The subtitle “How MI5 targeted left wing artists and writers 1936-1956” gives an understanding of what is included in this volume. Knott starts by listing the “Dramatis Personae” he will mostly refer to – some are perhaps better known than others now, some are household names particularly among the writers. Poets include Stephen Spender, WH Auden, C D Lewis and Valentine Ackland. Writers include George Orwell, J B Priestley, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Doris Lessing, Olivia Manning and Margot Heinemann for instance. Some were members of the Communist Party at times, others not. Some might have small private incomes others would survive by a combination of freelance writing, lecturing or performance. Secret Service surveillance –and blacklisting - could therefore seriously impact the work available to them and on their longer term creative careers, particularly throughout the Second World War – especially with conscription for many men and work requirements for unmarried women.
The dates 1936-1956 are not entirely exclusive – the First World War supposedly ended in 1918/9 had long term implications. First economic depressions with particular impact on the poor, mass unemployment, women with restricted chances of marrying also being required to “return to the home” with a determination in some that this had been the war to end all war. Political activism escalated through a range of parties, including Communist and thus groups began to be seen as a particular threat to the establishment. The Spanish Civil War – with people travelling to fight abroad seemed to confirm this. The Second World War created another series of threats, complicated by the various changing alliances as it developed. After the war the growing “Cold War” and the threat of nuclear war focussed attention on yet more political groups and people. Knott substantially presents this book in consecutive date order (with the odd exception where he tracks an individual in detail) exploring these changes and melding other aspects of surveillance into the whole.
It is noteworthy though that once a person attracted attention and a “file” was opened it might run for years. It seems that for some people the level of their “threat” was never properly assessed or reviewed. But as all informed readers will know – nonetheless groups of spies and traitors operated within the heart of the Secret Services undetected for years. Often they were protected due to being “from the right background” at best, or being actively shielded at worst. Knott gives examples of how some “risks” were identified by local police forces first – often based on local gossip or where erratic or unusual behaviour (odd haircuts or clothing in women for instance). But facile identification could lead to further surveillance – reporting by social contacts was encouraged, post could be opened, telephones tapped, or people followed or specifically targeted by undercover operatives. Postal and telephone surveillance would lead to awareness of ever widening circles of acquaintances or contacts who would then be investigated in their turn.
It could be said that surveillance as such was not a major issue to many for much of the period. But in the Second World War in particular it became much more serious as “risky” individuals were increasingly banned from the BBC, the civil service and the temporary wartime support posts. The recently published Letters of Eileen Alexander “Love in the Blitz” incidentally show the impact of such patronage networks to entry to these securer posts and the almost casual response to both this and de-barring of others too. For men of a certain age, with “safe” employments like these banned they were directed to frontline military work – not just riskier, but allowing little time or energy for creative work (even assuming materials were available). Knott having access to private letters of Clive Branson shows in great detail the sort of impact this could have on one particular family.
Overall this is an interesting read, albeit some may see it is unbalanced in presentation. It is dense in places with information but in other cases the background information seems slighter. The poorer presentation of some of the women who have been subject to often quite detailed feminist analysis may be seen as a case in point. It needs, however, to be recognised that Knott is covering a wide period brief. He makes clear references to the issues of accessing security documents even after all this time. Some are still inaccessible, others are redacted and others could presumably be requested if one knew they existed in the first place. But nevertheless it is not always clear why he selected his key characters he did for especial mention.
But if you are interested in a book that gives a general overview of the issue, or particular references to some of his key characters, then this book will no doubt be useful to the discussion of state surveillance, its strengths and weaknesses and its possible impact.

This book is the factual account of the UK Security Services who monitored and kept under surveillance those artists painters and authors who in the period of 1920 to 1955 were members of, or were associated with, the CPGB. Some readers will be surprised and perhaps shocked that this kind of activity went on in the UK and in some of our dependent colonies but it should be understood that the rise of the Soviet Union and its version of Communism was attractive to young revolutionary minded students the world over. Extremism in the early part of the 20th Century had manifested itself in an assassination in 1914 in Sarajevo that resulted in the horrific First World War and that event was in the forefront of the British establishment. Thus, the CPGB came under scrutiny to ensure that its members were identified, traced and interrelationships established so that any threat from the extreme left could be countered if necessary.
The narrative of the various personalities and their actions and activities, particularly in the Spanish Civil War and subsequently in World War ll, provided a spotlight on the changing attitudes of many of the maturing members of the CPGB and their attitude and ultimately their rejection of Soviet Communism when the post war truth over Stalin’s purges came to light and many of them faded away. Some though, Burgess, Mclean and Blunt, stayed the course and two of them eventually defected to Moscow, and at least one woman made her way in the literary world and gained many accolades.
An interesting book to read for those that have an interest in these fields but to younger readers I would say that these were sensitive time in our world and precautions such as those contained in this narrative were very necessary for that time.

