ROLAND PHILIPPS was a leading publisher for many years. A Spy Named Orphan, his first book, arose from lifelong connections to Donald Maclean and his story. It was shortlisted for the Slightly Foxed Best First Biography Prize 2018, was a Daily Mail Book of the Year and received widespread critical acclaim. His second book, Victoire, was published by The Bodley Head in 2021.
The wartime spy career of Mathilde Carré - aka 'the Cat' and 'Agent Victoire' - is so extraordinary it almost defies belief * The Times * Enough plot twists and moral ambiguity to satisfy any spy novelist ... At its heart this is a book about the moral dilemmas involved in living under the perverting conditions of war and occupation ... Philipps does a fine job of setting the scene inside France, and building up the tension in this increasingly gripping wartime story, and all that follows ... a deeply humane book -- Clare Mulley * Spectator * What a read! What a fascinating character! I was gripped from the first page to the last. A truly astonishing story, meticulously and brilliantly told -- Philippe Sands, author of The Ratline A wonderful, atmospheric book: a miraculous portrait of a flawed human being, and a masterful account of the moral quagmire of wartime France and Britain -- Carmen Callil, author of Bad Faith Roland Philipps tells Victoire's story with skill and compassion, and reveals that for all her betrayals, she deserves more understanding than she received in her lifetime -- Artemis Cooper, author of Patrick Leigh Fermor