The Whitehall Mandarin

LoveReading Says

A Maxim Jakubowski selected title.

Praised as the thinking man's John Le Carre, Wilson has a natural touch for the intrigues of intercontinental spying like no other. His new thriller revisits the darkest days of the Cold War and weaves an intriguing web of intrigue, treachery, double and triple crosses against the background of the Cuban missile crisis, the Profumo affair and the Vietnam war, with a working class British spy, William Catesby slowly unravelling successive layers upon layers of betrayal and subterfuge and in the process uncovering a secret history of Britain and its adversaries and allies during that period, with an insistent emphasis on class values, snobbery and sexual confusion. With surprise appearances by many an actual person or politician, this is a twisting tale of what might actually have happened that will tickle the imagination long after you've set the book down.

Reviewed by Maxim Jakubowski
Maxim Jakubowski is a London-based novelist and editor.
More reviews by Maxim Jakubowski

About The Whitehall Mandarin

A captivating spy thriller taking the reader from 60s sex scandals to the Vietnam War, by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carre' 'Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers WeeklyLondon, 1957. Lady Somers is beautiful, rich and the first woman to head up the Ministry of Defence. She also has something to hide. Catesby's job is to uncover her story and bury it forever. His quest leads him through the sex scandals of Swinging-Sixties London and then on to Moscow, where a shocking message changes everything. His next mission is a desperate hunt through the war-torn jungles of Southeast Asia, where he finally makes a heart-breaking discovery that is as personal as it is political. It's a secret that Catesby may not live to share. 'Espionage and geopolitical history rewritten by Evelyn Waugh' Sunday Times'We attempt to second-guess both Catesby and his crafty creator, and are soundly outfoxed at every turn' Barry Forshaw, Independent'This cynically complex plot is laid over perfectly described settings, from London to Moscow to Vietnam. Wilson's characters and their consciences come alive to lend the book its power' Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Edward Wilson: 'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

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