Antonia Senior talks to IS Berry about her debut novel The Peacock and the Sparrow. It has garnered rave reviews, and has won the Edgar Award for best first novel. It's set in Bahrain during the Arab Spring, and follows the misadventures of disillusioned CIA officer Shane Collins.

IS Berry was in the CIA for six years, and she writes with thrilling authenticity about life as a spy. we talk about her leap from spy to writer, about her influenced, and the toll that espionage can take on the soul.

Buy the book here

Follow IS Berry: https://isberry.net/

Follow IS Berry on X: @isberryauthor

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In this episode of the Spymasters podcast, Antonia Senior talks to Alec Marsh, author of the Drabble and Harris series of historical thrillers. The talk ranges from Istanbul, to the peculiar atmosphere of the 1930s, espionage and beyond.

Buy the book here: https://amzn.eu/d/eoCm7PZ

Follow Alec Marsh: https://www.alecmarsh.co.uk/ on X: @alecmarsh

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The SpyMasters podcasts interviews all the best writers about spying: fact and fiction, historical and contemporary.

In this episode, Antonia Senior talks to the brilliant journalist, writer and documentary maker Tim Tate about the Spycatcher Affair. We talk about the culture of secrecy at MI5, about Thatcher's involvement, about Peter Wright, the molecatcher turned whistleblower.

Buy the book here.

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Antonia Senior talks to acclaimed novelist Jane Thynne about her new book Midnight in Vienna. Set in London and Vienna in 1938 it follows a young unemployed English tutor called Stella Fry and a disgraced MI5 watcher called Harry Fox, as they unite to investigate the murder of a celebrated detective novelist.

We talk Nazis, the parallels between the 1930s and the present day, and, of course spies.

Buy the book here.

Follow Jane here.

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Follow Antonia Senior on X @tonisenior

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Antonia Senior interviews Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman about their fascinating new book Spycraft. What did it mean to be a spy in Early Modern England? What tips and tricks of the trade were employed against England's enemies?

And who was the mysterious 'Q' of the Elizabethan spy trade?

We talk secret ink, cyphers, and much more

Buy the book: https://amzn.eu/d/jj62Dzm

Follow the authors on x: @elegantfowl @Misswalsingham

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Spymasters meets Merle Nygate, the author of Honour Among Spies. The second in Merle's books about Eli Amiram, Mossad's top spy runner, it was a Times thriller of the month. Eli is now chief of Mossad's London operation. He needs an audacious coup to cement his position.

Merle and your host, Antonia Senior talk fiction, Mossad and the challenges to writing.

Buy the book: https://amzn.eu/d/iZGaR5b

Follow Merle: @MerleNygate https://merlenygate.com/

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Hugh Wilford joins SpyMasters to talk about his brilliant new book: The CIA, An Imperial History. Hugh is Professor of United States History at California State University, and a leading expert on the history of the CIA.

His new book is a groundbreaking study of the history of the world's most famous intelligence agency. The book places the history of the CIA into a global context, in which the Cold War is a clash of empires.

We talk about the founders of the CIA, the rise of covert action, and the Agency's unique role in American history.

Buy the book: https://amzn.eu/d/0hpxkVpP

Let us know what you think on X: @spymasterspod

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Oliver Webb-Carter, the editor of Aspects of History, picks his top 5 books and his top 3 films about espionage. Some left-field options here from Oliver! Let us know what you think on X @spymasters

We talk about the new SpyMasters anthology of top spy writing.

And Ollie's picks:

RISE and Kill First, Ronan Bergman. Buy.

Operation Chiffon, Peter Taylor. Buy

The Sympathiser, Viet Thanh Nguyen Buy

Goldfinger, Ian Fleming. Buy

One Day in September, Simon Reeve. Buy

Films:

Zero Days

Living Daylights

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold.

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In this episode, we talk to Roger Moorhouse, the acclaimed historian of Central and Eastern Europe. Roger's new book, The Forgers, is the fascinating story of how a group of Polish diplomats sought to save Jewish victims of the Holocaust by issuing false passports.

Roger's book also covers the subject of espionage and the holocaust, and how the brave agents of Polish intelligence sought to bring news of the horrific genocide to the outside world. This is the fascinating subject of this week's episode.

https://aspectsofhistory.com/spy-masters-podcasts/

Buy the book here: https://amzn.eu/d/01ZnlVLV

Follow Roger on X: @Roger_Moorhouse

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Top Spy novelist Alex gerlis joins Antonia Senior to talk about his new book, Every Spy a Traitor. The first in a new series, it follows the adventures of two British men who end up working for the NVKD in the run up to WW2.

We talk about the 1930s, the mindset of spies, and the perils of intricate, multi-book plots.

Buy the book: https://amzn.eu/d/fJMM8dx

More on Alex: https://alexgerlis.co.uk/

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