Description
Book SynopsisThis is the extraordinary story of the British plot in the summer of 1918 to overthrow the Bolshevik government in Russia, murder the Bolshevik leaders, and install a new government in Moscow that would re-open the war against the Germans on the Eastern Front.
Trade ReviewIt would make a cracking Hollywood thriller ... The Lockhart Plot is terrifically entertaining. Schneer does an excellent job of evoking the paranoid atmosphere of Russia in 1918, and his book teems with colourful characters. * Dominic Sandbrook, The Sunday Times *
A rollicking and thriller-like narrative that captures the chaos and turbulence of post-revolutionary Petrograd and Moscow. * Jonathan Steele, The Guardian *
Schneer has made not one but several gripping narratives out of what he has been able to discover. * Neal Ascherson, London Review of Books *
A well-researched and well-written reminder of the pitfalls and bear-traps that governments can encounter when attempting, clandestinely, to interfere in other countries. * Roderick Bailey, Times Literary Supplement *
The Lockhart Plot is suspenseful and moody. It takes readers back in time and place to meet and follow in the steps of the plotters, provides insight on Bolshevism and its believers and critics, and deftly presents conflicting views and perspectives. On top of that, it reads like a top-level spy novel. Outstanding. * K.M. Sandrick, Historical Novel Society *
Schneer's portraits of the central characters are lifelike as he examines motivations that include money and opportunity as well as duty and idealism. It's a page turner. * David Luhrrsen, Shepherd Express *
Schneer does an excellent job of untangling the thick mass of contradictory testimony, false leads, dubious sources, fake identities, double-dealing, and skullduggery to present the most complete and reliable history of Allied plotting in the first year of Soviet power. * Douglas Smith, Los Angeles Review of Books *
Excellent ... [This pacey] book is worth reading for its character portraits alone. * Alexander Watson, Literary Review *
A cracking book. * Mark Rowe, Professional Security Magazine *
Bruce Lockhart, debonair British secret agent, and Felix Dzerzhinsky, ruthless mastermind of the Soviet security service, face off in a deadly duel of smoke and mirrors. At stake: the fate of the Russian Revolution itself. It's an incredible story and Jonathan Schneer tells it with wit, panache and a razor-sharp historical sensibility. A brilliant examination that finally uncovers the mysteries of the Lockhart Plot. * Marc Mulholland, Professor of Modern History at Oxford University and author of The Murderer of Warren Street *
Table of ContentsIntroduction I: Lockhart before the Fall 1: The Making of Bruce Lockhart 2: The Education of Bruce Lockhart 3: The Temptations of Bruce Lockhart II: Defenders of the Faith 4: Iron Felix Dzerzhinsky 5: Tender Jacov Peters 6: The Cheka III: Towards the Fall 7: The 'Ace of Spies' 8: First Steps Towards the Counter-Revolution 9: The Question of Moura 10: Why Lockhart turned to the Latvians 10 11: Dzerzhinsky Counters 12: Intrigue and Romance in Revolutionary Russia 13: The Lockhart Plot Takes Shape IV: The Fall 14: The Lockhart Plot 15: The Defeat of the Lockhart Plot 16: Dénouement 17: Epilogue 18: Conclusion Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index
