Open Secret

by James Leasor

Max Cornell had survived the Katyn massacre and the Russian camps. Now he wanted a new life - and the money to enjoy it - in England. And the price of a passport was three years’ work for British Intelligence, running the Russian codenamed Butcher. Asimir Vasarov, once camp commandant at Katyn, became Stalin's closest aide - a man whose political loyalty was assured and whose power was unlimited.But the successful British businessman and the man from the shadows of the Kremlin share more than memories of the past. In the post-war world of high politics and backstreet crime, they are linked by an explosive truth which could rock governments if it ever became an OPEN SECRET.'Fast-moving... a nice seedy atmosphere' - SUNDAY EXPRESS

480 pages, Hardcover

First published July 14, 1983

About the author

James Leasor was a prolific British author, who wrote historical books and thrillers. A number of Leasor's works were made into films, including his 1978 book, Boarding Party, about an incident from the Second World War that until that time was secret, was turned into a film, "The Sea Wolves", starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.

Thomas James Leasor was born at Erith, Kent, on 20th December 1923 and educated at the City of London School. On leaving school, whilst waiting to join the army, he had his first foray into journalism, as a cub scout reporter for the Kent Messenger.
He volunteered for the Army in World War 2, as soon as he was old enough. He was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and served in Burma with the Lincolnshire Regiment.

After the war he went up to Oriel College, Oxford, to read English. There he edited the Isis magazine, before joining the Daily Express. He became a full-time author in the 1960s. He also ghosted a number of autobiographies for subjects as diverse as the Duke of Windsor, King Zog of Albania, the actors Kenneth More and Jack Hawkins and Rats, a Jack Russell terrier that served with the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He lived for his last 40 years at Swallowcliffe Manor, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. He died on 10th September 2007 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Swallowcliffe.