The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War

INSPIRATION FOR THE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OFFICIAL SECRETS

FEATURING A NEW INTRODUCTION

In January 2003, 28-year-old GCHQ translator Katharine Gun received an email from the US National Security Agency that would turn her world upside down. The message requested Katharine’s assistance in co-ordinating an illegal US-UK spy operation which would secure UN authorisation for the Iraq invasion. Horrified, she decided to leak the information to the British press.

Katharine’s decision would change her life forever, as she was arrested under the Official Secrets Act whilst becoming a cause célèbre for political activists. The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War is the definitive account of a whistleblower case that reads like a thriller, and will ask you the same question that was asked of Katharine that cold January day – where do your true loyalties lie?

• INSPIRATION FOR A FILM: the book inspired a major motion picture by Academy Award winning filmmaker Gavin Hood, starring two-time Oscar-nominated actress Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes and Matthew Goode. The film will be released in October 2019. We have an official line tying the book to the film on the cover, approved by Entertainment One.

• GCHQ CENTENARY YEAR: GCHQ is 100 years old in 2019, and celebrating its birthday with an exhibition at the Science Museum and an official history book, published via Bloomsbury in the autumn. GCHQ interest will be reaching fever pitch, and this dark chapter in its history will be of interest to anyone seeking out a more balanced, less manicured version of the institution’s role in British life.

• AUTHORISED ACCOUNT, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED IN THE UK: despite the British focus of the story, this account – authorised and with full involvement from Katharine Gun – has never been published in the UK before. A pacy, play-by-play account of the key events, it will be a must-read for all readers interested in espionage.

Competition: The Secrets We Kept; The Spy and the Traitor; Permanent Record; No Place to Hide; A Woman of No Importance; Code Name Lise. Lara Prescott; Ben MacIntyre; Edward Snowden; Christopher Wylie; Glenn Greenwald; Sonia Purnell; Larry Loftis; Ronan Farrow