A Spy Named Orphan : The Enigma of Donald Maclean

A gripping tale of betrayal and counter-betrayal that tells the story of the most enigmatic member of the Cambridge spy ring – Donald Maclean.

Donald Maclean was a star diplomat, an establishment insider and a keeper of some of the West's greatest secrets.

He was also a Russian spy, driven by passionately held beliefs, whose betrayal and defection to Moscow reverberated for decades.

Christened ‘Orphan’ by his Russian recruiter, Maclean was the perfect spy and Britain’s most gifted traitor. But as he leaked huge amounts of top-secret intelligence, an international code-breaking operation was rapidly closing in on him. Moments before he was unmasked, Maclean vanished.

Drawing on a wealth of previously classified material, Roland Philipps now tells this story for the first time in full. Philipps unravels Maclean’s character and contradictions: a childhood that was simultaneously liberal and austere; a Cambridge education mixing in Communist circles; a polished diplomat with a tendency to wild binges; a marriage complicated by secrets; an accelerated rise through the Foreign Office and, above all, a gift for deception.

Taking us back to the golden age of espionage, A Spy Named Orphan reveals the impact of one of the most dangerous and enigmatic Soviet agents of the 20th century, whose actions heightened the tensions of the Cold War.

About the Author

Roland Philipps is the grandson of Roger Makins, the last man from the Foreign Office to see Maclean say goodbye before fleeing to the Soviet Union. Philipps was managing and publishing director of Hodder & Stoughton and Macmillan London. He lives in London.