Red List: MI5 and British Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century
A gripping history of the Security Service and its covert surveillance on British writers and intellectuals in the twentieth century.

In the popular imagination MI5, or the Security Service, is know chiefly as the branch of the British state responsible for chasing down those who pose a threat to the country's national security—from Nazi fifth columnists during the Second World War, to Soviet spies during the Cold War and today's domestic extremists. Yet, aided by the release of official documents to the National Archives, David Caute argues in this radical and revelatory history of the Security Service in the twentieth century, suspicion often fell on those who posed no threat to national security. Instead, this 'other history' of MI5, ignored in official accounts, was often as not fuelled by the political prejudices of MI5's personnel, and involved a huge programme of surveillance against anyone who dared question the status quo.

Caute, a prominent historian and expert on the history of the Cold War, tells the story of the massive state operation to track the activities of a range of journalists, academics, scientists, filmmakers, writers and others who, during the twentieth century, the Security Service perceived as a threat to the national interest. Those who were tracked include such prominent figures as Kingsley Amis, George Orwell, Doris Lessing, John Berger, Benjamin Britten, Eric Hobsbawm, Michael Foot, Harriet Harman, and others.
1139996447
Red List: MI5 and British Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century
A gripping history of the Security Service and its covert surveillance on British writers and intellectuals in the twentieth century.

In the popular imagination MI5, or the Security Service, is know chiefly as the branch of the British state responsible for chasing down those who pose a threat to the country's national security—from Nazi fifth columnists during the Second World War, to Soviet spies during the Cold War and today's domestic extremists. Yet, aided by the release of official documents to the National Archives, David Caute argues in this radical and revelatory history of the Security Service in the twentieth century, suspicion often fell on those who posed no threat to national security. Instead, this 'other history' of MI5, ignored in official accounts, was often as not fuelled by the political prejudices of MI5's personnel, and involved a huge programme of surveillance against anyone who dared question the status quo.

Caute, a prominent historian and expert on the history of the Cold War, tells the story of the massive state operation to track the activities of a range of journalists, academics, scientists, filmmakers, writers and others who, during the twentieth century, the Security Service perceived as a threat to the national interest. Those who were tracked include such prominent figures as Kingsley Amis, George Orwell, Doris Lessing, John Berger, Benjamin Britten, Eric Hobsbawm, Michael Foot, Harriet Harman, and others.
34.95 In Stock
Red List: MI5 and British Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century

Red List: MI5 and British Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century

by David Caute
Red List: MI5 and British Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century

Red List: MI5 and British Intellectuals in the Twentieth Century

by David Caute

Hardcover

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$34.95 
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Overview

A gripping history of the Security Service and its covert surveillance on British writers and intellectuals in the twentieth century.

In the popular imagination MI5, or the Security Service, is know chiefly as the branch of the British state responsible for chasing down those who pose a threat to the country's national security—from Nazi fifth columnists during the Second World War, to Soviet spies during the Cold War and today's domestic extremists. Yet, aided by the release of official documents to the National Archives, David Caute argues in this radical and revelatory history of the Security Service in the twentieth century, suspicion often fell on those who posed no threat to national security. Instead, this 'other history' of MI5, ignored in official accounts, was often as not fuelled by the political prejudices of MI5's personnel, and involved a huge programme of surveillance against anyone who dared question the status quo.

Caute, a prominent historian and expert on the history of the Cold War, tells the story of the massive state operation to track the activities of a range of journalists, academics, scientists, filmmakers, writers and others who, during the twentieth century, the Security Service perceived as a threat to the national interest. Those who were tracked include such prominent figures as Kingsley Amis, George Orwell, Doris Lessing, John Berger, Benjamin Britten, Eric Hobsbawm, Michael Foot, Harriet Harman, and others.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781839762451
Publisher: Verso Books
Publication date: 05/10/2022
Pages: 416
Product dimensions: 6.25(w) x 9.47(h) x 1.22(d)

About the Author

David Caute, a quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Royal Historical Society. His recent books include Isaac and Isaiah: The Covert Punishment of a Cold War Heretic; Politics and the Novel During the Cold War; and The Dancer Defects.

Table of Contents

Note on Sources ix

List of Abbreviations x

Introduction 1

Part I 9

1 MI5 and the First World War 11

2 MI5 and the Communist Party of Great Britain 30

Part II 45

3 Dangerous Voices, Disloyal Pens 47

4 Theatre and Players 98

5 Film Censorship 118

6 Discordant Musicians 125

Part III 133

7 History as Heresy 135

8 Veteran Academics 178

9 Black Liberation and the Africanists 186

Part IV 219

10 Science and Treachery 221

Part V 255

11 Not to Be Trusted 257

12 Illegitimate Lawyers 271

13 Publish and Be Damned 284

14 The BBC Toes the Line 300

15 Art and Design 312

Part VI 339

16 MI5 and the Labour Left 341

Conclusion: MI5 and 'Subversion' 356

Acknowledgements 365

Notes 366

Bibliography 383

Indexes 387

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