I am grateful to Katharine Viner, who as editor of Weekend magazine at the Guardian published my feature article on the women in the Cambridge spy ring, which first encouraged me to track down all I could about Melinda Marling, the communist in the Schiaparelli coat.
But this is not a history book, and I apologise in advance to readers who may be irritated by my inaccuracies and inventions. It is fiction above all in one central respect: there is not a shred of evidence that Melinda Marling ever participated in espionage. It has now transpired that she knew about Donald’s double life before she married him, and supported him up to and beyond his defection, but everything in this book to do with Laura’s own secret life is complete invention.
This book has been a while in the making, and I would like to thank all those who kept me smiling during the trickier moments. Thank you particularly to Harriet Gugenheim, who helped me stay on track, and to Maggie Baxter, who as chair of Women for Refugee Women enabled me to take the sabbatical that allowed me to complete the first draft. Thank you to Rebecca Gowers, Linda Grant, Don Guttenplan and Robert Winder who read and commented on drafts, and to my mother Ruth Walter and my sister Susannah Brunert. Thank you too to my agents Derek Johns and Anna Webber at United Agents who took me through this journey on relays. Thank you to Katie Espiner who brought me to HarperCollins, and to Kate Elton, Suzie Dooré, Charlotte Cray, Ann Bissell and Cassie Browne.
And to Mark Lattimer, Clara and Arthur, for all the love and loyalty and laughter, thank you.
About the Author
Natasha Walter is the author of two non-fiction books, The New Feminism and Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism. She has worked as a journalist, columnist and reviewer for the Guardian, the Observer and the Independent, and is the founder of the charity Women for Refugee Women. She lives in London with her partner and their two children. A Quiet Life is her first novel.
Also by Natasha Walter
NON-FICTION
Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism
The New Feminism
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