtime colleague,

but he once had an affair with Smiley’s wife, Anne. Smiley tries to capture Karla, yet at

the same time he feels a sense of connection to Karla. Smiley cannot separate his feelings

of love and loyalty from his feelings of hatred and betrayal. The novel takes place in

England, with Smiley interviewing people, following leads, and putting together the pieces

134 Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , 291-2; Beene, John le Carré , 96. 42 of the puzzle. A trap is finally set, and Bill Haydon is revealed as the mole in a dramatic dénouement. Haydon is eventually captured and imprisoned, and Smiley interviews him to ascertain the details of his work for the Soviets. Haydon is supposed to be exiled to the

Soviet Union, but he is found with his neck mysteriously broken. 135

Bill Haydon is more recognizable as Kim Philby than Maurice Castle. However, there are certainly differences between Haydon and Philby, especially in superficial terms.

Haydon was “a romantic figure, admired by his colleagues as a living reminder of the heroic days of British imperial greatness. No one spoke of Kim Philby in such terms.” 136

With Bill Haydon, le Carré glamorizes the story of Kim Philby: he portrays Haydon as an aristocrat, a tragic link to the lost ideals of Empire. Le Carré also embellishes the story of

Kim Philby by making Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy a riveting spy thriller. By contrast, The

Human Factor is far more subdued, even sordid. Maurice Castle lacks the pretention, the chameleon-like quality which characterized Philby. Greene and le Carré are both re- writing the story of Kim Philby, but Greene mutes the story of Kim Philby, whereas le

Carré dramatizes it .

Haydon, like Kim Philby, is one of the top officials in the London office, whereas

Maurice Castle is in a remote outpost in South Africa. Haydon has the charm, intelligence, and enigmatic quality that characterized Philby. But, unlike Philby, Haydon is unmasked in climactic fashion. Smiley hears Haydon’s voice and immediately feels a tumult of emotion: hate and betrayal, but also a sense that Haydon is not completely at fault.

Nothing is worth the destruction of another human being. Somewhere the path of pain and betrayal must end. Until that happened, there was no future; there was only a continued slide into still more terrifying versions of the present. This man

135 Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy . 136 Homberger, John le Carré , 74. 43 was my friend and Ann’s lover, Jim’s friend, and –for all I know-Jim’s lover, too; it was the treason, not the man, that belonged to the public domain. (Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , 354)

Smiley knew very well that even now he did not grasp the scope of that appalling duplicity; yet there was a part of him that rose already in Haydon’s defence. Was not Bill also betrayed? ... Thus Smiley felt not only disgust, but, despite all that the moment meant to him, a surge of resentment against the institutions he was supposed to be protecting… (Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , 354)

Le Carré has mixed feelings about the British Secret Service, but he despised Philby as a person; he was able to separate him from the intelligence establishment. Le Carré felt

Philby personified deceit, and though they had similar backgrounds, he is careful to separate himself from Philby.137 Smiley’s feelings for Bill Haydon are more complex. He

is able to separate the betrayal from the human being; “the treason” from “the man.” He

even feels a sense of loyalty towards Bill, a feeling of camaraderie.

Le Carré also gave Haydon a sense of humanity, one which he did not admit seeing

in Philby. After Haydon is captured, Smiley interviews him

He even entered Haydon’s room with a vague notion of public duty: somehow, he thought, he ought to censure him on behalf of right-thinking men. He felt instead rather shy; he felt he had never known Haydon at all, and now it was too late. (Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , 363-4)

Smiley begins the interview, but his task becomes more difficult as he sees a side of Haydon he perhaps wished was not there:

…“Tell me, did Jim come to see you before he left on that Testify mission?” “Yes, he did, as a matter of fact.” “To say what?” For a long, long while Haydon hesitated, then did not answer. But the answer was written there, all the same: in the sudden emptying of his eyes, in the shadow of guilt that crossed his face. He came to warn you, Smiley thought; because he loved you. (Le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , 371)

137 For more on le Carré’s views on Philby, see Liddle, “John le Carré has a surprising new story to tell;” le Carré, introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , by Page, Leitch, and Knightley. 44

Smiley sees this guilt, an emotion le Carré did not see in Kim Philby, but purposefully

wrote into Bill Haydon. Haydon comes across as a pathetic, yet sympathetic figure. Le

Carré is deliberately re-writing Kim Philby, and he gives Bill Haydon a sense of humanity.

