Henry Hemming – författare

The English eccentric is under threat. In our increasingly homogenised society, these celebrated parts of our national identity are anomalies that may soon no longer fit. Or so it seems. On his entertaining and thought-provoking quest to discover the most eccentric English person alive today, Henry Hemming unearths a surprisingly large array of delightfully odd characters. He asks what it is to be an eccentric. Is it simply to thrive on creativity and non-conformity, and where does this incarnation of Englishness stem from? Hemming concludes that this tribe is, in fact, in rude health, as essential as ever to the English national identity, only they are no longer to be found where youd expect them.

HOW THE DEATH OF A SPY IN THE IRA LED TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST MURDER INVESTIGATIONS IN BRITISH HISTORYHistorical Writers' Association Non-Fiction Crown Winner 2024Top 10 Irish Non-Fiction bestseller, April 2024'A truly page-turning, compulsive and also profoundly moving narrative.' - JAMES HOLLAND'Gripping, urgent, superbly reported and brilliantly written' - DAN JONESOn 26th May 1986, the body of an undercover British agent was found by the side of a muddy lane, with a rope tied around its wrists and tape over each eye. Years later, it was reported that this murder might have been carried out by another undercover British agent, known as 'Stakeknife'. In 2016, a detective began to investigate this case, and would soon find himself running the largest murder investigation in British history.In a compulsive blend of investigative journalism and true crime thriller, Henry Hemming exposes the parallel worlds of the IRA and British intelligence through the lives of those inextricably bound up in both. He reveals the bravery of those who were crucial in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the bloodiest and longest-running conflict in recent British history, and the determination of one detective in his dogged search for justice and the truth.'Superb' - Irish Times'Compelling' - The Times'Gripping' - Observer'Exciting, at times astonishing' - New York Times'A gripping and pacey book that reads like a thriller. I found it shocking in a world where I didn't think I could be shocked any more. Henry Hemming wears his extensive research very lightly and manages to shape a great narrative from a complex and dark episode from our recent history. An important and skilfully crafted book.' - JOHN O'FARRELL'The best book about the Troubles since Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing . . . outstanding reporting and an unflinching focus on the facts at hand' - Wall Street Journal

HOW THE DEATH OF A SPY IN THE IRA LED TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST MURDER INVESTIGATIONS IN BRITISH HISTORYHistorical Writers' Association Non-Fiction Crown Winner 2024Top 10 Irish Non-Fiction bestseller, April 2024'A truly page-turning, compulsive and also profoundly moving narrative.' - JAMES HOLLAND'Gripping, urgent, superbly reported and brilliantly written' - DAN JONESOn 26th May 1986, the body of an undercover British agent was found by the side of a muddy lane, with a rope tied around its wrists and tape over each eye. Years later, it was reported that this murder might have been carried out by another undercover British agent, known as 'Stakeknife'. In 2016, a detective began to investigate this case, and would soon find himself running the largest murder investigation in British history.In a compulsive blend of investigative journalism and true crime thriller, Henry Hemming exposes the parallel worlds of the IRA and British intelligence through the lives of those inextricably bound up in both. He reveals the bravery of those who were crucial in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the bloodiest and longest-running conflict in recent British history, and the determination of one detective in his dogged search for justice and the truth.'Superb' - Irish Times'Compelling' - The Times'Gripping' - Observer'Exciting, at times astonishing' - New York Times'A gripping and pacey book that reads like a thriller. I found it shocking in a world where I didn't think I could be shocked any more. Henry Hemming wears his extensive research very lightly and manages to shape a great narrative from a complex and dark episode from our recent history. An important and skilfully crafted book.' - JOHN O'FARRELL'The best book about the Troubles since Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing . . . outstanding reporting and an unflinching focus on the facts at hand' - Wall Street Journal

