The Blunt Affair

The Blunt Affair examines a range of literary and filmic texts on the Cambridge spies and related topics – including British intelligence’s betrayal of Alan Turing, the Profumo Affair and the Portland spy case – in the context of the culture and politics of the late Cold War. -- .

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The case of the Cambridge spies has long captured the public’s attention, but perhaps never more so than in the wake of Anthony Blunt’s exposure as the fourth man in November 1979. With the Cold War intensifying, patriotism running high during the Falklands War and the AIDS crisis leading to widespread homophobia, these notorious traitors were more relevant than ever. This book explores how they were depicted in literature, television and film throughout the 1980s. Examining works by an array of distinguished writers, including Dennis Potter, Alan Bennett, Tom Stoppard and John le Carré, it sheds new light on the affair, asking why such privileged young men chose to betray their country, whether loyalty to one’s friends is more important than patriotism and whether we can really trust the intelligence services. -- .