The stone roses

by Sarah Gainham

An awe inspiring and thought provoking book!

Genres: Espionage, Thriller, Fiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Rachel Stainer was a much-admired foreign correspondent for the "Spectator" magazine reporting from Vienna, Berlin, Bonn and Trieste. She wrote novels under the pseudonym Sarah Gainham most notably her 1967 novel "Night Falls on the City," the first of a trilogy about life in Vienna under Nazi rule.

Reviews

[Andy Onyx · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this gem whilst prepping for an interview for the Spybary Podcast. For my generation, and hopefully those following, The Stone Roses mean only one thing: A album sleeve spattered in paint, cut lemons and a tricolour. Music suffused with shimmering guitars, shuffle beats and earthy bass all conceived by four street-smart lads in Manchester in 1989. The two-bob question is did they take their name from this equivalent classic in the Cold War spy fiction genre from 1959? Who knows or cares? Only me, by reason of the novel’s discovery and I’m grateful.
If spy-noir floats your boat Sarah Gainham matches, and maybe surpasses, the big Brit three, Deighton, Le Carre and Fleming (who incidentally commissioned the journalist for research for his Bond novel From Russia With Love) blow for blow, right to the last word.
I’ve read in an article by notable spy-fiction author and aficionado, Jeremy Duns, that Gainham may have mused that a male or ambiguous pseudonym could have invited greater plaudits at the time. Possibly, but would that have been an early surrender to the forces of misogyny, those that she battled and finally over came with her later work?
The main thing is we’re talking about Sarah Gainham now, in the midst of the ‘Bondmas Season’ at that.
Seek out the original The Stone Roses, I sincerely doubt you’ll be disappointed.

[Stephen Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

This site is scant on reviews for this one so I thought I would add one.

I purchased this book after reading it mentioned in Dan Fesperman's "The Double Game". I knewI had to read it when I heard it was rumored to be the inspiration behind the name of one of my all-time favorite bands.

If you like cold war spy thrillers, this one is certainly worth a read. Gainham was married to Anthony Terry, the German corespondent for the Sunday Times and lived in Germany and Austria prior to the time she wrote this book.

The story takes place mostly in Prague right after the Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia. The protagonist is a spy sent to uncover the whereabouts of a British spy who has disappeared using the cover of a reporter covering the Czech elections. He soon meets the spy's beautiful sister and things take off from there.

This book is a quick read and the story is compact. Gainham doesn't waste much time in getting to the main action. The book also concludes abruptly. The story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, a confident and smooth spy in the tradition of Ian Fleming's Bond but not as cartoonish.

[Suzanne Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firmly up there with Le Carré, Deighton, Household and Follett, The Stone Roses delivers everything an espionage thriller ought to produce - succinct, sinister, smooth and, naturally, thrilling. Gainham’s penmanship has the precision of a well-placed dead-drop and the unexpected elegance of discovering the operative hunting you, is, in fact, a woman - and a rather formidable one at that.

Within a heartbeat you’re in 1950s Prague, navigating cobblestone alleys, patting yourself down for a cigarette, and wondering whether a barman can pour something suitably stiff to get you through the first chapters. It’s atmospheric, assured and wonderfully evocative - spy fiction delivered with a raised eyebrow, a dry smile, and a perfectly loaded silence.

A hard copy may require some sleuthing of your own, but make no mistake: it’s a chase well worth undertaking.

[Dave Allan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a couple of books by this author. It's a nice spy story from the times of very limited technology written by an author who had links with that part of the world and that community.

[Padraic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleveland OH Library has a paper copy.
Available via inter-library loan

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good old-fashioned spy thriller. Bit dated, but definitely a page-turner!