The Sixth Column

About the book

We all think - or at least we try to think - respectfully of Planning as a beneficent practice controlling our destinies. But Plan D aimed at subverting these destinies, for its object was "to accelerate the current deterioration of the national character with a view to undermining and eventually eliminating British influence in the affairs of the world"; and when a copy of it fell into the hands of M.I. 5 it caused, not unnaturally, some stir. But the security authorities could not prevent the emergence of the Peace Guild as a political force with a "Don't-Let's-Be-Beastly-to-the-Russians" platform; and they were unaware of the role of Gluterov, who threw up his position as premier dramatist of the U.S.S.R. to seek political asylum in Great Britain. Paul Osney, too, though he behaved - especially in the matter of the infernal machine in Mount Street - rather suspiciously at times, was outwardly no more than the charming and talented idol of the listening public and the lending libraries.

Mr Fleming's first full-length book since News from Tartary (1936) is very funny, and moves very fast; it is an urbane, light-hearted and ingenious satire on the state of our country today, a political thriller with wit, nonsense, and some first0hand knowledge of our Intelligence organisations at their rarefied levels.