In creating such a morally ambiguous situation, le Carré is giving the SIS more culpability,

the Soviet defector less. This is not to say that le Carré secretly feels sympathy for Kim

Philby; his vehement condemnation of him makes this unlikely. It is more probable that le

Carré created Bill Haydon to show the reader what he saw as the dismal reality of SIS and

the Cold War world. There are no winners, no clear cut answers, no happy ending. Haydon

and Karla are human beings, not distant abstractions. Le Carré wants the reader to

empathize with Haydon; he represents a bridge between Kim Philby and the everyday

Briton who reads the novel. Le Carré is re-writing Kim Philby and the SIS. He is using his

own experience as a touchstone, and creating this world for his readers.

Since the publication of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , and The Human Factor , the

Cold War has ended, and the Iron Curtain has fallen. Kim Philby died in 1988, Graham

Greene in 1991. Popular perceptions of the Philby affair have changed over the years. US-

Soviet communications have opened up, more resources have become available, and new interpretations of the Philby affair, literary and historical, have been published. Greene’s and le Carré’s views also underwent significant changes, and The Human Factor and

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , have been assessed for their contributions to the chronicle of

the Philby affair and British intelligence.

The Human Factor is occasionally analyzed in the context of the Philby affair.

Maurice Castle is compared to Kim Philby and Greene’s personal connection to Philby is

45 usually highlighted. However, the novel is primarily regarded according to its worth as a literary novel, with Greene’s stylistic abilities at the forefront of the analysis. This is probably because of the incongruities between the Philby affair and The Human Factor .

The novel takes place in South Africa, and Castle’s personality is very different from

Philby’s. Greene’s work continue to play an important role in the popular culture of espionage, in novel and film form, and his place in the history of the espionage novel has been assured. Regarding the Philby affair, the most interesting factor is Greene’s continued interest in Kim Philby, culminating in an obsessive search for the truth, even as Greene was dying. 138

Greene stayed in contact with Kim Philby, even visiting him in Moscow, much to the chagrin of the British government. 139 Greene continued to take Philby’s side, and his loyalty may have even been a factor in his failure to receive a Nobel Prize and a knighthood. 140 Greene’s passionate defense of Philby is described by his biographer,

Norman Sherry. Sherry pressed Greene on his commitment to Philby, recalling a time when Philby helped prepare recruits for an operation in Albania. Philby deliberately turned them over to the Soviets, knowing they would be assassinated. Sherry asked Greene,

“‘Don’t you think this is not a betrayal of a country but the betrayal of friends, a betrayal that led to their deaths? Philby surely would have been much more worthy a candidate for revenge….”’ Greene, flushed and irate, screamed, “‘YOU DON’T KNOW HIM. AND

138 Rosenbaum, “Kim Philby and the Age of Paranoia.” 139 Christopher Walker, “Greene trip sparks Philby rumours,” Times , September 1, 1987, http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw- search/we/InfoWeb?p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated5&p_action=doc&p_docid=0F90F0F88911B6 DB&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=1 140 Rosenbaum, “Kim Philby and the Age of Paranoia.” 46 CANNOT JUDGE.’”141 Sherry had never seen Greene so upset. Still, Sherry believes

Greene’s vehement defense of Philby was not solely out of friendship, but was partially due

to Greene’s desire to acclimate in all groups, in all levels of society, “I think the truth

behind his many contradictions was that for much of his life Greene was seeking powerful

friends. He was not seeking a promised land. He was not a Marxist.” “He was pulled

apart by both sides. He tried to belong to both.”142

Ron Rosenbaum proposed a different theory in a 1994 article in the New York

Times . “Greene seemed to pride himself on being the one Westerner who truly understood

the endlessly enigmatic Philby; knew him with all the masks off.” 143 Rosenbaum relates

historian Anthony Cave Brown’s description of Greene’s final moments, which were spent

obsessing over uncovering the truth about Kim Philby. Anthony Cave Brown informed

