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Papa Spy: Love, Faith and Betrayal in Wartime Spain
When war was declared in 1939, Tom Burns joined the Ministry of Information, effectively the propaganda wing of the secret services. Sent to Madrid as press attache to the British Embassy, Burns played a key role in the propaganda war against the Nazis. This is his extraordinary story.
395 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2009
9 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Jimmy Burns
33 books15 followersFrom the author's website:
Jimmy Burns was born in Madrid in 1953. His father the late Tom Burns met his mother Mabel Maranon while working in the British embassy in Madrid during the Second World War. Jimmy contributes Spanish language media outlets and publishes his books in Spanish translation as Jimmy Burns Maranon. His childhood was spent straddling cultures -Britain, Castille, and Catalonia. He went to school at a British school in Madrid, then a preparatory school in London before studying for his O and A-levels at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. He took a BA honours degree in Latin American & Iberian Studies at University College, London and an MA in the politics and government of Latin America at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London and The London School of Economics and Political Science. On leaving university, he spent two years teaching English to foreign students, and travelling, gaining experience as a free-lance journalist writing about Latin America and Spain. His early published work included articles for the Catholic Herald and The Tablet. During the 1970's he was commissioned by the BBC to write the script for an Everyman documentary on the Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara. He also worked as a researcher for Yorkshire TV, contributing to a critically acclaimed film presented by Robert Kee on the death of Franco and Spain's transition to democracy.
In 1977 Jimmy joined the Financial Times and was posted to Portugal as Lisbon correspondent, reporting also on Spain. He also became a regular contributor to the London Observer, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, as well as the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Nederlands. From 1980-2 he worked for the Financial Times' international desk based in London before being posted to Buenos Aires, as the newspaper's southern cone correspondent.
He arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of a military palace coup and three months before the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine armed forces sparked off a three-month war with Britain. He was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina prior to, during, and well beyond the conflict, covering the country's transition to democracy, as well as political developments in Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He continued to regularly contribute articles on Latin America to other media outlets in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In mid-1986 he returned to London to work at the Financial Times and prove himself as an author. Advised by his agent Caroline Dawnay, he agreed to be signed up by Liz Calder and Nigel Newton as one of the first authors of the most innovative independent publishing houses to emerge from the 1980's, Bloomsbury, with his book, on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes. It won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. He followed this up with Beyond the Silver River: South American encounters, based on a collection of personal diaries he kept while living and travelling in South America. In the mid 1990's he was encouraged by David Reynolds and Penny Phillips, then editors at Bloomsbury to write the first full-length biography of Diego Maradona, and subsequently a history of FC Barcelona and the Catalan people. Together with writers like Nick Hornby, Simon Kuper, and Peter Davies, he was praised by the critics for breaking new boundaries in football writing. In between, he was commissioned by John Murray, another independent publisher at the time, to compile and write Spain: A Literary Companion. In Spain, he was co-author of Dossier Diana a book on the death of Princess Diana published by El Pais/Aguilar. In 2002, he published a revised and updated version of The Land that Lost its Heroes, on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War, while his earlier books led by The Hand of God: The life of Diego Maradona, the first football book by a foreigner to be published in China, foun
Jimmy Burns was born in Madrid in 1953. His father the late Tom Burns met his mother Mabel Maranon while working in the British embassy in Madrid during the Second World War. Jimmy contributes Spanish language media outlets and publishes his books in Spanish translation as Jimmy Burns Maranon. His childhood was spent straddling cultures -Britain, Castille, and Catalonia. He went to school at a British school in Madrid, then a preparatory school in London before studying for his O and A-levels at the Jesuit Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. He took a BA honours degree in Latin American & Iberian Studies at University College, London and an MA in the politics and government of Latin America at the Institute of Latin American Studies in London and The London School of Economics and Political Science. On leaving university, he spent two years teaching English to foreign students, and travelling, gaining experience as a free-lance journalist writing about Latin America and Spain. His early published work included articles for the Catholic Herald and The Tablet. During the 1970's he was commissioned by the BBC to write the script for an Everyman documentary on the Brazilian Archbishop, Helder Camara. He also worked as a researcher for Yorkshire TV, contributing to a critically acclaimed film presented by Robert Kee on the death of Franco and Spain's transition to democracy.
