Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Flirting with Danger: The Mysterious Life of Marguerite Harrison, Socialite Spy

Flirting with Danger: The Mysterious Life of Marguerite Harrison, Socialite Spy

Wallach, Janet

Paperback

Biographies General20th Century United States History

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 0525566856
ISBN13: 9780525566854
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: Mar 4 2025
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.60
Height: 0.90 Width: 5.10 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE

A compelling story that pulsates with the energy of a thriller--The Wall Street Journal

Suspense, élan and a generous helping of glamour: Think George Smiley in a mink-trimmed coat.--The New York Times Book Review

The true story of socialite Marguerite Harrison, who spied for U.S. military intelligence in Russia and Germany in the fraught period between the world wars

Born a privileged child of America's Gilded Age, Marguerite Harrison rebelled against her mother's ambitions, married the man she loved, was widowed at thirty-seven, and set off on a life of adventure. Hired as a society reporter, when America entered World War I she applied to Military Intelligence to work as a spy.

She arrived in Berlin immediately after the Armistice and befriended the enemy, dining with aristocrats and dancing with socialists. Late into the night she wrote prescient reports on the growing power of the German right. Sent to Moscow, she sneaked into Russia to observe the results of the Bolshevik Revolution. Although she carried press credentials she was caught and imprisoned as an American spy. Terrified when told her only way out was to spy for the Cheka, she became a double agent, aiming to convince the Russian rulers she was working for them while striving to stay loyal to her country.

In Germany and Russia, Harrison saw the future--a second war with Germany, a cold war with the Soviets--but her reports were ignored by many back home. Over a decade, Harrison's mysterious adventures took her to Europe, Baghdad, and the Far East, as a socialite, secret agent, and documentary filmmaker. Janet Wallach captures Harrison's daring and glamour in this stranger-than-fiction history of a woman drawn to the impossible.

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