Norman Sherry of a new theory, one that proposed Philby was actually a triple agent,

working for England all along and only pretending to be a Soviet double agent. Sherry told

Greene, and Greene, fading away, asked for his notes on Philby. Brown thinks “Greene

spent those last hours playing detective, sifting the literature and his memories of Philby for

clues to the hidden truth.” 144 These theories are mere speculation; Greene, in many ways,

is as enigmatic as Philby. But these theories do prove Greene’s continuous, bordering upon

obsessive, preoccupation with Kim Philby.

Graham Greene’s obsession with Kim Philby shows Greene’s independent,

dogmatic streak; he is not one to compromise his convictions or conform to the

mainstream. In contrast, John le Carré’s views have evolved over time. He continues to

141 Sherry, “The spy within.” 142 Ibid. 143 Rosenbaum, “Kim Philby and the Age of Paranoia.” 144 Ibid. 47 denounce Kim Philby, but his views have tempered, and he has also divulged more about

his personal life in the British Secret Service. He continues to transform the genre of

espionage fiction, and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a striking example of how John le

Carré’s work has changed the popular perception of British intelligence.

In 1974, John le Carré was interviewed by James Cameron, a writer for the New

York Times . Cameron asks le Carré about his new novel, his background in intelligence, and his views on Kim Philby. Le Carré admits he was in the Foreign Service, but hedges on the extent of his involvement in secret operations. James Cameron asks le Carré how he is able to depict the world of intelligence with such accuracy; “in a word, was he at one time on the game himself?” 145 Le Carré adroitly dodges the question, responding, “look at

it like this: If you or I wrote a novel about a brothel-keeper, people wouldn’t at once

assume that we’d been brothel keepers.” 146

In 1989, with the end of the Cold War approaching, Alvin P. Sanoff interviewed le

Carré and wrote an article entitled “the thawing of the old spymaster.” Le Carré reveals the extent to which his novels are based on his own work in intelligence . “It has always been

my concern not to be authentic but to be credible, to use the deep background I have from

the years I spent in intelligence work to present premises that were useful to my stories and

145 James Cameron, “The case of the hot writer,” interview with John le Carré, New York Times , September 8, 1974, http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F70F1FF93F591A7A93CAA91782D85F408785F9 146 Ibid. Also in this article, John le Carré discusses his feelings towards Kim Philby. Le Carré does not denounce Philby as much as he expresses his interest in Philby and the Philby affair, another indication le Carré is modifying his stance. He says Philby is a “‘most absorbing fellow… I had a difference of opinion with Graham Greene over Philby; we take different views.’” A little later, Cameron cites le Carré’s condemnation of Philby in the introduction to The Philby Conspiracy , and compares it with Graham Greene’s view on My Silent War . Le Carré admits he felt he was ‘“obliged to say that I feel Philby was essentially dead wrong all the way through and all the time.”’ 48 that I knew were rooted in experience.” 147 Here, le Carré is more forthcoming, but he does not specify the nature of his work. He does present his background as a touchstone, a basis upon which to build his stories. At the same time, he does not admit he encountered the same obstacles his characters faced.

A dramatic change is evident nearly twenty years later, when Rod Liddle interviews the novelist. Le Carré confesses he actually thought about defecting to the Soviet Union.