In 1977 Jimmy joined the Financial Times and was posted to Portugal as Lisbon correspondent, reporting also on Spain. He also became a regular contributor to the London Observer, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Economist, as well as the BBC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Nederlands. From 1980-2 he worked for the Financial Times' international desk based in London before being posted to Buenos Aires, as the newspaper's southern cone correspondent.
He arrived in Buenos Aires in the middle of a military palace coup and three months before the invasion of the Falkland Islands by the Argentine armed forces sparked off a three-month war with Britain. He was the only full-time British foreign correspondent to remain in Argentina prior to, during, and well beyond the conflict, covering the country's transition to democracy, as well as political developments in Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay. He continued to regularly contribute articles on Latin America to other media outlets in the UK, Europe, and the US.
In mid-1986 he returned to London to work at the Financial Times and prove himself as an author. Advised by his agent Caroline Dawnay, he agreed to be signed up by Liz Calder and Nigel Newton as one of the first authors of the most innovative independent publishing houses to emerge from the 1980's, Bloomsbury, with his book, on Argentina and the Falklands War, The Land that lost its Heroes. It won the 1988 Somerset Maugham Award for non-fiction. He followed this up with Beyond the Silver River: South American encounters, based on a collection of personal diaries he kept while living and travelling in South America. In the mid 1990's he was encouraged by David Reynolds and Penny Phillips, then editors at Bloomsbury to write the first full-length biography of Diego Maradona, and subsequently a history of FC Barcelona and the Catalan people. Together with writers like Nick Hornby, Simon Kuper, and Peter Davies, he was praised by the critics for breaking new boundaries in football writing. In between, he was commissioned by John Murray, another independent publisher at the time, to compile and write Spain: A Literary Companion. In Spain, he was co-author of Dossier Diana a book on the death of Princess Diana published by El Pais/Aguilar. In 2002, he published a revised and updated version of The Land that Lost its Heroes, on the 20th anniversary of the Falklands War, while his earlier books led by The Hand of God: The life of Diego Maradona, the first football book by a foreigner to be published in China, foun
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
February 21, 2010
I enjoyed this quite a bit, didn’t know a lot about the efforts to keep Spain out of the war and loved the bits about Philby’s attempt to remove Burns. However, the author padded the story out far too much (albeit with some interesting, but unnecessary, facts), and what I really disliked in the book was the increasingly moral tone he took. Comments about camps being like Guantanamo Bay for instance were unnecessary, patronising and glaringly obvious. He viewed WWII through today’s moral lens. Always a mistake in my view.
August 21, 2010
When I noticed this book up for goodreads, I thought I’d take a chance since of all the wars; WWII is the one that holds my interest. I knew going into this book it was going to be something completely different than what I usually read. As I read I took notes and took my time.
At first I was discouraged; the reason being is I felt the sudden introduction of people was a bit overwhelming. But as I read on, most everything fell in place. I have to commend Jimmy Burns on his research. I think the time, the investigating and dedication it took to compile a book about a spy had to be complicated. Even though the spy he wrote about was his father, (Tom Burns), much of his father’s secret life disappeared when he died.
By reading PAPA SPY I learned so much about WWII that I hadn’t known before. Tom Burns, a devoted Catholic, was a publisher turned diplomat. He worked for the British and was drawn to Spain because of his roots there. He was a big part of keeping Spain out of the war. He truly loved the women in his life, his faith, bullfighting, and art. This book is full of backstabbing groups, double agents and interesting historical facts that Burns was a part of in someway.
My favorite facts were the ones on the episode known as ‘The Man Who Never Was.’ It’s nice to know who this poor soul was. Without him, I have to wonder how the war would have played out.
At the end of the war, Burns was denied honors because of accusations by one of his former enemies. Some of these enemies (double agents) were eventually exposed as Soviet and German spies; others simply disappeared or were killed to keep them quiet. Finally thirty years later, Burns was awarded ‘The Order of the British Empire’ and recognized for his services to the Queen and Country.
What an interesting father to get to write about. I know my own father and husband will devour this book.
At first I was discouraged; the reason being is I felt the sudden introduction of people was a bit overwhelming. But as I read on, most everything fell in place. I have to commend Jimmy Burns on his research. I think the time, the investigating and dedication it took to compile a book about a spy had to be complicated. Even though the spy he wrote about was his father, (Tom Burns), much of his father’s secret life disappeared when he died.
