Today, Bookpleasures.com is delighted to discuss The Greatest Spy, the riveting new book by John Harte, a former actor, investigative journalist, and accomplished author with a rich and varied career spanning multiple countries and industries. 

John masterfully retells the incredible true story of Sidney Reilly—the man widely regarded as Britain's greatest spy and the real-life inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond.

In this fast-paced and detailed account, Harte unravels Reilly's daring exploits, from stealing Germany's naval secrets in World War I to covert operations during the Russian Revolution, and even sheds new light on his mysterious disappearance in Soviet Russia. 

Join us as we explore the realities behind the spy legend and the remarkable life of a man whose adventures outshone fiction.

Good day John and thanks for taking part in our interview.

Norm: What first drew you to Sidney Reilly as a subject, and why do you think his story remains relevant today? How did your perception of him evolve as you researched more?

Were there any surprising discoveries that changed your understanding of his significance?

John: We live in a vastly changing world today from when Sidney Reilly was alive. It seems that a new generation has no use any more for words like patriotism, heroism, or loyalty, which were the virtues I grew up with, and so did Reilly. 

Here was a young man of 20 whose country had been taken over in a coup by Lenin who created a Communist Revolution, and Reilly was prepared to challenge the Reds by mounting a counter-revolution of his own, by kidnapping Lenin and Trotsky. 

All because he was angry that they had betrayed Russia and destroyed the middle-classes. Later discoveries I made only confirmed it, because he obtained support from Britain's Secret Intelligence Service and Winston Churchill, and Reilly used his own money.

Norm: How did you conduct your research on Reilly's life, given the secretive and sometimes contradictory nature of espionage records? Did you face particular challenges accessing archives or verifying facts?

Which sources or documents were the most valuable or revealing?

John: Since most of the information I needed was Top Secret according to the Official Secrets Act, I studied at least three or four books about the origins and structure of Britain's Secret Service – now known as MI5. 

I found sufficient declassified information about Reilly and his exploits. I also listed names of his contacts and made inquiries about all of them, until I had a fair picture of what had really happened, 

Since some were chiefs of Mi5 (known then as SIS), I was able to follow through from direct accounts by his spymasters.

Norm: Can you elaborate on the evidence that suggests Sidney Reilly was the real-life inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond? Are there specific traits or exploits that clearly connect Reilly to Bond?

Did you uncover anything about Fleming's process in adapting Reilly's story?

John: There is no doubt that novelist Ian Fleming only decided to invent his fictional James Bond 007 after he came across Reilly's confidential file in Naval Intelligence, where Fleming worked in a cloak-and-dagger outfit during World War 2.

Norm: In your book, you describe Reilly's daring operations, such as the attempt to kidnap Lenin and Trotsky. What do you think motivated him to take such enormous personal risks? Do you believe it was patriotism, personal ambition, or something else driving him?

How did these risks impact his relationships or reputation within intelligence circles? 

John: In the first place, young Reilly – a Ukrainian Jew whose real name was Rosenbloom – seems to have anticipated the October revolution in Russia and visited London to obtain the support of British Intelligence. 

It was they who gave approval to his plan to kidnap Lenin and Trotsky. He worked in Moscow and St. Petersburg under cover for Robert Bruce Lockhart, who was first appointed as Britain's Vice-Consul, but was a secret agent for MI5. 

On Reilly's part it was pure patriotism. He wanted Mother Russia restored as a democratic nation, and he had meanwhile become closely attached to Great Britain, almost to a point of assimilation.

Norm: How did Sidney Reilly's background and multiple identities contribute to his success as a master spy? Was his ability to reinvent himself typical for spies of his era or unique to him?

How did these fabricated identities affect his personal life or psychological state?

John: In answer to your first question, no – spying was in its infancy. Britain's Secret Intelligence Bureau (SIB) could only find young and naïve army officers who had no idea what they were up against. 

It took Reilly to reinvent British Intelligence as a more professional and cynical institution when he became their top secret agent.

As for his ability to assume different personalities, he was a superb actor who managed to penetrate German HQ in the First World War as a German officer, to discuss their U-boat plans with the Kaiser and his Chiefs of Staff.

