I Spy

Book excerpt: 'A fascinating account of an extraordinary father by his son.' Lord Rees-Mogg Who was Major Kavan Elliott? Womaniser, rogue, wartime saboteur, peacetime spy - even all of these? Behind the cover of a seemingly respectable business career, Elliott was entangled in a complex web of deception, glamorous women, Communist double agents and interrogation at the hands of the Gestapo and Hungarian secret police. Was the man who dropped blind into Serbia in 1942 on a mission for SOE a courageous daredevil or a philandering scoundrel? This is the extraordinary true story of the quest undertaken by Kavan Elliott's son to discover the truth about his father. From the torture chambers of Budapest to the classified archives of the British Secret Intelligence Service, I Spy reveals an astonishing legacy of espionage, betrayal, romance and double-dealing. This Faber Finds edition includes a new afterword by Geoffrey Elliot, drawing on hitherto secret documents.