At the same time, he is wary of being compared to Kim Philby and the other Cambridge defectors; he makes it clear he never sympathized with the Soviet ideology. Liddle asks le

Carré what prompted his thoughts, “‘for ideological reasons, like the rest of them-Blunt,

Philby, Maclean?’” 148 Le Carré responds:

“God, no, no, no. Never for ideological reasons, of course not…” “Then why?” Not money, surely, I think to myself. “Well, I wasn’t tempted ideologically,” he reasserts, in case there should be any doubt, “but when you spy intensively and you get closer and closer to the border…it seems such a small step to jump…and, you know, find out the rest.” (Rod Liddle, “John le Carre has a surprising new story to tell,” interview with John le Carré, Sunday Times , September 14, 2008,

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article4746982.ec e )

Le Carré’s admission is an indication of the changing times, the relaxation of tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the evolution of the spy novel and British intelligence, and the reciprocal dependency between the two. This connection is particularly evident in le Carré’s career and his commercial success, which parallels the commercialization of the story of Kim Philby. Le Carré’s breakthrough novel was The Spy

147 John le Carré in: Alvin P Sanoff, “The thawing of the old spymaster,” interview with John le Carré, U.S. News and World Report , June 19, 1989, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdlink?index=0&did=1848353&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VT ype=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1258226768&clientId=31812 148 Liddle, “John le Carre has a surprising new story to tell.”

49 Who Came in From the Cold , a novel that revolutionized the way the public saw the

intelligence world and the Cold War. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , was also highly

successful and similarly influential; after it was published, “the concept of the mole gained

popular currency.”149 Le Carré’s character Bill Haydon, based upon Kim Philby, became the lens through which the public saw double agents. And this is not only true for Western audiences. Le Carré’s “early books were required reading at KGB headquarters; the

Russky spies loved them every bit as much as we did.” 150

In the years following the publication of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy , and The

Human Factor , the world of British intelligence has been transformed. The manhunt for the Cambridge five continued. Anthony Blunt, the “fourth man,” was unmasked in 1979.

Over a decade went by, and, finally, in 1990, KGB agent Yuri Modin proclaimed John

Cairncross the “fifth man.” Meanwhile, the Cold War was ending. The Berlin Wall fell in

1989, and the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991. The intelligence world was at a crossroads, and it had to define itself yet again. The SIS was in a particularly difficult position; its purpose and identity came into question. Until this point, SIS operated under the auspices of complete secrecy and confidentiality. “Officially SIS did not exist; even its name was regarded as an official secret. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the need to maintain this pretence became counterproductive as the service sought to justify its role (and budget) within the new world order.” 151 The clandestine world of the Cold War had opened up, and SIS now had to prove itself and its worth to the British public as well as

149 William Greider, “ Tinker, Tailor, Soldier …CIA mole?” Washington Post , November 19, 1978, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=136738442&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=10&VInst=PROD& VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=HNP&TS=1251237722&clientId=31812 150 Liddle, “John le Carré has a surprising new story to tell.” 151 Twigge, Hampshire, and Macklin, British Intelligence , 87. 50 the British government. In 1992 Prime Minister John Major “publicly avowed the

existence of SIS to the House of Commons,” 152 and in 1994 the Intelligence Services Act

clarified the purpose of the SIS, ensuring the government’s commitment to the agency. 153

SIS has become more liberal in its outlook and recruiting practices. Historian

Stephen Dorril published MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty’s Secret

Intelligence Service in 2000, and he noted SIS still had a strong element of the “trusted old-

boy network.” 154 However, he acknowledged the SIS had made a concerted effort to

become more open-minded, citing their hiring of homosexuals, and noting that, in the years

since 1996, SIS actually hired a higher percentage of women to men.155 Historians Stephen

Twigge, Edward Hampshire, and Graham Macklin also cover contemporary trends in SIS

in British Intelligence: Secrets, Spies, and Sources, published in 2008. SIS launched a

website in 2005, and an official history will be released in 2010 to celebrate the hundred

year history of the agency. The purpose of SIS has changed from outwitting Communists

to combating terrorists. It looks towards the future, but it closely guards its past, especially

the recent past and the Cold War years. SIS has released some of its files to the National

Archives at Kew, in accordance with the 1993 Waldegrave Initiative on Open Government,

and the 1997 policies of the Labour Government. Still, the Cold War archives are mostly

