British Writers and MI5 Surveillance, 1930–1960

The book explores records that MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence agency, maintained on influential left-wing writers from 1930 to 1960.

James Smith (Author)

9781107030824, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 17 December 2012

228 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm, 0.47 kg

'Smith examines MI5 files held on writers before and after WWII in this compelling book … [he] is judicious in framing his study. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.' J. M. Utell, Choice

Britain's domestic intelligence agencies maintained secret records on many left-wing writers after the First World War. Drawing on recently declassified material from 1930 to 1960, this revealing study examines how leading figures in Britain's literary scene fell under MI5 and Special Branch surveillance, and the surprising extent to which writers became willing participants in the world of covert intelligence and propaganda. Chapters devoted to W. H. Auden and his associates, theatre pioneers Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood, George Orwell and others describe methods used by MI5 to gather information through and about the cultural world. The book also investigates how these covert agencies assessed the political influence of such writers, providing scholars and students of twentieth-century British literature with an unprecedented account of clandestine operations in popular culture.

Abbreviations
Preface
1. Intellectual and intelligence contexts, 1930–60
2. The Auden circle
3. Ewan MacColl, Joan Littlewood, and Theatre Workshop
4. Arthur Koestler and George Orwell
Epilogue
Notes.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK], Literary studies: from c 1900 - [DSBH], Literary studies: c 1800 to c 1900 [DSBF]