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DRIBERG, TOM: : GUY BURGESS - A PORTRAIT WITH BACKGROUND. [Possible Association copy.]IBLE aSSOCIATION

LONDON.WEIDENFELD AND NICOLSON,1956.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Believed to possibly be an association copy as owner's handwritten,inked 'signature+year date, i.e. Arthur Adair Feb 1957' to front free endpaper. Arthur Robin Adair,C.V.O.,M.B.E. (1913-1981), British diplomat.Deputy High Commissioner, Dacca,Pakistan 1960-1964,Deputy High Commissioner,Cyprus 1964-1968,High Commissioner in Brunei 1968-1972.] VG+/VG-.Handwritten ink Signature+date to front free endpaper,dw/dj with inside corners to front inner flap diagonally clipped - price removed.A slightly faded red,and a fore-edge grubbed yellow panel,side by side to top half of front panel of dw/dj,with white-lettered part title to red panel,and black-lettered sub-title and author name inside the yellow panel respectviely,and author's b/w photograph across remainder of dw/dj beneath; with shelf-wear,creasing,chipped corners with varying degrees of loss,creasing+chipping to top edges of dw/dj,spine/backstrip with faded red panel with white-lettered 'Guy Burgess' of title just discernible,darkened and grubbed remainder of spine but text complete and unaffected,but head of spine minus approx. 1cm deep paper loss,whilst foot of same with minimal chipping and reciprocal loss,rear panel with lightly aged white background with publisher's advert for Driberg's biography on Beaverbrook and its with critics' reviews.Described hard but fairly and honestly - dw/dj about 98% complete.Top+fore-edges aged/toned with minimal,sporadic foxing to top specifically, fore-edges just aged/toned; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips - appears unread,other than my own collation.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/ backstrip and generally clean,plain white endpapers without any cracking to hinges.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,1-123pp [paginated] includes author's introduction,VII (7) chapters, 8pp contemporary b/w biographical photographs in 4 blocks of 2pp apiece interspersed throughout the text and the book,an Appendix; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,separate contents,acknowledgements and illustrations pages,each with a blank verso,and to the rear 2pp blanks. Visually the exterior appearance is acceptable, and even internally,the book is also in an acceptable condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its age.It is only the exterior faults that prevents a slightly higher grading,espaecially for the dw/dj. Despite them,it really is still an acceptable copy. An intriguing item and farly uncommon in its own right with or without the possible association. Driberg,in his more familiar field of journalism he caused a sensation by flying to Moscow in August 1956 to interview Guy Burgess, the former British diplomat who in 1951 had defected to Russia with his colleague Donald Maclean.The pair had emerged in Moscow in February 1956,to give a brief press conference. Driberg had known Burgess in the 1940s,and the two shared similar homosexual inclinations; this acquaintance was sufficient to secure the Moscow interview. On his return home Driberg rapidly wrote a book from the interview material,the serial rights of which were sold to the Daily Mail.Critics drew attention to the book's relatively sympathetic portrayal of Burgess; some believed the book had been vetted by the KGB, while others saw it as part of an MI5 plot to trap Burgess into revealing secret information for which he could be prosecuted should he ever return to Britain. After the publication of his relatively sympathetic portrait of Burgess in 1956,Driberg had been denounced as a "dupe of Moscow" by some elements of the press.Two years after Driberg's death,the investigative reporter Chapman Pincher alleged that he had been "a Kremlin agent of sympathy" and a supporter of Communist front organisations.In 1979,Andrew Boyle published 'The Climate of Treason' - see my book IDs' rja1046323 to rja1046423 inclusive for UK, reprint copies - which exposed Anthony Blunt and led to a period of "spy mania" in Britain. Boyle's exhaustive account of the Burgess–Maclean–Philby–Blunt circle mentioned Driberg as a friend of Burgess,"of much the same background,tastes and views",but made no allegations that he was part of an espionage ring. In this atmosphere,Pincher published 'Their Trade is Treachery' (1981),in which he maintained that Driberg had been recruited by MI5 to spy on the Communist Party while still a schoolboy at Lancing,and that he was later "in the KGB's pay as a double agent". Other writers added further details; the former British Intelligence officer Peter Wright,in 'Spycatcher' (1987) - see my book ID,alleged that Driberg had been "providing material to a Czech controller for money". The former Kremlin archivist Vasili Mitrokhin asserted that the Soviets had blackmailed Driberg into working for the KGB by threatening to expose his homosexuality.In a 2016 biography of Burgess,Andrew Lownie reports that Driberg was "caught in a KGB sting operation" at a Moscow urinal,and as a result agreed to work as a Soviet agent.Other friends and colleagues were more sceptical. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight and value of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Association signature+date?

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