152 Ibid. 153 Ibid, 83, 87, 262. 154 Stephen Dorril, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” in MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty’s Secret Intelligence Service (New York: The Free Press, 2000), 783. 155 Ibid ,783-4, 786. In this section, Dorril takes the reader through the contemporary world of MI6, relying partially upon the information of recruits such as Richard Tomlinson, Agent D/813317, hired in 1991, and Andrew Roberts, who went through hiring procedures in 1987(eventually choosing not to sign up). Dorril contrasts their experiences with contemporary hiring procedures. 51 confidential, and the chasm remains vast between restricted information and public

knowledge. 156

The contemporary debate between what should remain classified information and

what should become public knowledge translates into an ever-changing perception of the

history of the intelligence agency, including the life and career of agents such as Kim

Philby. SIS is coming under increasing scrutiny as it fights to maintain its confidentiality

while becoming more accountable to the public. Kim Philby and his exploits are an

excellent example of the tenuous balance SIS is attempting to maintain. In MI6 , historian

Stephen Dorril notes, “the Cold War was easy for the intelligence agencies, to the extent

that they had clear, identifiable targets. It also provided a curtain behind which they could

hide their failures.” 157 At first glance, the treasonous activities of agents such as Kim

Philby would seem disastrous for the public image of British intelligence. But this is not

necessarily so. The public hysteria, the notoriety, the glamour of the Philby affair can be

seen as another smokescreen hiding the operations of SIS. Dorril argues towards greater

public disclosure of SIS operations, noting, “for far too long our view of MI6 has been

distorted by the Establishment’s and media’s obsession with the activities of traitors such

as Kim Philby and George Blake.” 158

Kim Philby has died, but his life still inspires fascination and debate. He lives on in historical texts, fictional novels, and mixed media. In 1988, shortly after Philby’s death,

David Ignatius of The Washington Post wrote, “by the time of his death, he had taken on,

156 Twigge, Hampshire, and Macklin, British Intelligence , 7-9, 87. For more on the availability of archival resources, see the introduction. For more on the contemporary challenges for SIS, see chapter 9, “Intelligence in a Changing World.” 157 Dorril, MI6 , 797. 158 Dorril, preface to MI6 , XIII. 52 in the public mind, the attributes of a fictional character.” 159 This is an important point to consider when pronouncing judgment upon Philby, and when differentiating the person from the caricature he has become. In the years following his defection, Philby was condemned for his betrayal, for his culpability in the deaths of agents who trusted him, for his role in the Socialist scare in SIS and his identity as the “third man” in the Cambridge five. In more recent years, the focus has turned to a dissection of Philby’s personality, for a quest for the truth, to penetrate the façade of the quintessential double agent. Philby has come to personify arrogance, self-indulgence, and deceit, a desire to promote oneself no matter what the cost.

This characterization promotes an injustice to the agents Philby betrayed; the intense focus upon Philby diverts attention from those affected by his actions. But the characterization is also altogether too simplistic. Philby certainly enjoyed the spotlight, and he coveted attention, but this could not have been his central aim in life. Philby remained under the radar for many years. He worked in SIS and for the KGB, both organizations renowned for their secret identities. Philby could have remained in SIS for years, the vast majority of people completely unaware of his existence. And he did not reveal himself, he did not give his identity away, it was taken away from him. Arguably, Philby’s fame derived more by chance than from choice.

Ironically, novelists such as Greene and le Carré are their own agents, whereas

Philby was constantly at the whim of others. Greene and le Carré are not necessarily free from the self-indulgence that characterized Philby in popular perception. They each attained a similar degree of celebrity through their novels, although the focus is on their

159 Ignatius, “The real ‘Perfect Spy.’”

53 identity as novelists instead of on their character. Le Carré and Greene should not be

compared to Philby in terms of moral culpability. Philby was directly responsible for the

deaths of numerous agents, and he knew the implications of his actions. As novelists, le

Carré and Greene are removed from this degree of culpability, no matter their political

ideals and beliefs. They submit their ideas, writing for public audiences, but they do not

know how their works will be interpreted; Philby knew his actions would result in the

deaths of British agents. At the same time, in commercializing Philby and the story of his

defection, Greene and le Carré are not only adding to the public interest in the Philby affair,

they are inventing and perpetuating a characterization of Philby.

