Agent Provocateur for Hitler or Churchill?

Agent Provocateur for Hitler or Churchill? written by David Tremain and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £25.00 - Hardback - Pages 304

There have been many remarkable women who served British Intelligence during the Second

World War. One whose dubious claim to have worked for them is a fascinating tale involving

three marriages – the first, to a spurious White Russian prince; the second to a

playboy-turned-criminal involved in a major jewellery robbery in the heart of London’s Mayfair

in the late 1930s. After the war, she became romantically involved with a well-known British

Fascist, but finally married another notorious criminal whom she had met earlier during the war.

The descriptions variously ascribed to her ranged from ‘remarkable’ and ‘quite ravishing’ to ‘…a woman whose loose living would make her an object of shame on any farmyard.

Until now, very little has been recorded about Stella Lonsdale’s life. She doesn’t even merit a mention in the two official histories of MI5, even though she managed to tie them up in knots for years. This book will explore the role this strange woman may or may not have played in working for British Intelligence, the French Deuxième Bureau, or the Abwehr – German military intelligence – during the Second World War, using her MI5 files as a primary source.

I should probably admit that I had never heard of Stella Lonsdale, but in a way, I can see why and why not. In a fascinating book that delves deep into the story and the circumstances involved, the information is a lot and very comprehensive. Hopefully, this isn’t spoiling it for anyone but this book clears her name of being any sort of spy for Nazi Germany. Although her lifestyle and friends might not have been to everyone’s taste, this book digs deep and does a lot of research to vindicate her and is very comprehensively written. I think this book could deter some readers because there was a lot of detail and information, but I pushed on through and in the end, it was a good read. Certainly one for those that love their spy game type reads.