Ebook624 pages10 hours
A Very Dangerous Woman: The Lives, Loves and Lies of Russia's Most Seductive Spy
By Deborah McDonald and Jeremy Dronfield
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
Moura Budberg: spy, adventurer, charismatic seductress and mistress of two of the century’s greatest writers, the Russian aristocrat Baroness Moura Budberg was born in 1892 to indulgence, pleasure and selfishness. But after she met the British diplomat and secret agent Robert Bruce Lockhart, she sacrificed everything for love, only to be betrayed.
When Lockhart arrived in Revolutionary Russia in 1918, his official mission was Britain’s envoy to the new Bolshevik government, yet his real assignment was to create a network of agents and plot the downfall of Lenin. Lockhart soon got to know Moura and they began a passionate affair, even though Moura was spying on him for the Bolsheviks. But when Lockhart’s plot unravelled, she would forsake everything in an attempt to protect him from Lenin’s secret police. Fleeing to a life of exile in England and taking a string of new lovers, including Maxim Gorky and H. G. Wells, Moura later spied for Stalin and for Britain amidst the web of scandal surrounding the Cambridge spies. Through all this she clung to the hope that Lockhart would finally return to her.
Grippingly narrated, this is the first biography of Moura Budberg to use the full range of previously unexamined letters, diaries and documents. An incredible true story of passion, espionage and double crossing that encircled the globe, A Very Dangerous Woman brings her extraordinary world vividly to life with dramatic resonances to rival the most sensational novel.
When Lockhart arrived in Revolutionary Russia in 1918, his official mission was Britain’s envoy to the new Bolshevik government, yet his real assignment was to create a network of agents and plot the downfall of Lenin. Lockhart soon got to know Moura and they began a passionate affair, even though Moura was spying on him for the Bolsheviks. But when Lockhart’s plot unravelled, she would forsake everything in an attempt to protect him from Lenin’s secret police. Fleeing to a life of exile in England and taking a string of new lovers, including Maxim Gorky and H. G. Wells, Moura later spied for Stalin and for Britain amidst the web of scandal surrounding the Cambridge spies. Through all this she clung to the hope that Lockhart would finally return to her.
Grippingly narrated, this is the first biography of Moura Budberg to use the full range of previously unexamined letters, diaries and documents. An incredible true story of passion, espionage and double crossing that encircled the globe, A Very Dangerous Woman brings her extraordinary world vividly to life with dramatic resonances to rival the most sensational novel.
Author
Deborah McDonald
Deborah McDonald is the author of Clara Collet 1860-1948: An Educated Working Woman and The Prince, His Tutor and the Ripper: The Evidence Linking James Kenneth Stephen to the Whitechapel Murders. She lives on the Isle of Wight.
Related to A Very Dangerous Woman
Related ebooks
Princess Victoria Melita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confessions of the Czarina Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImperial Legend: The Mysterious Disappearance of Tsar Alexander I Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Louise, Queen of Prussia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBehind the Veil at the Russian Court: An Eye Witness Account of Palace Intrigues and Gossips by a Princess Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man Who Had Been King: The American Exile of Napoleon's Brother Joseph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Behind the Veil at the Russian Court Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hollywood Double Agent: The True Tale of Boris Morros, Film Producer Turned Cold War Spy Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Memoir of an Independent Woman: An Unconventional Life Well Lived Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThirteen Years at the Russian Court Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNatalie Tereshchenko - Lady In Waiting Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Infamous Sophie Dawes: New Light on the Queen of Chantilly Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5American Empress Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLady Unknown: The Life of Angela Burdett-Coutts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Politics, Murder, and Love in Stalin's Kremlin: The Story of Nikolai Bukharin and Anna Larina Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Prime Minister's Wives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBetsy and the Emperor: The true story of Napoleon, a pretty girl, a Regency rake and an Australian colonial misadventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAlice, grand duchess of Hesse, princess of Great Britain and Ireland: Biographical sketch and letters. With portrait Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMary Queen of Scots' Secretary: William Maitland—Politician, Reformer and Conspirator Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOperation Whisper: The Capture of Soviet Spies Morris and Lona Cohen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Queen: The Life and Tragedy of the Prince Regent's Daughter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Other Mitford: Pamela's Story Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKing of Diamonds: Harry Winston, the Definitive Biography of an American Icon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlood Royal: The Story of the Spencers and the Royals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Anastasia Again: the Hidden Secret of the Romanovs: Second Edition Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A Dangerous Woman: American Beauty, Noted Philanthropist, Nazi Collaborator - The Life of Florence Gould Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Catherine the Great and Her Men Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsElizabeth Patterson Bonaparte: An American Aristocrat in the Early Republic Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Whence I Came: The Kennedy Legacy, Ireland and America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Young Melbourne & Lord M Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Biography & Memoir For You