Kim Philby is emblematic of the difficulty in reconciling fact with fiction, of the

value of the passage of time, of the difficulties in penetrating the exterior of the world of

British intelligence. Is le Carré’s perception of Philby and the British Secret Service in the

1974 world of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy as valid, or as reliable, than the upcoming

“authoritative” history of SIS? Should Philby be characterized, is there value in a fictional portrayal, particularly with an enigmatic person such as Philby? Is this fiction a valid effort to uncover the truth about Philby? Should Philby be a focal point in the study of British intelligence, should his betrayal emblematize the establishment? Or should his defection be relegated to a smaller role in a more “official” chronology of the history of British

Intelligence?

There is no conclusive answer; who is right or wrong, who is credible or who is the most trustworthy is fodder for debate. But, with the passing of years, people have acquired a different perspective on the Philby affair. Le Carré’s intensity has waned, Graham

Greene’s reputation as a novelist eclipses the memory of his controversial friendship with

54 Philby. The only certainty and continuity seems to be the public interest and commercial

value in Philby and the British Secret Service, a consuming interest in everything from

historical texts to novels and mixed media. 160 These forms are not mutually exclusive

entities. In 1991, as the Cold War drew to a close, le Carré wrote an introduction to Tinker,

Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and he said it “is already an historical novel.” 161

Le Carré and Greene both transitioned from agents to authors, and they represent a bridge between the clandestine world of British intelligence and its novelistic portrayal.

The public perception of this world is constantly changing, especially in the post Cold-War era. In their introduction to British Intelligence , Twigge, Hampshire, and Macklin state,

“the world of secret intelligence was for decades largely neglected by historians, denied access to the archives of the intelligence and security agencies. Without this lifeblood of history, our understanding of their activities has been shaped by a steady stream of lurid novels, sensationalist journalism and memoirs…” 162

Le Carré and Greene would likely argue with this denouncement of their contribution to the history of the British intelligence community. And they would have reason. Their works are emblematic of the public interest in espionage, and both le Carré and Greene were in the vanguard as novelists who took a more cynical view of the intelligence establishment. Espionage novels helped shape the formation of intelligence agencies, and the public perception of these agencies. As the public became more

160 Ignatius makes a very practical observation in his article “the real perfect spy”: “say what you like about Harold ‘Kim’ Philby… He was a traitor to his country and class, a cad with women, an unreconstructed Stalinist. But the fact is he made a lot of people very rich.” The commercialization of Kim Philby has become more apparent in recent years, such as in the TV series, “The Company,” which covers the story of Kim Philby. See: Alessandra Stanley, “Cloak-and-dagger in all its charm,” New York Times , August 3, 2007, http://tv.nytimes.com/2007/08/03/arts/television/03comp.html?scp=1&sq=Cloak-and- Dagger%20in%20All%20Its%20Charm%20Stanley&st=cse 161 Le Carré, introduction to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, xvi. 162 Twigge, Hampshire, and Macklin, introduction to British Intelligence, 7. 55 interested in the world of intelligence, agencies were forced to become more accountable.

Still, these are works of fiction, and to a greater degree novelists have a creative freedom, a distance from the accountability that constrains historians.

Espionage novels certainly helped shape the public perception and the history of the intelligence establishment, but is this a trend that should continue, especially as more archival material becomes available? Are historical texts on British intelligence more valuable than their novelistic counterparts, more credible additions to the history of the intelligence establishment? There is no definitive answer, and there may never be. The only certainty, the only factor reconciling all sides, is the continual interest in Kim Philby and the inner workings of the world of British Intelligence. If SIS does ever release its

Cold War files, historians Dorril and Andrew will be lining up and jostling aside novelists like John le Carré and the ghost of Graham Greene.

56 Bibliography:

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