A first-class biography of the 20C life of Robert Bruce Lockhart a man so heavily involved in both world wars. He was brilliant, unorthodox, gifted but flawed but to most of us almost unknown. The author brings back to life the egocentric spy figure and his many years in British espionage history. A must read for those with this interest.
My thanks to NetGalley and Elliot & Thompson for this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Was as it said on the tin. Spy affairs. male agent in Moscow through 20th century. With all its male egocentric behaviours and spy adventures. Wasn’t quite for me, and it was as the jacket cover. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

A very entertaining biography of one of the great British "Agents" at the beginning of the 20th Century. My knowledge of Robert Lockhart, prior to "Rogue Agent," was through my fascination with Sidney Reilly, both in print, and the PBS series Reilly Ace of Spies.

Originally tasked with trying to set up diplomatic relations with the Bolshevik Government of Lenin and Trotsky in 1918 Russia, Lockhart's "brief" was to get Russia to reenter the First World War against Germany, and when that failed eventually he bands together with Reilly to try to overthrown the Bolsheviks in what later became known as the "Lockhart Plot." Although the plot to overthrow the Bolsheviks took his name, in reality ( or at least historically ) Lockhart played a minor role in what was eventually foiled by several agents provocateurs reporting to Felix Dzerzhinsky and the Cheka.

Although Crossland relies on passages from the Reilly Biography penned by Lockhart's son, Robin, he repeatedly refers to Reilly as the "Ace of Spies" as a derogatory term in what appears to be an effort to build up Lockhart's role in the failed coup attempt. This is even hinted at later when Lockhart apparently discredits his own telling of the "Lockhart Plot" in his autobiography "British Agent" when nearing his own death and confessing to his son.

Besides the different slant on the events in 1918, Crossland describes in vivid detail the many affairs with exotic women including Moura, who may, or may not, have been a double agent working for the Kremlin. Although his one true love, theirs was a love affair doomed from the start. When others escaped the Cheka, he remained in Russia and was imprisoned, as Moura was also imprisoned as part of the round up of the co-conspirators.

Although the first half of the book is devoted to his time in Russia, I was surprised to learn of Lockhart's further efforts on behalf of the British Intelligence services including his lengthy and life threatening exploits in WWII. Although stationed in the UK, Lockhart ran a propaganda campaign against the Nazis for several years, which some say turned the tide of the war, and may have also led to the "fake news" that is now permeating all over social media today. He was also involved in spreading actual news reports to the Czech Republic after the communist take over.

With the exception of the downgrading comments about Sidney Reilly I truly enjoyed this new perspective on the Bolshevik Revolution, the English Psychological Warfare in WWII and the enlightening look on a somewhat forgotten British Agent.