Agent Sonya: The True Story of WW2’s Most Extraordinary Spy
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- Create Date：2021-05-17 00:51:15
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Ben Macintyre
- ISBN：0241986958
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Summary
The incredible story of the greatest female spy in history， from one of Britain's most acclaimed historians - available for pre-order now
In a quiet English village in 1942， an elegant housewife emerged from her cottage to go on her usual bike ride。 A devoted wife and mother-of-three， the woman known to her neighbours as Mrs Burton seemed to epitomise rural British domesticity。
However， rather than pedalling towards the shops with her ration book， she was racing through the Oxfordshire countryside to gather scientific intelligence from one of the country's most brilliant nuclear physicists。 Secrets that she would transmit to Soviet intelligence headquarters via the radio transmitter she was hiding in her outdoor privy。
Far from a British housewife， 'Mrs Burton' - born Ursula Kuczynski， and codenamed 'Sonya' - was a German Jew， a dedicated communist， a colonel in Russia's Red Army， and a highly-trained spy。 From planning an assassination attempt on Hitler in Switzerland， to spying on the Japanese in Manchuria， and helping the Soviet Union build the atom bomb， Sonya conducted some of the most dangerous espionage operations of the twentieth century。 Her story has never been told - until now。
Agent Sonya is the exhilarating account of one woman's life; a life that encompasses the rise and fall of communism itself， and altered the course of history。
'Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else' John Preston
In a quiet English village in 1942， an elegant housewife emerged from her cottage to go on her usual bike ride。 A devoted wife and mother-of-three， the woman known to her neighbours as Mrs Burton seemed to epitomise rural British domesticity。
However， rather than pedalling towards the shops with her ration book， she was racing through the Oxfordshire countryside to gather scientific intelligence from one of the country's most brilliant nuclear physicists。 Secrets that she would transmit to Soviet intelligence headquarters via the radio transmitter she was hiding in her outdoor privy。
Far from a British housewife， 'Mrs Burton' - born Ursula Kuczynski， and codenamed 'Sonya' - was a German Jew， a dedicated communist， a colonel in Russia's Red Army， and a highly-trained spy。 From planning an assassination attempt on Hitler in Switzerland， to spying on the Japanese in Manchuria， and helping the Soviet Union build the atom bomb， Sonya conducted some of the most dangerous espionage operations of the twentieth century。 Her story has never been told - until now。
Agent Sonya is the exhilarating account of one woman's life; a life that encompasses the rise and fall of communism itself， and altered the course of history。
'Macintyre does true-life espionage better than anyone else' John Preston
Reviews
Anita Yoder
，
The words I want to use to describe the book and its main character seem cliche: unbelievable， riveting， complex。 But they're all accurate so I'll stick with them。Masterfully told in a tempo that never lags， I was kinda sorry when this fantastic story ended。 The words I want to use to describe the book and its main character seem cliche: unbelievable， riveting， complex。 But they're all accurate so I'll stick with them。Masterfully told in a tempo that never lags， I was kinda sorry when this fantastic story ended。 。。。more
Tony Rogers
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Good 。。。but not as good as The Spy and the Traitor。。。 which is one of my all time favorites。
Tristan
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Well researched Book
Emil Erstad
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After the book about Oleg Gordievsky I had to read this also。 Macintyre is a master in connecting history， emotions and personal reflections in stories that are both thrillers and at the same time enlightening。
L Frost
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I listened to the audiobook version which always makes it a challenge to keep up with the characters， especially when they have foreign names。 There are a LOT of people in this story。 As you’d expect with any book about spies， there are a lot of places to keep up with too。 Overall， it was an interesting read。 Lots of angles and facts I didn’t know。 But as good of a spy as this woman was， I had a hard time liking her。 The author mentions several times how she was torn between her family， particul I listened to the audiobook version which always makes it a challenge to keep up with the characters， especially when they have foreign names。 There are a LOT of people in this story。 As you’d expect with any book about spies， there are a lot of places to keep up with too。 Overall， it was an interesting read。 Lots of angles and facts I didn’t know。 But as good of a spy as this woman was， I had a hard time liking her。 The author mentions several times how she was torn between her family， particularly her children， and her work。 I don’t know if she was just that selfish or young and free spirited or callous or immature。 But she clearly put her work above anything else and her children paid dearly for it。 I felt badly for her first husband despite the author repeatedly describing how naive or bad of a spy he was。 She was borderline cruel to him。 I could almost sympathize with the nanny as well。 The implications of the Soviet spies’ work was fascinating。 Particularly interesting is the action surrounding the atomic bomb development。 The alliances that were made， broken， and reformed were also fascinating now that more is revealed about what the different countries knew at various times。 While I can agree that the effort to defeat Hitler was obviously important， the cause of communism is curious。 Since these were new ideas and the world had never seen them tried before， it’s plausible how a young person could buy into it。 But at some point you wanted to say “Wake up！” Between Stalin and the East German Stasi， surely someone would begin to think “Is this the utopia I thought could be achieved？” It’s always easier to second guess when you have the benefit of hindsight。 The little bit of information about the gulag system was also interesting。 There is very little profanity。 There are no sexual scenes just mentions of people becoming lovers or a woman becoming pregnant。 Overall， it’s an interesting book of history especially if you have an interest in WWII， the Soviet Union， spy networks， or the Cold War。 。。。more