By reading PAPA SPY I learned so much about WWII that I hadn’t known before. Tom Burns, a devoted Catholic, was a publisher turned diplomat. He worked for the British and was drawn to Spain because of his roots there. He was a big part of keeping Spain out of the war. He truly loved the women in his life, his faith, bullfighting, and art. This book is full of backstabbing groups, double agents and interesting historical facts that Burns was a part of in someway.
My favorite facts were the ones on the episode known as ‘The Man Who Never Was.’ It’s nice to know who this poor soul was. Without him, I have to wonder how the war would have played out.
At the end of the war, Burns was denied honors because of accusations by one of his former enemies. Some of these enemies (double agents) were eventually exposed as Soviet and German spies; others simply disappeared or were killed to keep them quiet. Finally thirty years later, Burns was awarded ‘The Order of the British Empire’ and recognized for his services to the Queen and Country.
What an interesting father to get to write about. I know my own father and husband will devour this book.
December 21, 2009
This is a book about Spain during World War II with the main focus being Tom Burns, a member of the British Embassy in Madrid responsible for propaganda. As I had previously known very little about the Spanish Civil War and Spain's role during WWII, I learned a tremendous amount from this book. Also really interesting in this book is the network of British, German, and Russian spies. It is amazing the disorganization and backstabbing involved in and between the intelligence groups and the complex network of double agents. The beginning part of this book is slow and confusing because of the rapid introduction of many people. Its hard to keep who is who straight as well as who is important to the story. But once Burns ends up in Spain the story really picks and easier to keep track of the characters. Overall a really interesting book, which anyone interested in modern European history with enjoy.
August 9, 2010
Very detailed, well-researched book. Makes a fantastic reference piece and you see a side of history not often discussed (Spain during WWII). Although it is a personal side of the war, it was a bit difficult to get through because of the detail involved. The author did an incredible amount of research and left nothing out of this time period of his father's life. It would make a fabulous movie, but something a non-history buff might have a little difficulty reading.
December 19, 2011
Received Papa Spy today from First Reads. I am very interested to read it, since the Spanish Civil War and subsequently Spain's (non)involvement in WWII were major focuses (for a while) in my studies at university. Do I have any chance of reading this before the Big Move? None at all, or it would be "currently reading" for sure.
November 20, 2019
This was my follow-up to Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. It covers the time after Franco won the civil war through WWII and a short period after it. The focus here is on the activities of Tom Burns, a publisher turned spy who spend the war in Madrid as press attaché at the British Embassy in Madrid. The author, a journalist, is the son of Burns. He did not find out about his father's spying days until after his father's death when sealed wartime records started to be released. The Brits were eager to keep Spain neutral during the war and to get the Spanish people and the Spanish government to act more favorably toward the Allies (except the Soviet Union) than the Axis. Burns was not a member of MI6. He reported directly to the British ambassador but had good relations with Churchill's chosen head of counterintelligence in Spain. The same cannot be said of his relationship with the intelligence chaps at home in Britain. Kim Philby (yes, the traitor) did not much like Burns and repeatedly tried to tarnish Burns' reputation.
What was most interesting to me was the focus placed on whether someone was Roman Catholic. Burns turned out to be useful because he was conservative (wanted Franco to remain in power) and a devout Catholic, the combination of which allowed him to develop relationships with some powerful people in Spain, to get them to favor the Allies, and to get them to help turn Spain away from the Axis.
I think the author presented a balanced picture. A lot of research went into the book and it is heavy on names and activities, which at times made it a very slow read.
What was most interesting to me was the focus placed on whether someone was Roman Catholic. Burns turned out to be useful because he was conservative (wanted Franco to remain in power) and a devout Catholic, the combination of which allowed him to develop relationships with some powerful people in Spain, to get them to favor the Allies, and to get them to help turn Spain away from the Axis.
I think the author presented a balanced picture. A lot of research went into the book and it is heavy on names and activities, which at times made it a very slow read.
March 17, 2020
Interesting, if somewhat biased, account of the intrigue in Spain During WWII.
March 20, 2025
This book was pretty slow but the story of the rare British Catholic wrapped up in diplomacy and espionage in Spain was mildly intriguing.