NOW UPDATED WITH A NEW CHAPTERHOW THE DEATH OF A SPY IN THE IRA LED TO ONE OF THE BIGGEST MURDER INVESTIGATIONS IN BRITISH HISTORYWINNER - Historical Writers'' Association Non-Fiction Crown 2024SHORTLISTED - CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction 2024SHORTLISTED - True Crime Awards Book of the Year 2024Top 10 Irish Non-Fiction bestseller, April 2024On 26th May 1986, the body of an undercover British agent was found by the side of a muddy lane, with a rope tied around its wrists and tape over each eye. Years later, it was reported that this murder might have been carried out by another undercover British agent, known as 'Stakeknife'. In 2016, a detective began to investigate this case, and would soon find himself running the largest murder investigation in British history. In a compulsive blend of investigative journalism and true crime thriller, Henry Hemming exposes the parallel worlds of the IRA and British intelligence through the lives of those inextricably bound up in both. He reveals the bravery of those who were crucial in ending the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the bloodiest and longest-running conflict in recent British history, and the determination of one detective in his dogged search for justice and the truth. 'Superb' - Irish Times'Compelling' - The Times'Gripping' - Observer'Exciting, at times astonishing' - New York Times'A gripping and pacey book that reads like a thriller. I found it shocking in a world where I didn't think I could be shocked any more. Henry Hemming wears his extensive research very lightly and manages to shape a great narrative from a complex and dark episode from our recent history. An important and skilfully crafted book.' - JOHN O'FARRELL'The best book about the Troubles since Patrick Radden Keefe's Say Nothing . . . outstanding reporting and an unflinching focus on the facts at hand' - Wall Street Journal

*** The Sunday Times bestseller ***'Vividly imagined and prodigiously researched' Helen Davies, Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'Such a rewarding read' John Preston, Daily Mail, Books of the Year'This odd, secretive man is brought to life', Robbie Millen, The Times, Books of the YearMaxwell Knight was a paradox. A jazz obsessive and nature enthusiast (he is the author of the definitive work on how to look after a gorilla), he is seen today as one of MI5's greatest spymasters, a man who did more than any other to break up British fascism during the Second World War – in spite of having once belonged to the British Fascisti himself. He was known to his agents and colleagues simply as M, and was rumoured to be part of the inspiration for the character M in the James Bond series.Knight became a legendary spymaster despite an almost total lack of qualifications. What set him apart from his peers was a mercurial ability to transform almost anyone into a fearless secret agent. He was the first in MI5 to grasp the potential of training female agents.M is about more than just one man however. In its pages, Hemming reveals for the first time in print the names and stories of seven men and women recruited by Knight, on behalf of MI5, and then asked to infiltrate the most dangerous political organizations in Britain at that time. Until now, their identities have been kept secret outside MI5. Drawn from every walk of life, they led double lives—often at great personal cost—in order to protect the country they loved. With the publication of this book, it will be possible at last to celebrate the lives of these courageous, selfless individuals.Drawing on declassified documents, private family archives and interviews with retired MI5 officers as well as the families of MI5 agents, M reveals not just the shadowy world of espionage but a brilliant, enigmatic man at its centre.

"A revelatory and wholly fascinating work of history. Superbly researched and written with gripping fluency, this lost secret of World War II espionage finally has its expert chronicler." - WILLIAM BOYD'Gripping and intoxicating, it unfolds like the best screenplay.'NICHOLAS SHAKESPEAREThe gripping story of a propaganda campaign like no other: the covert British operation to manipulate American public opinion and bring the US into the Second World War.When William Stephenson - "our man in New York" - arrived in the United States towards the end of June 1940 with instructions from the head of MI6 to 'organise' American public opinion, Britain was on the verge of defeat. Surveys showed that just 14% of the US population wanted to go to war against Nazi Germany. But soon that began to change...Those campaigning against America's entry into the war, such as legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, talked of a British-led plot to drag the US into the conflict. They feared that the British were somehow flooding the American media with 'fake news', infiltrating pressure groups, rigging opinion polls and meddling in US politics.These claims were shocking and wild: they were also true. That truth is revealed here for the first time by bestselling author Henry Hemming, using hitherto private and classified documents, including the diaries of his own grandparents, who were briefly part of Stephenson's extraordinary influence campaign that was later described in the Washington Post as 'arguably the most effective in history'. Stephenson - who saved the life of Hemming's father - was a flawed maverick, full of contradictions, but one whose work changed the course of the war, and whose story can now be told in full.