The Diary of a Young Girl Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, and Live Fearlessly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Stolen Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taste: My Life Through Food Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: the heartfelt, funny memoir by a New York Times bestselling therapist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, HER Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Mercy: a story of justice and redemption Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mommie Dearest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jack Reacher Reading Order: The Complete Lee Child’s Reading List Of Jack Reacher Series Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Billion Years: My Escape From a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Rediscovered Books): A Triumph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ivy League Counterfeiter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wright Brothers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All That Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Related categories
Reviews for A Very Dangerous Woman
Rating: 3.9473683210526316 out of 5 stars
4/5
19 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Book "A very Dangerous Woman" by Deborah McDonald and Jeremy Dronfield brought to life Baroness Moura Budberg. This was a woman who spent her entire life keeping her life in secrecy, never letting anyone, even her family know what she was really like. I found it hard to put this book down. You are given such a vivid and very well researched account of the life of a woman who would do just about anything to survive in an era when women were tools to be used. Moura Budberg was able to captivate men in positions that were able to further her self interests and help those that she cared for. The only man that she ever gave her heart and soul to was Robert Bruce Lockhart who eventually betrayed that love. She was married with children but it was a marriage that gave her the freedom to live a life as she saw fit. This left her vowing to never let anyone that close to her again. I came away from the book with the opinion that she could have prevented Robert Bruce Lockhart from betraying her. She could have left Russia with him but she gave the excuse that she could not leave her mother or children. Her husband was murdered, her mother died, and she gave her children little of her time. Moura Budberg was a very complex person that this book tried to flesh out what little is know of her. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I received a copy of A Very Dangerous Woman, by Deborah McDonald, through the Firstreads giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.The Baroness Moura Budberg was born into Russian aristocracy prior to the Russian Revolution. She had a strong survival instinct and managed to navigate her way through several regimes through cunning, her network of connections and knowing when to use her feminine 'gifts'. She found herself in the midst of politics, espionage, literary circles and even in the British film industry. Baroness Budberg's life was a mystery even to those closest to her, her daughter included. Deborah McDonald and Jeremy Dronfield managed to piece together most of her life through correspondence and declassified secret service agency files. However, a shadow still casts over pieces of her history and her whereabouts. A snippet on the cover claims that the book reads like a thriller. It was not a page turner, but Budberg's story was fascinating and the writing style was engaging and well-researched. The book would be a good read for those interested in Russian History, European history, espionage, stories with strong female protagonists, politics, romance, Maxim Gorky, H.G. Wells, and the early British film industry.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Baroness Moura Budberg was born Maria Zakrevsky, a child of the landed gentry in the Ukraine - her father was a high-level lawyer for the Tsar. Early on she decided she liked the life of wealth and nobility, so she married into a large Estonian aristocratic family - the von Benkendorfs. Moura, though, loved the life in Petrograd, and because she was raised by an English governess, became intimately involved in the affairs of British diplomats and spies, even finding her lifelong love there. But in 1918, the Russian Revolution brought all this luxury and privilege crashing down. Moura survived, often by playing the British and the Soviets off each other, spying for each side against the other. And here her seductiveness came into play as she used her sexuality to integrate into powerful society. And basically, that's how she lived her life from then on - always with a lover to take care of her, always surrounded by society people, always trading on the information and gossip she gathered. McDonald and Dronfield have written a pretty good biography of a very interesting woman found at the intersection of some very interesting times. