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Agent Sonya
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “master storyteller” (San Francisco Chronicle) behind the New York Times bestseller The Spy and the Traitor uncovers the true story behind one of the Cold War’s most intrepid spies.
“[An] immensely exciting, fast-moving account.”—The Washington Post
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Foreign Affairs • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal
In 1942, in a quiet village in the leafy English Cotswolds, a thin, elegant woman lived in a small cottage with her three children and her husband, who worked as a machinist nearby. Ursula Burton was friendly but reserved, and spoke English with a slight foreign accent. By all accounts, she seemed to be living a simple, unassuming life. Her neighbors in the village knew little about her.
They didn’t know that she was a high-ranking Soviet intelligence officer. They didn’t know that her husband was also a spy, or that she was running powerful agents across Europe. Behind the facade of her picturesque life, Burton was a dedicated Communist, a Soviet colonel, and a veteran agent, gathering the scientific secrets that would enable the Soviet Union to build the bomb.
This true-life spy story is a masterpiece about the woman code-named “Sonya.” Over the course of her career, she was hunted by the Chinese, the Japanese, the Nazis, MI5, MI6, and the FBI—and she evaded them all. Her story reflects the great ideological clash of the twentieth century—between Communism, Fascism, and Western democracy—and casts new light on the spy battles and shifting allegiances of our own times.
With unparalleled access to Sonya’s diaries and correspondence and never-before-seen information on her clandestine activities, Ben Macintyre has conjured a page-turning history of a legendary secret agent, a woman who influenced the course of the Cold War and helped plunge the world into a decades-long standoff between nuclear superpowers.
Book club questions for Agent Sonya by Ben Macintyre
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Before reading Agent Sonya, how much did you know about Ursula Kuczynski, communism, and the Cold War era? Which historical aspects of the book surprised you the most? Did you learn new details about this period in history?
Why do you think Ursula was drawn to and became a champion of the communist cause?
How does this story reflect the great ideological clash of the twentieth century—between communism, fascism, and Western democracy?
Why do you think Ursula became and stayed a spy for so many years, despite all the risks and challenges? What was she drawn to most? Can you imagine ever doing what she did?
What is Ursula’s most commendable quality? Her least? Is she someone you would want to have known?
There were many important supporting characters (and spies) in this book—who will you remember most and why?
What did you think about Ursula’s husbands and lovers? How did they each support her? What did you think about their own life decisions?
What role did sexism play in potentially enabling Ursula to operate undetected throughout her career?
Is there a scene (or scenes) in the book that will stay with you? What will you remember most? Do you plan to read more about the Cold War?
What role do the different settings play? Do you think similar events or espionage could have occurred in any other era?
What were your impressions of the author’s voice and style? What specific themes did Ben Macintyre emphasize most throughout the book?
What did you like or dislike about the book that hasn’t been discussed already?
If this book were to be made into a movie, whom would you cast for the main roles?
What other books by Ben Macintyre have you read? Which have you enjoyed most?
Agent Sonya Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the Agent Sonya discussion questions