◆ SpookStack

ete, ye wets ba et i a oh dior it know about "Kim wee ‘how, His career was yen b refgarkable. For thirty behind the mask of a ess English official, he was be ct a Russian spy; and for sev@jal years he mounted sle@fily towards the top of the Brith Secret Service. Now tHdt the story is out, the com- Metitators are busy. There has heen much virtuous denuncia- | tion, much psychological and sociological specuiation, Bui the enigma of personality remains. What inner strength, or weak- ness, of character enabled Philby to persevere so tong in Sich elaborate and difficult "Guplicity? aa answer such a question, mére speculation is not enough, ang some of the speculators, 1 Uke some of the denouncers, | een to me hopelessly adrift. hat we need is factual evi- ‘dence of character. What was 5, Phitby like, not merely to bis epils and colleazucs whom x et out to deceive, but ta Te few intimates who, if any- one, should have known his ~a heart? ‘ . | ,Eleanor Philby, an American, . ‘was Philby's third wife. She ~“ was deeply in Jove with him. - ‘Their marriage covered the Ne ‘whole period of his exposure, i defection and setilement in ‘Russia. It was, she says, “Dp rfect in every way”: Kim Wa ‘a divine husband, "and i * ithey scemed to have no secrets my from each other. So she follawed “i: "him through thick and thin. When he was exposed, she did not reject him: “he has no “3 doubt done some wicked things wy Jn ‘his life.” she writes philo- “gophically, “but £ am not very ‘ ‘doncerned with questions of . atriotism or treason.” When he olted to Russia, she followed ‘ him. Even now, when he has Q swopped her for Mrs Maclean, - ; she has no hard word for him. ~ She writes without bitterness. hae clnas not neatast ae avast { | ". Be UVC VL PAULO. UT explain, “she narrates—sjmply, clearly, + _ intelligently, remembering al- NG : Mays an unforgettable affection. 1 ¥ PRECISELY because she does Not seek to explain, she con- ‘¥inces. And yet, in the end, even ‘thi narrative leaves us per- pigked. It may convince, but it “ddgs not salve the riddle. Mrs _ Philby's devotion seemed to open - "hér husband’s heart; her intelji- . gence might then have ~pefte- struted it; but in the end, we fee, ° as. she saw, that it wag) : Yep fi gnalusion that than, | F4/ Syott Fea sepa ata from t HOT ‘had _witebeld | cher. best. oi AS “traitor in closésapry: aK KIM PHILBY, THE SPY LOVED/py Eleanor Philby/Pan Books Hamish Hamilton 30s Hugh Trevor-Roper ... nothing, was in fact a “deceived? deception.” He had deceiv even her. As a mere narrative of events this book is fascinating. q It describes the Philbys’ life at Beirut; the effect on Kim firafiat the suspicion, then of the knaw- . ledge, that his secret was put; his silent disappearance; and her adventures until she finally deft j rf tha Smee him, in Moscow, in the arma af Mrs Maclean. There are some interesting new details for the case-historian. For instance, Philby evidently never realised that his career as a spy was known until he was confronted wilh it in 1962, Other details temain uncertain—in particwlar Philby’s route from Beirut: to Moscow. It seems to have'in- . volved a long walk: at least he afterwards claimed to have warn out a pair of shoes and to have _ very sore feet. fe fk MOST interesting of all is-the account of the Philbys’ life:in Russia; the deadening Struggle for existence in a squalid little island within a drab, wintry world. Friends were few, or _ none, Burgess was dead, “ bored — to death.” Maclean had never _ been a friend. Other Westerners tould not be met. Russian can- . tacts were with one official only, to whose home they were never invited. Mrs Philby could any- way speak no Russian. The conversation of .the Macleans was inexpressibly dreary. They talked of the good times they would have in Italy and Paris. “when the Revolution comes,” or dwelt for five minutes on the Phenomenon of two grapefruit in the market. Phiiby and Maclean would recall old times and how they diddled everyone in Engiand: but this, to a mon- Communist like Mrs Philby, was of little interest. By now, ‘of course, such jolly dialogues are over, Philby and Maclean gre now, naturally “enough, nod- speakers. However, there ‘is now Blake. All this, we must remember, was the life not of a persecuted but of a highly privileged group. “We can never repay you for the work you have done for us,” the KGB man said to Philby. But to Mrs Philby it seemed ‘a. privileged nightmare. She a ahe had. gone Mostow for Dim, 30. 8n TELE pole, herself fi) Ht Jorn a (indicate page, name of newspaper, city and state.) THE SUNDAY TIMES London, England —_ FLETED COPY SENT Ac Bane jatar 9/2 Date: 1/ 14/68 Edition: Autbor: Editor: Tite: HAROLD A x Guney ere A Meee, Character: or, Bufile Classification: 6568043 Submitting Office: London ([] Being Investigated