I picked up a copy of this book via Netgalley, though I don't read as much non-fiction, since it sounded interesting and I'd come across the wholesale surveillance of the left during the inter-war period in the excellent The Defence of the Realm: The Authorised History of MI5 (by Christopher Andrew), which I highly recommend if you're interested in this subject. In fact, I don't think that I actually learned much from this book that I hadn't already come across in that one, so that didn't bode well for my overall review.

The Secret War Against the Arts is all about MI5 surveillance of left-leaning creative types, some of whom were actual British Communist Party members for at least a time, while others were just generally liberal. We have a sprinkling of poets, writers and artists, of varying degrees of fame and the book pays more attention to some than others, possibly because of the amount of material available on them. There is still, apparently, information held on various individuals in the National Archive which is still considered too sensitive to release.

There are some interesting stories here but it also seems to gloss over quite a lot - these are well-heeled individuals in general where the surveillance they were under didn't actually seem to have a major impact on their lives for the most part. That takes away the urgency of the situation and the choices around how to structure the book (it's decidedly non-linear between chapters) also made it not the easiest read. Perhaps if I hadn't read the Christopher Andrew book, this one would have made more of an impression on me, but I didn't really come away from it feeling like it was a book that desperately needed to be written.



I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For more than 20 years MI5 (Britain's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency) spied on thousands of its own citizens. Among them were famous and lesser known writers, poets and artists who were regarded as being sympathetic to left-wing causes, especially during the 1936-1939 Spanish Civil War when the British Government adopted a non-interventionist policy.
Determined to confront the Fascists and Nazis sent to Spain by Mussolini and Hitler, many from the Arts travelled to Spain to fight on the side of the democratically elected Republican Government.
Britain's security services saw these people as a danger, either because of their membership of the CPGB (Communist Party of Great Britain) or suspicion that they were "fellow travellers" - Communist or left wing sympathisers.
Despite the rise of right wing extremism throughout Europe, MI5 - aided by senior police and military officers and paid informants - began bugging telephones, opening mail, searching homes and encouraging people to inform on those they saw as dangerous left wingers. These tactics are remarkably similar to many of those employed by secret police forces such as Nazi Germany's Gestapo and East Germany's Stasi.
Using declassified files from The National Archives, the author Richard Knott reveals the extent of MI5's methodical and implacable investigation into the lives of such people as the novelist George Orwell (author of "Animal Farm" & "1984"), the poets W.H. Auden & Stephen Spender, broadcaster and social commentator J.B. Priestley (whose popular radio talks were cancelled by the BBC following complaints from Britain's wartime Government) and the artist Paul Hogarth who, like Orwell, had fought on the Republican side during Spain's Civil War. There were thousands more whose only "crime" was to be or have been a supporter of left wing causes. Even something trivial such as a donation to a left leaning organisation would see that person's name added to MI5's ever growing number of files.
It should be pointed out that MI5 was an organisation of men whose politics were likely to be of the right wing variety - and that was (probably still is) the case with Britain's senior police and military officers. When it was suggested that - in light of a possible invasion by Nazi Germany - that Scotland Yard destroy their files on Britain's left wingers, George Orwell commented that it was likely those police officers responsible would welcome a Nazi victory.
But, as all this constant petty harassment of these ordinary people was being carried out, MI5 completely ignored the infiltration of their ranks by major Soviet spies, such as "Kim" Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt and John Cairncross - all of whom went undetected before, during and for several years after the end of the Second World War. While the British were busy bugging phones and steaming open mail, the Soviet Union was gathering huge amounts of secret intelligence information which ultimately led to a lack of trust of MI5 by America's CIA and FBI .
Ultimately, MI5's years of spying on their own people achieved absolutely nothing.