Antonia Senior – författare

'Shocking. Gripping. Unputdownable. You thought you knew the Cambridge Five? Think again!Their level of treachery beggars belief, yet the British establishment's incompetence and cover-up is equally unbelievable.' DAMIEN LEWIS, author of THE MINISTRY OF UNGENTLEMANLY WARFARE'Meticulously researched, this is a fascinating analysis.' NIGEL WEST, author of A MATTER OF TRUST?'Senior's new book is impressive in its scope of ground-breaking research and depth of historical context...A powerful narrative.' HELEN FRY, author of THE WHITE LADUsing recently declassified files, STALIN'S APOSTLES explores as never before the treachery of five British men who spied for the Soviet Union: Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt, all radicalised while at Cambridge University in the 1930s. Their supply of British and US intelligence gave Stalin an inside track on US and British strategy at a critical period in history. For more than twenty years there was barely a secret, barely a decision made, that Stalin did not know about, thanks to his Cambridge spies. The Five became tools in Stalin's imperial scheme, responsible directly and indirectly for the death of thousands of men and women fighting against Soviet domination.Shielded for so long by the British Establishment, four of the five were never prosecuted for their crimes. And in time another dictator emerged as ruthless as Stalin, but with an even greater desire to establish a Russian Empire that would threaten Western democracy. The legacy of the Cambridge Five is not only in the graveyards of eastern Europe, but at the heart of Putin's Kremlin.

THE ENTHRALLING TRUE STORY OF BRITAIN'S MOST TREACHEROUS SPY RING - FEATURING NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN RESEARCH. *Orwell Prize for Political Writing Finalist 2026*'Shocking. Gripping. Unputdownable. You thought you knew the Cambridge Five? Think again!' - DAMIEN LEWIS'A definitive work on one of the 20th century's most treacherous conspiracies.' - TIM WEINER'A spellbinding tale of espionage, friendship, and betrayal. Brilliant.' - PAUL VIDICH 'Beautifully written and utterly compelling.' - SAUL DAVID'A powerful narrative' - HELEN FRYUsing recently declassified files, Stalin's Apostles explores as never before the treachery of five British men who spied for the Soviet Union: Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, John Cairncross and Keeper of the Queen's Pictures Anthony Blunt, all radicalised while at Cambridge University in the 1930s. Their supply of British and US intelligence gave Stalin an inside track on US and British strategy at a critical period in history. For more than twenty years there was barely a secret, barely a decision made, that Stalin did not know about, thanks to his Cambridge spies. The Five became tools in Stalin's imperial scheme, responsible directly and indirectly for the death of thousands of people fighting against Soviet domination.Shielded for so long by the British Establishment, four of the five were never prosecuted for their crimes. And in time another dictator emerged as ruthless as Stalin, but with an even greater desire to establish a Russian Empire that would threaten Western democracy. The legacy of the Cambridge Five is not only in the graveyards of eastern Europe, but at the heart of Putin's Kremlin.

The riveting story of the ring of spies known as the Cambridge Five, who infiltrated the highest levels of the British establishment and helped Stalin cement a half century of Soviet domination over Eastern Europe. “A brilliant book. Deep research and dazzling writing make Stalin’s Apostles an appallingly entertaining read. A definitive work on one of the 20th century’s most treacherous conspiracies.” ―Tim Weiner, author of The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century The Cambridge Five was the most infamous spy ring in history. Its members—Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, and John Cairncross—met at university, amid the left-wing ferment overtaking British campuses between the World Wars. The Five were soon recruited by Soviet agents and pledged allegiance to Stalin, and each quickly took up a place in the British government. From the 1930s, they funneled top-secret intelligence to the USSR, some so sensitive that their Soviet handlers feared a double cross. Their unmasking in 1951 rocked Britain, helping to end a chummy, boys’ club stranglehold on the country’s institutions of power. But, as Antonia Senior shows, the Five’s treachery had much graver and more devastating consequences across the world. Their work invaluably aided Stalin as he sought to build a Red Empire, condemning millions across Eastern Europe to decades of repression, violence, and death. Rife with code names, smuggled documents, clandestine rendezvous, and copious amounts of gin, Stalin’s Apostles wields impeccable research and storytelling and all the thrilling details and high tragedy of a classic spy thriller.“A definitive and important account of the most infamous spy ring ever … told with the propulsive force of a spy novel.” ―Joseph Finder, New York Times-bestselling author of The Oligarch's Daughter

Love, betrayal and a family divided amid the turmoil of the English Civil War.London, 1640. Fifteen-year-old Henrietta Challoner dreams of adventure, of a life lived at the gallop, of the opportunities afforded to her brothers, Ned and Sam. She cannot know how devastatingly real these dreams will become, as the country slides towards vicious civil war...The crisis threatens to tear Henrietta's family apart. As religious and political tensions spill into the streets, they all must decide what comes first - their family, their country or their desires. But while she strives to maintain the peace at home, Henrietta becomes embroiled in a deeper plot: to hand London over to the King.