Portraits

portraits

Betty Webb, the humble codebreaker who helped to defeat the Nazis

The recent passing of Betty Web, a codebreaker at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, reminds us of the extraordinary role played by female intelligence analysts in defeati..

Helen Fry May 8, 2025

portraits

A political lesson from Lord Rockingham

Twice prime minister in times of constitutional crisis, Rockingham quietly reshaped 18th-century British politics. By pioneering the idea of a principled, party-driven politics, he..

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri May 1, 2025

portraits

Joachim Burwitz, spymaster of the Baltic world

The 16th-century Pomeranian spy, Joachim Burwitz, made a decisive contribution to Swedish foreign policy. His call for Sweden to counter Russian expansionism in the Baltic has a pe..

Martin Neuding Skoog April 15, 2025

portraits

George Carver, the CIA’s man in Vietnam

The events of the Vietnam War forced the hawkish CIA analyst George Carver to confront the limits of American power. His painful personal journey mirrored a deep crisis in US forei..

Ronan Mainprize March 31, 2025

portraits

Noël Coward the spy

The actor and playwright Noël Coward revelled in his reputation as 'the playboy of the West End World'. In his brief but important career as a spy during the Second World War, he w..

Oliver Soden March 11, 2025

portraits

Pamela Harriman: an unsung hero of the Atlantic world

The formidable socialite and diplomat devoted her life to bringing the United States and Europe closer together. As a trusted adviser to Winston Churchill and, later, Bill Clinton,..

Sonia Purnell March 5, 2025

portraits

Virginia Cowles, a woman in search of trouble

In her brilliant career as a war correspondent, Virginia Cowles travelled throughout Europe and North Africa during the Second World War, publicising the plight of a besieged Brita..

Gordon F. Sander February 17, 2025

portraits

Frederick Selous, the archetypal great white hunter

The adventurer Frederick Courteney Selous epitomised the Victorian ideal of the gun-toting, daring frontiersman as a force for civilisation, and lent it an everlasting allure.

Maria Golia January 30, 2025

portraits

Sylvia Beach, the bookseller who defied the Nazis

In her Parisian bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, Sylvia Beach fashioned a space where writers could experiment, create and collaborate. She leaves a powerful legacy as a patron o..

Katie Tobin January 17, 2025