December 13, 2009
This isn't normally the type of book I would buy in hardcover. I won it as a First Reads Giveaway.
Before I start the review, I have to say something.
Lesile Howard was a ladies' man?!?!?!?
Sorry. I understand the attraction to Cary Grant, to Omar Shariff (I really understand Shariff), but I never understood Lesile Howard. Couldn't figure out what Scarlet O'Hara saw in him, at least in the movie. And he also played a going bald Romeo. I swear. Okay, Juliet wasn't anywhere near her correct age either, but she wasn't going bald.
Okay. Got that out. Now back to review.
Papa Spy is the story of Jimmy Burns father and his assignment during WW II. The strange thing about this book, however, is I don't come away feeling I know Mr. Burns (the senior Mr. Burns).
I know that Jimmy Burns deeply loved both his parents. That his mother sounds like an interesting woman. That the Brits did a large amount of work in keeping Spain out of WW II. But I don't know the senior Mr. Burns. I don't even want to use his first name because I feel I don't know him well enough (if that actually makes sense).
Jimmy Burns does a wonderful job in describing the social era prior to the start of the Second World War, in particular in regards to the Catholic social scene. In fact, if you like Graham Greene or Evelyn Waugh, this book will interest you. Burns also gives nicely told stories about Howard's ill fated propganda tour and the story of the man who wasn't there. The problem is that for large parts of the book, you forget it's about Burns.
This does seem to be due to the lack of readily availble infromation, after all his father was a spy and there are secrets that no one tells. Jimmy Burns is up front about this in the beginning of the book. Burns prose isn't dull, and he gets (and fully deserves) a large amount of credit for remaining as objective as he is. It couldn't have been easy. The best parts of the book detail the background of the War and his parent's meeting.
Before I start the review, I have to say something.
Lesile Howard was a ladies' man?!?!?!?
Sorry. I understand the attraction to Cary Grant, to Omar Shariff (I really understand Shariff), but I never understood Lesile Howard. Couldn't figure out what Scarlet O'Hara saw in him, at least in the movie. And he also played a going bald Romeo. I swear. Okay, Juliet wasn't anywhere near her correct age either, but she wasn't going bald.
Okay. Got that out. Now back to review.
Papa Spy is the story of Jimmy Burns father and his assignment during WW II. The strange thing about this book, however, is I don't come away feeling I know Mr. Burns (the senior Mr. Burns).
I know that Jimmy Burns deeply loved both his parents. That his mother sounds like an interesting woman. That the Brits did a large amount of work in keeping Spain out of WW II. But I don't know the senior Mr. Burns. I don't even want to use his first name because I feel I don't know him well enough (if that actually makes sense).
Jimmy Burns does a wonderful job in describing the social era prior to the start of the Second World War, in particular in regards to the Catholic social scene. In fact, if you like Graham Greene or Evelyn Waugh, this book will interest you. Burns also gives nicely told stories about Howard's ill fated propganda tour and the story of the man who wasn't there. The problem is that for large parts of the book, you forget it's about Burns.
This does seem to be due to the lack of readily availble infromation, after all his father was a spy and there are secrets that no one tells. Jimmy Burns is up front about this in the beginning of the book. Burns prose isn't dull, and he gets (and fully deserves) a large amount of credit for remaining as objective as he is. It couldn't have been easy. The best parts of the book detail the background of the War and his parent's meeting.
February 21, 2010
For several weeks now I have picked up this book and read a few pages at a time. The book is about a son's discovery of his father's secret life. I have found it so difficult to progress because it gets bogged down with too much information. I am not familiar with many of the characters or events that the author is describing but I think he believes I am, or should be. I feel like the introduction is going on forever. Every publishing house is mentioned, so many different persons are mentioned, that there are just too many names and places and circumstances bombarding me at once. What I thought would be an exciting read has become tedious. I am going to interrupt my reading of this book to read another book which can give me more background on the period in which this book takes place so I will better enjoy it. I will come back to it. I want to discover the secret life of Tom Burns as publisher, spy and romantic. I think the Imperial Cruise is next so I will better understand the Spanish Civil War and its connections to World War II and, ultimately, the other life of Jimmy's dad.
