Her Secret Service

Since the inception of the Secret Service Bureau in 1909, women have worked at the very heart of British secret intelligence. And yet their contributions have been all but written out of history. 

This injustice has inspired two writers – one of fiction and one of non-fiction – to try and correct it through their work, and they join us to discuss the extraordinary contribution of women to the high-stakes world of espionage. 

Writer and historian Claire Hubbard-Hall specialises in the history of secret intelligence. Her book, “Her Secret Service”, brings gripping true stories of the women of British intelligence to light. 

Stroud novelist MJ Robotham was inspired by the forgotten women of British intelligence to write her latest novel “Mrs Spy”, featuring 1960s housewife and MI5 operative, Maggie Flynn.