The Secret War Against the Arts : How MI5 Targeted Left-Wing Writers and Artists, 1936–1956

“Reveals the extent of MI5's methodical and implacable investigation into the lives of such people as the writer George Orwell.” —UK HistorianDuring the 1930s, the British intelligence agencies became increasingly concerned about Communist influence in the country. They reacted by spying on thousands of ordinary British citizens. Amongst them were many artists and writers who, in tune with “the spirit of the times,” had become sympathetic to left-wing causes, most notably the Spanish Civil War. Telephones were bugged, post opened, homes searched and people encouraged to report suspicious behavior—all reminiscent of the East German Stasi.This book has been written in the light of previously secret files, now available in The National Archives, which indicate the extent of the surveillance and the consequences for those being watched. It focuses on a significant number of writers and artists who were either members of the Communist Party of Great Britain or were suspected of being “fellow travelers.” They include: George Orwell, Stephen Spender, Olivia Manning, Storm Jameson, W.H. Auden, Sylvia Townsend Warner, J.B. Priestley, Doris Lessing, Julian Trevelyan, Randall Swingler, Paul Hogarth, Clive Branson, and James Boswell.The Secret War Against the Arts is a unique account of a dramatic period of modern history, from the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War to the Hungarian uprising in 1956, revealing how MI5 was systematic, unrelenting and uncompromising in its pursuit of artists and writers throughout the period, while failing to see the much more disturbing treachery of others—Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess and Kim Philby, for example.“A lively and thought-provoking book.” —Penniless Press During the 1930s, the British Intelligence agencies became increasingly concerned about Communist influence in the country. They reacted by spying on thousands of ordinary British citizens. Amongst them were many artists and writers who, in tune with the spirit of the times', had become sympathetic to left-wing causes, most notably the Spanish Civil War. Telephones were bugged, post opened, homes searched and people encouraged to report suspicious behaviour - all reminiscent of the East German Stasi.0This book has been written in the light of previously secret files, now available in The National Archives, which indicate the extent of the surveillance and the consequences for those being watched. It focuses on a significant number of writers and artists who were either members of the Communist Party of Great Britain or were suspected of being fellow travellers'. They include: George Orwell, Stephen Spender, Olivia Manning, Storm Jameson, W.H. Auden, Sylvia Townsend Warner, J.B. Priestley, Doris Lessing, Julian Trevelyan, Randall Swingler, Paul Hogarth, Clive Branson and James Boswell. _The Secret War Against the Arts_ is a unique account of a dramatic period of modern history, from the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War to the Hungarian uprising in 1956, revealing how MI5 was systematic, unrelenting and uncompromising in its pursuit of artists and writers throughout the period, while failing to see the much more disturbing treachery of others - Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess and Kim Philby, for example During the 1930s, the British Intelligence agencies became increasingly concerned about Communist influence in the country. They reacted by spying on thousands of ordinary British citizens. Amongst them were many artists and writers who, in tune with the spirit of the times, had become sympathetic to left-wing causes, most notably the Spanish Civil War. Telephones were bugged, post opened, homes searched and people encouraged to report suspicious behavior all reminiscent of the East German Stasi. This book has been written in the light of previously secret files, now available in The National Archives, which indicate the extent of the surveillance and the consequences for those being watched. It focuses on a significant number of writers and artists who were either members of the Communist Party of Great Britain or were suspected of being fellow travelers'. They include: George Orwell, Stephen Spender, Olivia Manning, Storm Jameson, W.H. Auden, Sylvia Townsend Warner, J.B. Priestley, Doris Lessing, Julian Trevelyan, Randall Swingler, Paul Hogarth, Clive Branson, and James Boswell. The Secret War Against the Arts is a unique account of a dramatic period of modern history, from the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War to the Hungarian uprising in 1956, revealing how MI5 was systematic, unrelenting and uncompromising in its pursuit of artists and writers throughout the period, while failing to see the much more disturbing treachery of others Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess and Kim Philby, for example. History / Europe / Great Britain / General Cover 1 Book title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 8 Glossary 10 List of Illustrations 11 Dramatis Personae 13 1 Hogarth and Branson 16 2 Art and Marx 26 3 ‘A Bastard of a War’ 36 4 For the People of Spain 46 5 The Artist Who Sometimes Wears Sandals 62 6 Blacklist 66 7 ‘Are You For Stalin or For Us?’ 80 8 Artist and Soldier 87 9 ‘Slimy with Self-Deception’ 92 10 ‘One of the More Important Communists’ 100 11 Clive in India 104 12 No Peace for MI5 108 13 Doris Lessing Reads Clive Branson 116 14 ‘Afterwards I’ll Paint All Right’ 119 15 The Travels of Comrade Hogarth 122 16 The Artists’ Dilemmas 125 Plate section 130 17 A Communist Cell at the BBC? 146 18 Listed by Orwell 151 19 Austerity and Restriction 155 20 The Watched One 158 21 ‘Absolute Typical Stephen’ 162 22 Paul Hogarth’s Defiant People 168 23 The Failing God? 170 24 The Party is Not Yet Over 174 25 Hogarth and Branson (2) 179 26 Lines from the Burma Front 186 27 Hogarth in China 189 28 Being a Red is Tough 193 29 Hogarth and Lessing go to Africa 196 30 Resignation 202 31 Burma 1944 210 32 Aftermath 213 33 Towards an Ending 216 Dramatis Personae: A Retrospective 228 Notes 231 Acknowledgements 248 Bibliography 249 Index 253 Back Cover 258 The involvement of writers and artists in the Spanish Civil War. What happened to those returning from Spain in the ensuing Second World War. The methods adopted by MI5 in monitoring the lives of British artists and writers.