Synopses & Reviews
This is a story about a spy. And a spy, by definition, lies. So how to write the life of a spy? Eschewing the confines of traditional biography and inverting the glamour of espionge, acclaimed biographer Millicent Dillon blends fact and fiction to chronicle the human drama of Harry Gold, the American chemist who became a Soviet spy.
Dillon has researched Golds outer life throughly, as a biographer would. She then links his inner life to create a profound and compelling character study of a self-described little man who personifies the larger symbolism of this complex era in American history.
In casting Golds story as a novel, Dillon creates a gripping narrative from the true events of political life in America from the 30s through the McCarthy era, from Golds recruitment to his training in tradecraft to his role in Julius Rosenbergs and Klaus Fuchss atomic espionage at Los Alamos. The result is a novel with the psychological depth of Graham Greenes The Third Man, the taut pacing of All The Presidents Men, and the moral poignancy of Philip Roths I Married a Communist.
Review
"Harry Gold is a fascinating and original book. It answers few questions, and asks many good ones." Elena Lappin, The New York Times Book Review
Review
Millicent Dillons brilliant recreation of Harry Gold somehow brings that whole strange era into human and sympathetic focus. The hapless Harry is fascinating, the story completely convincing. Diane Johnson
Synopsis
Eschewing the confines of traditional biography and inverting the glamour of espionage, acclaimed biographer Millicent Dillon blends fact and fiction to chronicle the human drama of Harry Gold, the American chemist who became a Soviet spy.
Synopsis
In casting Gold's story as a novel, Dillon creates a gripping narrative from the true events of political life in America from the thirties through the McCarthy era, from Gold's recruitment to his training in tradecraft to his role in Julius Rosenberg's and Klaus Fuchs's atomic espionage at Los Alamos. The result is a novel with the psychological depth of Graham Greene's The Third Man, the taut pacing of All the President' s Men, and the moral poignancy of Phillip Roth's I Married A Communist.