January 15, 2010
This book was disappointing. While the premise sounds exciting, spies in Spain during World War II, the style in which it was written causes the book to fall flat.
Written by Jimmy Burns, an accomplished journalist and author of other books, it is supposed to tell the tale of his late father. The book is chalk full of anecdotes and characters surrounding his father, too full in fact. The book jumps from character to character so much that the central theme, the story of Tom Burns, gets pushed aside at places and lost in the jumble. It is not clear for example why Burns joined the Ministry of Information in the first place. He just suddenly joined. What was going through his mind at the time? What other options did he have?
This book does not suffer from lack of information, it suffers from the plethora of information not edited properly. I'll admit I only read 1/4 of the book (93 out of 344 pages). But how far do I need to read to get out of the introduction and into a real storyline?
Written by Jimmy Burns, an accomplished journalist and author of other books, it is supposed to tell the tale of his late father. The book is chalk full of anecdotes and characters surrounding his father, too full in fact. The book jumps from character to character so much that the central theme, the story of Tom Burns, gets pushed aside at places and lost in the jumble. It is not clear for example why Burns joined the Ministry of Information in the first place. He just suddenly joined. What was going through his mind at the time? What other options did he have?
This book does not suffer from lack of information, it suffers from the plethora of information not edited properly. I'll admit I only read 1/4 of the book (93 out of 344 pages). But how far do I need to read to get out of the introduction and into a real storyline?
January 26, 2014
Finished reading “Papa Spy” by Jimmy Burns. 26 January 2014
This is a son's story of his father's World War II exploits as press attaché at the British embassy in Madrid. I've never been drawn to spy novels or films, which, it would be fair to say, probably colours my opinion of this biography.
No doubt spies and espionage agents pass on some valuable information and organise daring and valuable feats of deception. But I can't help but think that so much of it is collecting and spreading gossip, which might or might not be true or valuable, and how do you tell the difference. Additionally, as press attaché Burns tried, with mixed success, to get stories printed in the Spanish press.
I found the book a slog to read and couldn't help but feel that an adoring son was gilding his father's lily.
This is a son's story of his father's World War II exploits as press attaché at the British embassy in Madrid. I've never been drawn to spy novels or films, which, it would be fair to say, probably colours my opinion of this biography.
No doubt spies and espionage agents pass on some valuable information and organise daring and valuable feats of deception. But I can't help but think that so much of it is collecting and spreading gossip, which might or might not be true or valuable, and how do you tell the difference. Additionally, as press attaché Burns tried, with mixed success, to get stories printed in the Spanish press.
I found the book a slog to read and couldn't help but feel that an adoring son was gilding his father's lily.
September 28, 2011
Papa Spy covers an aspect of WWII not well know to me and does so in detail. I had difficulty, however, absorbing the information, as the book veers between a biography of Burns' father Tom and a history of the Spanish Civil War and Franco's Spain during WWII. In fairness to the author, I might be satisfied only if William Shirer reprised his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, covering Spain with the information now available to historians.
May 30, 2016
A biography of Tom Burns tasked with the job of keeping Spain neutral throughout WWII. The process of recruiting agents and field operatives and passing along information to MoI, MI5 and MI6, as well as developing a propaganda machine seems to be something Burns is well suited for. Entertaining as a spy verses spy narrative, Jimmy Burns (son of Tom Burns) exhaustive research introduces many of the key players on the Spanish, English and German side of this period leading to WWII.
January 17, 2010
I think that this is probably a good book if you have enough history under your belt to place it within a frame of reference. As it was, the web of who-knows-who and is doing what within the Catholic movement around the time of WWII didn't make much of an impact on me. I passed it on to a family member.
April 26, 2010
This book is part memoir of the writer's father who was a press attache for the British Embassy to Madrid during WWII, and part general history of why British interests (including crossing and double-crossing spy craft) in keeping Spain neutral, even if that meant supporting Franco.
September 23, 2016
I don't read non-fiction very often, but this was good. Sometimes the political context went over my head, but that's my failing and not the book's. Pretty rich and engaging, rarely boring or dry. May be moments of bias, perhaps - but as a general read and for background research, I enjoyed this!
September 7, 2015
One of the better books about war time Spain.
September 23, 2016
Not really my cup of tea. I thought the story would be interesting and exciting but it's more of a slow running biography.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews