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Roland Philipps went into publishing on graduating from Cambridge and until recently was Publisher of John Murray. He has edited some leading novelists, politicians, historians, travellers and biographers. A Spy Named Orphan, his first book, arises from lifelong connections to Donald Maclean and his story.
Brilliantly fluent...fascinating...[Philipps] writes so cleanly, and at such a clip, handling the big scenes with aplomb...This biography first grips and then lingers long in the mind. It is a page-turner of the most empathetic kind. -- Rachel Cooke * Guardian * Superb…full of contemporary relevance… Philipps relates the complex narrative of Maclean’s treason…with tremendous aplomb, limpidity and acuity -- WILLIAM BOYD * New Statesman * With A Spy Named Orphan, the last piece of this bizarre jigsaw falls into place. The outline story is familiar, but the amount of new detail here — on Maclean's personal, professional, and secret lives – exceeds all expectations. Roland Philipps has managed to make the new material come alive by relating it intimately to its historical context, of which he has a deep and sympathetic understanding. -- Sebastian Faulks, author of BIRDSONG The definitive account of the life of a “gifted” traitor… Impressive… By drawing on a wealth of previously classified material, Philipps weaves a gripping tale of misplaced loyalty, intrigue and betrayal that is unlikely to be bettered -- Dominic Midgley * Daily Express * Fascinating and page-turning. An exceptional story of espionage and betrayal, thrillingly told. I devoured it. -- Philippe Sands, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for EAST WEST STREET A lively and beautifully engineered biography -- John Banville Philipps… is punchy and hard-nosed in his handling of facts, but pliant, imaginative and humane in his understanding of motives and emotions -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Guardian * Fresh and thought-provoking throughout... rich in archive material -- Giles Udy * The Times * A cracking story... An impressively researched and smoothly polished debut... persuasive.. [an] excellent book -- Dominic Sandbrook * Sunday Times * A masterpiece. The rich renderings of secret assignations, smuggled documents, damning intelligence and brilliant code-breaking will delight lovers of fiction and non-fiction alike. Picture Erik Larson meets John le Carré and you have only begun to scratch the surface of this absolutely gripping book. -- Brad Thor, author of international bestseller SPYMASTER
