Spying writers

There have been many writers who were also secret-spying agents.
Fey Weldon is one of the last writer being in contact with secret services. After her studies at St Andrews in the 50's she got a job at the Search Information Department which was funded by M16 of the secret services. She has stated about that "my role was rather insignificant".


Ian Flemming, had a more safe life than his creation James Bond. He was an admiral assistant in the matters of sea spying. He soon was incharge of a sabotage at some romanian facilities, which was a failure. The perfect conspiracy was without a doubt in his novels.

John Bingham, a thriller writer (like the "A fragment ofg fear"). One of his staff members was David Cornwell, who started to write with the nickname John Le Carre when he was in Hamburg. His heroe , John Smily, is based on Bingham. Though Bingham accused David about spreading the idea that everybody who works at a secret service agency are "stupid and gay.."

Many writers came in contact with secret services after being popular for their writing.
Graham Greene published his book "The power and the Glory" in 1940, with many reveals the time when he was in the V section in Saint Albans.

Christopher Marlow, theatrical author, was spying on Duke of Northumberland. His biographer said that he had to be with spies and crooks because he was one of them. These kind of novels were more successful than poetry. He was one of the many writers that were recruited at the first official secret service. He was murdered from his "own people".

A little more safe jobs had the poets Edmumd Spencer, John Milton, Andrew Marvel. Spencer carried letters from France and wrote propagnda texts about Irland, in the 1598 revolution.

The biggest writer-spy of all was Daniel Defoe, the creator of Robinson Crusoe, he was recruited by Queen Anna. He gothered material about important persons political conncetions. He used different nicknames like Alexander Goldsmith, he had different writing styles and had invented a writing code were the parliament had number 212, the queen 223 and the Jacobites 161. He had many ideas about improving the agency and at onepoint he complaned to his superiors about the luck of safety at the headquarters.