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call her a "very dangerous woman" - though this is a quote from a British intelligence report on her later in life - as she seemed to trade in gossip and rumor more than anything else. (In fairness, there's some indication she may have had her hand in at least a few deaths, including her first husband.) But for a different sort of view on the events of the early to mid-20th century Europe, this is highly recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As seems to frequently be the case, I think the author/publisher went a bit wild with the subtitle of this book. Maria (Moura) Budberg was born into an aristocratic Ukrainian family around 1891. She was very intelligent, reveled in being the center of attention, and was extremely charismatic, one of those people that others can't seem to help but like.She certainly did some spying against Germany, set up as a bit of a double agent, during WWI, and did her share of whispering important tidbits down the line to the British throughout the years following the Russian revolution. However, facts about was she/wasn't she spying past the 1920s aren't really available. There was largely just an awful lot of rumor, some of which she created herself. Whatever hints we have, they are simply hints and there really isn't any hard evidence and there will likely never be any.That being said, it was an interesting book because she was an interesting woman. While she destroyed all of her own papers, many letters she sent were kept and she was associated with many interesting people throughout her life, including Maxim Gorky and HG Wells. The book is well written and scrupulously end-noted. It took about a third of the way in to really grip me, but made for a good read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A densely rich book about a fascinating woman. As noted below, I too found myself wishing for a little bit more story-telling. A story about a female Russian spy should not be dry! Overall, it was an incredible read about a woman with an incredible ability to adapt and survive.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mixed feelings about this book. (Not unlike its main character - such a controversial figure). Certainly a worthy history lesson. But in the first half of the book I found myself guiltily thinking: I wish Robert Massie was the author - he is so good at biographies; or Ben Macintyre - his book about double agent Kim Philby was excellent... Maybe it was the double authorship that I minded - I couldn't see an individual writing style. Plus, the abundance of quotations on every page, though appropriate to the subject matter, was distracting from the narrative itself. (Though, of course, it showed what a meticulous and thorough research was done by the authors). Still, a lot of speculations, instead of facts. I would rather speculations were not mentioned if they were not supported by facts. Gossip should not be part of biography. Also, the title doesn't really reflect the contents - Moura Budberg was much more than "a very dangerous woman"... "Mysterious" would be the right word. Even to quote the authors: "Moura liked being mysterious; she liked keeping people guessing"....That said, the narrative kept my attention throughout, especially in the last one third of the book. There were some amazingly insightful sentences, though I wish there were more... A truly revealing portrait of both Maxim Gorky and H.G.Wells (both Moura's lovers, among others). Gorky especially became alive for me - I never knew of this side of his. For me, Moura's true personality emerged in the last chapters - maybe more material was available about her later life... The circle of interesting and politically weighty personalities that were attracted to her - some to her personally, some just to be around her - is astounding: A.Kerensky, Bertrand Russell, W. S. Maugham, Hemingway, Graham Greene - to name a few, though her only true love - Robert B. Lockhart - was much less known and influential. I am tempted to search the books by Chekhov and Gorky that she translated, among many others, as she was supposed to be very good at that too. (I must say, though, even if biography should be truthful - why be so petty and mention her shoplifting incident, why put such a disgraceful mark on a personality that in so many other ways was larger than life. I know, many would not agree, but that's what I think...).
Book preview
A Very Dangerous Woman - Deborah McDonald
l80a book_preview_excerpt.html }˒WݯldY6
聵v7#nf+2";HfZk3k3;H#i_"?ȪL&٘MYq;|}Uc7U뮋}rwꡈk|z8Lv*֧ư*=]Wu[㮸^~*cg}=chj>4uśwS_owcX|#îxU~ӵA~>q*vSGpwX7M6!+ֱ؎A<'зF./iˑ䗛(?Ȳ\I(dZC7
qUşd]?(R K8{ą?MͫOcJ[Gہ:?7q7WilJ>m?=;WUm)
u٥WO_^uS/4UoN$wnqzvȴwf/$F0M_]avpB{=` o뽼((6aE%ہ㰘n
frWG
mKv8pb+;7~lM?QU5;^3mSQFFxշp]P7I|Z>-xa4ŕkٵpUI9ɲxBkpV"S+K/"A6|U.GO/_x_>|ŗxYS'EtcQQr5AA*#?@vVŷUݮ~m쏗gMɩx+'7&xY7ItT?jxZ(e bDi{NBn?n;ͻCQH}?O=v|=?k
^?ܻ<>꾅<_ o߷>-
-}vypi[G}k|}3~t5QQ=Dh8Z'xo8ȷ5=.躆M6ۺxжubp/U(^ }nn785}mƁtD+1?UhkvB6ϻ˕?|b`Odd_ʛHE}0 u_ԋMKpa 8&4;^u|&zkZ~6nGtnTY_[֫^Mu|;j>y<_wwx]zm
ݍ.5b؇-^ȅ
x-gT~/[ /&m^rcHޣXbMV`ӹJ5epxzȾrbn/tH;(ocqү>O~ZU?vG<D"YdWEW
,_~rO?y^oͦ1{FLCK?~GS pr~b\t'؏FشѿnҟS_>eOထ2î^ņ]3+ȳ2LƱ#ٿ6u_C}aӌw"U,bMᬵ1cV2U147'|X4Xb4<¶^+FSc^32xH=tϺ.pQ|/pM}AAxosXO'(Ek"<4kdOáa{ūL=oNGe2}Xm+ke䏢ZLPZ}>T(RNq8ʾ5*.47]ua,T2ƌPlj@Fppb[FM)8@I%Є)7W9pW 0(]YzGaKps(Dư,.vG1#|NAĎ)
w-gɱVx>"]R2xQ:<ڿÖvD0E3z4@(1 p7:n^q&o#ͥg*b ;DVIywבjdurksOͦ@ G
w?RڞhSy\c$oO}wwʜEh^Ys^XL揸p('sz߰c>7V?P]A"mcFe*t.grO7QCA < [XhTt'U^T;lcU
||w*Iv\5ߐ6c/X<-h
P (q!/ѻ$nY4=L[^Y7\^y)`~Dπ*4bSk>ՋEL}?|Ld)֝jHXd&u
W0:~pPeCΚN\hz C(@ ojV{T"'';lZDxpΨV}8`xkY8.&&fhuQS
CIhD6rg(JWgO1_)V<?Ys3'U=2*JJ=fL&=i