Norm: What do you make of the theory or claims that Reilly may have been a Soviet double-agent? What evidence supports or contradicts these claims?

How do you weigh these conflicting accounts in your narrative?

John: That required a broader knowledge of history. What changed the equation for Reilly after becoming an "English gentleman" in Mayfair, was the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany. 

Hitler had divulged his intention to invade Soviet Russia in Meine Kampf. And Stalin's Russia was still an agricultural economy. It would have had no hope of fighting off a German invasion unless it industrialized in a hurry. 

Who better to undertake industrialization than Reilly? So that, when he disappeared in Moscow in 1925 and was thought to have been murdered by Stalin's secret police, it is highly probable that he had decided as a patriot to work for Stalin.

Norm: Could you share more details about the "twist" you reveal regarding what really happened to Reilly after his disappearance in Soviet Russia? How did you uncover this information?

What implications does this new perspective have for understanding Reilly's legacy?

John: Fortunately, Robert Bruce Lockhart's son Robin, wrote a biography of his father and became involved in the Sidney Reilly Story. 

Several of his new books revealed new information. Added to that was another book by Professor Kettle which aimed at correcting all the previous misinformation.

Norm: Sidney Reilly was described as audacious, brilliant, and even sociopathic. How do you balance presenting his traits to create a truthful but nuanced portrait? How did his personality traits affect his methods and interpersonal dealings?

Did you find evidence of his personal vulnerabilities or contradictions?

John: Yes, right from the beginning there was his love affair with his young cousin whom he protected. There was also the material in a novel written by his lover, which became a best-seller. Although fiction, it supports Reilly's romanticism and his overriding drive for justice.

Norm: Could you share more details about the "twist" you reveal regarding what really happened to Reilly after his disappearance in Soviet Russia? How did you uncover this information?

What implications does this new perspective have for understanding Reilly's legacy?

John: As I mentioned, new evidence emerged, mostly from Robin Bruce Lockhart and Professor Kettle. As for implications that reveal Reilly's motives and actions to free Russia, you might say it was one more twist in the history of heroism versus treason.

 As an investigative journalist, I always found that nothing is as it seems. One newspaper reporter can print an entirely incorrect version of a situation, either because he didn't devote enough time for research, or because of political bias by him or his editor. 

To give an example of what I mean, there is still a mystery about the Cambridge Five Spies in the Cold War with Soviet Russia. The media were determined to smear them all as sexual perverts and drunks, and made the judgment of treason. 

I don't think so at all. They were all very high-minded heroes who decided to do exactly what Churchill and Roosevelt decided to do – support Russia as an ally in World War 2.

Norm; What differences do you see between Reilly's real exploits and the fictional adventures of James Bond? Are there aspects of Reilly's life that fiction exaggerates or overlooks?

How do these differences reflect the contrast between reality and entertainment?

John: All my books are concerned with reality. Ian Fleming on the other hand, was a novelist who entertained by inventing stories which had nothing to do with reilly or the facts. 

He simply created Bond as a man who is always cool and calculating in the face of adversity. The same was true about the BBC-TV series named "Reilly Ace of Spies" in 1983. 

They did not have the classified facts at the time and were forced to invent what was a magnificent series of entertainmennts.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and The Greatest Spy?

John: Amazon, Google, Apple Books, and my own WEBSITE

Norm: As we wind up our interview, what do you hope readers take away about Sidney Reilly's legacy and the realities of espionage versus fictionalized spy stories? How do you think this story challenges popular myths about spies? What lessons about courage, deception, or history do you believe are most important?

John: There are two types of spies. We can ignore those who do it for money, because they cannot be trusted. Patriots like Reilly are a different matter. He had extraordinary courage and imagination, and with it a gift of deception which kept him alive. 

One novelist who understood the differences and the necessary attributes of  a secret agent was John le Carre in his novels 

The other man who understand being a secret agent even more fully was Ivan Maisky, who was Soviet Ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1932–1943. He left a diary which revealed his calculations. 

He had worked to get so close to Winston Churchill that he was arrested by Stalin who thought he had become Churchill's spy. Those are the ironies of the spy business.

Norm: Thanks once again