About the Talk

Recent research has shed new light on women who served in secret roles during World War II — some of whom died before their contribution was ever recognised. Among them were two of the finest British novelists of the twentieth century: Barbara Pym and Muriel Spark. In this talk, Claire Smith explores their wartime intelligence work and how those experiences went on to shape their fiction.

About the Speaker

Claire Smith is a former diplomat with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, whose extraordinarily unconventional career spanned diplomacy, intelligence, security and business. She has worked in China, Pakistan, Germany and Switzerland for the UK government, the Cabinet Office, the German Foreign Ministry and a major Swiss bank — giving her a unique perspective on the world of women in intelligence.

Standard Info

Doors open at 2pm talk starts at 2.15pm Tickets £8..50 including teas and coffees.