Susan D
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For me - too technical and I couldn't follow too closely。 But informational just the same。 For me - too technical and I couldn't follow too closely。 But informational just the same。 。。。more
Mrthink
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Ben MacIntyre's book is comprehensive， covering the extensive and somewhat complex life of a female soviet spy。 I found this story to be less engaging when compared to his story "A Traitor and a Spy"， primarily due to the large number of players and the lack of intense suspense。 But it still makes for a good read and understanding of the acceptance by many in the early part of the century toward socialism。 Ben MacIntyre's book is comprehensive， covering the extensive and somewhat complex life of a female soviet spy。 I found this story to be less engaging when compared to his story "A Traitor and a Spy"， primarily due to the large number of players and the lack of intense suspense。 But it still makes for a good read and understanding of the acceptance by many in the early part of the century toward socialism。 。。。more
Daniel Kerr Spitzer
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Spy Fatalein a Flawed MovementFactual history of a compelling character， weaving her adventures in espionage， romance， and ideological exploration。 The book is meticulously researched
Allison
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An absolutely gripping story！
Josie
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DNF 。。。。 honestly wasn't what I wanted from this。 It was very heavy on the political history side of things。 Not for me DNF 。。。。 honestly wasn't what I wanted from this。 It was very heavy on the political history side of things。 Not for me 。。。more
Wendy Bamber
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Very interested in this story but got stuck in the detail of China before I got to the WW2 stuff set in the UK that I was after。 Might go back to it
Toby
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I think this is the first Macintyre I've read where I've not awarded it 5 stars with no hesitation。 As enjoyable - and exciting - as it was， I couldn't help but feel Ursula's motives were not as throughly explored as I'd have hoped they'd be。 There was also a longeur after the family had arrived back in England which， I felt， sapped the book's momentum。 I think this is the first Macintyre I've read where I've not awarded it 5 stars with no hesitation。 As enjoyable - and exciting - as it was， I couldn't help but feel Ursula's motives were not as throughly explored as I'd have hoped they'd be。 There was also a longeur after the family had arrived back in England which， I felt， sapped the book's momentum。 。。。more
Jesseca Timmons
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Amazing true story！！
Karleen Cole
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Excellent！ What a story and so well written。
CyGrrl
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The life of Ursula Kuczinsky， who operated under the codename Sonya， is remarkable。 Her dedication to her ideals and commitment to Communism was unshakeable。 With ever-increasing levels of responsibility and risk， Ursula's life is in essence the crux of the ideological dilemma of the 20th century。。。the battle between armies and dogmas， fighting for something you believe in only to discover that what you were so vehemently against， ultimately wasn't so terrible after all。 Through some of the most The life of Ursula Kuczinsky， who operated under the codename Sonya， is remarkable。 Her dedication to her ideals and commitment to Communism was unshakeable。 With ever-increasing levels of responsibility and risk， Ursula's life is in essence the crux of the ideological dilemma of the 20th century。。。the battle between armies and dogmas， fighting for something you believe in only to discover that what you were so vehemently against， ultimately wasn't so terrible after all。 Through some of the most dangerous spy work of the 30s and 40s， Ursula presented as a 'mere housewife and mother' and as a result dismissed repeatedly by counterintelligence。 Macintyre's thorough research and storytelling make this an enlightening tale of intrigue about perhaps the most important female spy in history。 This is a solid pick for fans of non-fiction， history， politics or spy thrillers。 。。。more
Lisa
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A master historian and a story that will make your jaw drop。 A incredible rich combination of fact and narrative， pulls the story along and builds curiosity for the reader to want to know every little detail of Ursula Aka Sonya。 I’m not a big reader of NF， and if your like me， I absolutely recommend it in audio book。 This story also makes an excellent book group discussion。
Nabor Garrido
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El historiador Ben Macintyre hace una precisa biografía-reportaje de una mujer alemana， espía del gobierno soviético， que entregó los secretos de la bomba atómica， que se desarrollaba en Reino Unido， a la URSS， mientras criaba a sus tres hijos， horneaba pasteles y era ama de casa。Un libro que es necesario leer para entender el mundo antes de la Segunda Guerra mundial y hasta el inicio de la Guerra Fría。
Christoph Monschein
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interesting insight of what happened behind the scenes， e。g。 during world war 2 in Switzerland or how the Sowjets got all the details about nuclear weapons development。however， overall a bit repetitive to me。
Joan
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This is a great spy story about a woman who escaped detection through her whole career spying in Singapore， Switzerland and England for the Communists during and after the Second World War。 A great read， true story like MacIntyre's book about Kim Philby， The Spy and His Friends。 This is a great spy story about a woman who escaped detection through her whole career spying in Singapore， Switzerland and England for the Communists during and after the Second World War。 A great read， true story like MacIntyre's book about Kim Philby， The Spy and His Friends。 。。。more
Steven
