The Writer and the Traitor
A thrilling history of the 20th century's most intriguing friendship - between novelist Graham Greene and spy Kim Philby
Published on 9. April 2026
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-1-0354-1817-6 (ISBN)
Description
'[An] elegant and forensic double portrait setting Greene, that sociologist of sin, alongside the Kremlin's golden boy Philby, with the lengthening shadow of the cold war falling between them ... both his subjects make for terrific copy ... Part of the pleasure of Verkaik's book is the vicarious glide through their parallel rake's progresses.' - Pratinav Anil, Guardian
'A wholly fascinating account of an extraordinary friendship. Robert Verkaik's nuanced and insightful portraits of these two highly complicated individuals are brilliantly convincing.' - William Boyd
'For those who seek to understand the psychology of the Cambridge spies, Verkaik's portrait of the friendship between Philby and Graham Greene offers a fascinating insight.' Financial Times
'A superb spy book. This masterpiece of forensic research asks troubling new questions about two of Britain's most mysterious and famously complex figures.' - Richard J Aldrich, author of GCHQ
'Verkaik's fascinating non-fiction account of these 20th-century icons reads like a thriller.' Daily Mirror
In The Writer and the Traitor, bestselling historian Robert Verkaik sheds a completely fresh light on the enigmatic relationship between two giants of the twentieth century: Graham Greene, the internationally lauded novelist, and Kim Philby, the intelligence-officer-turned-traitor.
The two men met as MI6 officers in London, joining forces in a deadly secret war to defeat the Nazis. But Greene unexpectedly resigned just days before British intelligence's greatest triumph - D-Day - and he used his experience in the intelligence services as a backdrop for his novels Our Man in Havana and The Human Factor and the screenplay of The Third Man. Lurking within the pages lay suspicions of his friend and former colleague, with characters and plots echoing Philby's life. Was Philby the real Third Man? Did Greene's work contain coded messages and warnings of betrayal to M16? Where did Greene's ultimate loyalties lie and who was he really working for?
In this highly revealing book, based on astonishing new archive material, Verkaik takes readers on a mesmerising journey from pre-war Vienna to Cold War Moscow, via wartime Sierra Leone and London in the Blitz. This is more than just a riveting tale of espionage; it is the story of a mysterious friendship that survived against the odds. Ultimately The Writer and the Traitor explores the perplexing question that nobody yet has answered: why did one of Britain's most famous writers remain loyal to Britain's most hated traitor?
'A wholly fascinating account of an extraordinary friendship. Robert Verkaik's nuanced and insightful portraits of these two highly complicated individuals are brilliantly convincing.' - William Boyd
'For those who seek to understand the psychology of the Cambridge spies, Verkaik's portrait of the friendship between Philby and Graham Greene offers a fascinating insight.' Financial Times
'A superb spy book. This masterpiece of forensic research asks troubling new questions about two of Britain's most mysterious and famously complex figures.' - Richard J Aldrich, author of GCHQ
'Verkaik's fascinating non-fiction account of these 20th-century icons reads like a thriller.' Daily Mirror
In The Writer and the Traitor, bestselling historian Robert Verkaik sheds a completely fresh light on the enigmatic relationship between two giants of the twentieth century: Graham Greene, the internationally lauded novelist, and Kim Philby, the intelligence-officer-turned-traitor.
The two men met as MI6 officers in London, joining forces in a deadly secret war to defeat the Nazis. But Greene unexpectedly resigned just days before British intelligence's greatest triumph - D-Day - and he used his experience in the intelligence services as a backdrop for his novels Our Man in Havana and The Human Factor and the screenplay of The Third Man. Lurking within the pages lay suspicions of his friend and former colleague, with characters and plots echoing Philby's life. Was Philby the real Third Man? Did Greene's work contain coded messages and warnings of betrayal to M16? Where did Greene's ultimate loyalties lie and who was he really working for?
In this highly revealing book, based on astonishing new archive material, Verkaik takes readers on a mesmerising journey from pre-war Vienna to Cold War Moscow, via wartime Sierra Leone and London in the Blitz. This is more than just a riveting tale of espionage; it is the story of a mysterious friendship that survived against the odds. Ultimately The Writer and the Traitor explores the perplexing question that nobody yet has answered: why did one of Britain's most famous writers remain loyal to Britain's most hated traitor?
Reviews / Votes
A wholly fascinating account of an extraordinary friendship. Robert Verkaik's nuanced and insightful portraits of these two highly complicated individuals are brilliantly convincing -- William Boyd A superb spy book. This masterpiece of forensic research asks troubling new questions about two of Britain's most mysterious and famously complex figures -- Richard J Aldrich, author of GCHQ Ever since first reading Graham Greene's extraordinary foreword to my grandfather's autobiography, My Silent War, I have been intrigued by the relationship between one of Britain's most loved writers, and the real Third Man. In his vivid and rigorously researched new book, Robert Verkaik shines new light on one of the most fascinating friendships of the Cold War - proving that fact is stranger than fiction, and just as compelling -- Charlotte Philby, author of Edith and Kim The novelist's eye of Kim Philby's friend and MI6 colleague Graham Greene provides a new perspective on the treachery of Philby and the Cambridge spies ... a richly entertaining tale -- Professor Sir David Omand, former Director of GCHQ and author of How Spies Think Robert Verkaik's latest work is a highly gripping, beautifully crafted page-turner that combines the narrative flair of a bestselling thriller with the forensic precision of investigative journalism. The Writer and the Traitor draws the reader into a world of tension, pace, and intrigue, vividly animating the flaws, cunning, and irrepressible quirks of two of Britain's most compelling spies -- Richard Kerbaj, author of The Secret History of the Five Eyes [An] elegant and forensic double portrait setting Greene, that sociologist of sin, alongside the Kremlin's golden boy Philby, with the lengthening shadow of the cold war falling between them ... both his subjects make for terrific copy ... Part of the pleasure of Verkaik's book is the vicarious glide through their parallel rake's progresses -- Pratinav Anil * Guardian * Verkaik tells a good story, and tells it well -- Pat Carty * Sunday Independent * A terrific examination of two lives defined by espionage . . . a must-read for fans of Greene -- Chris Connor * Spybrary * A meticulous analysis * Country Life * Verkaik's fascinating non-fiction account of these 20th-century icons reads like a thriller * Daily Mirror *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Headline Publishing Group
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
eight-page black-and-white picture section
Dimensions
Height: 239 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
614 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-0354-1817-6 (9781035418176)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Robert Verkaik
The Writer and the Traitor
A thrilling history of the 20th century's most intriguing friendship - between novelist Graham Greene and spy Kim Philby
E-Book
04/2026
Headline
€10.99
Available for download
Persons
Robert Verkaik is an author and award-winning journalist. He was the Home Affairs Editor of the Independent and the Security Editor of the Mail on Sunday. He is the author of Defiant: The Untold Story of the Battle of Britain, Posh Boys and Jihadi John: Making of a Terrorist, as well as the Sunday Times bestseller The Traitor of Colditz, and The Traitor of Arnhem. He is a non-practising barrister and lives in Surrey.