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I'd read Mcintyre's The Spy and the Traitor a few years ago。 He told that story so well， so I knew this one would be good。 And it was。Ursula Kuczynski was born into a middle class German Jewish family in Berlin in the decade before WWI。 She grew up rather comfortably but still gravitated to left-wing and communist causes even in her youth。 She even carted leftist literature around Berlin in a wheelbarrow as a kind of portable lending library。 She married a similarly minded architect and moved wi I'd read Mcintyre's The Spy and the Traitor a few years ago。 He told that story so well， so I knew this one would be good。 And it was。Ursula Kuczynski was born into a middle class German Jewish family in Berlin in the decade before WWI。 She grew up rather comfortably but still gravitated to left-wing and communist causes even in her youth。 She even carted leftist literature around Berlin in a wheelbarrow as a kind of portable lending library。 She married a similarly minded architect and moved with him to Shanghai when he got work there。 And that's where she was recruited。Sony （her code name） became the ultimate spy -- almost undetectable due to the attitudes of the time。 There was no way a young housewife with a toddler could be a spy！ But spy she did， providing information to communist causes in China and Russia。 She was trained as a radio operator and learned how to build， break down and operate hidden communication stations。 She was sent to Manchuria on assignment -- still married to her unsuspecting husband -- and posed there as husband and wife with another -- with whom she had a child。As WWII broke out she was in Switzerland， running agents herself and continuing her radio communications with Moscow。 She married a British citizen and moved to the UK during the latter part of the war - and had a third child。 There， she was instrumental in the passing of nuclear weapon secrets from the UK and USA to Moscow。 Slowly， MI5 and MI6 （agencies themselves riddled with double agents） began to clue in -- thanks to another woman in their ranks who wasn't distracted by the stereotypes that affected her male colleagues。 As the noose tightened， she fled with her three unsuspecting children to the new East Germany， and there lived out her life， mostly working in publishing。 She died in 2000。She really did lead a remarkable life -- calmly doing a job she believed in， and not getting caught。 Turns out most spy work is far from the world of James Bond。 Agent Sonya's story is all the more fascinating for it。 。。。more
Michael
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Very bland and disappointing compared to Macintyres other works。
Mary
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It took me a bit to really get into this one， but once I did it was fascinating。 The life of Ursula Kuczynski seems like it belongs in a movie or the pages of a novel， but in fact she lived a life of intrigue and secrets， a life beyond what most can imagine。 I never thought I would find myself feeling sympathy and understanding for a communist spy， yet here we are。 I certainly would never make many of the choices she did， but can understand why she did what she did。
Laura Gallant
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This is a pretty great biographical read， especially because it gives you a whole perspective on WWII that we don't usually get。 The writing was great， but it was really hard keeping up with all the transient players in the book and the overzealous adjectives。 I felt like the book could've been much more succinct than it was。 All in all， very good read。 This is a pretty great biographical read， especially because it gives you a whole perspective on WWII that we don't usually get。 The writing was great， but it was really hard keeping up with all the transient players in the book and the overzealous adjectives。 I felt like the book could've been much more succinct than it was。 All in all， very good read。 。。。more
Carol
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Excellent biography of a talented spy。 It sometimes reads like an action suspense novel and other times like a book report。 I was captivated by the idea that this woman could get away with the passing of information so blatantly。 One of the photos of her homes clearly shows the radio parts attached to bamboo poles on either side of her home in plain sight--crazy！ What an amazing woman and what a wild ride。
Alan Medcalf
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This is a deeply-researched and detailed accounting of a woman whose espionage career remained hidden and active for decades。 It's a remarkable recounting。 It's also a very slow， ponderous read。 This is a deeply-researched and detailed accounting of a woman whose espionage career remained hidden and active for decades。 It's a remarkable recounting。 It's also a very slow， ponderous read。 。。。more
Krista
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Once again， a fabulous tale of a woman of strong convictions caught up in the momentous events of the last century。 Balancing home with children， spying and lovers， she somehow does it all。 If anyone reads this review， do you think that the British woman they uncovered at the end of the 90s as a spy， captured in a photo outside her door with groceries was the same woman who is the subject of the book “Red Joan”？
Roberta Matz
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amazing story of a WWII anapest WWII spy。 Dedicated communist with skill and drive。
Renee King
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This was very well written and interesting， especially the concluding chapters which followed up on the outcomes and lives of all the people in Sonya's circle。 It was surprising to learn of her role in supplying Moscow with the secrets of US atomic research， truly changing the theater for two geopolitical giants and kicking the Cold War into high gear。 Indeed， Ursula/Sonya was a tough as nails and I admire her keen wit， undercover intelligence skills， and almost super-human resilience。 However， This was very well written and interesting， especially the concluding chapters which followed up on the outcomes and lives of all the people in Sonya's circle。 It was surprising to learn of her role in supplying Moscow with the secrets of US atomic research， truly changing the theater for two geopolitical giants and kicking the Cold War into high gear。 Indeed， Ursula/Sonya was a tough as nails and I admire her keen wit， undercover intelligence skills， and almost super-human resilience。 However， I did not really like her。 Excepting the period of her life where she was vehemently opposed to Hitler's Nazi fascism， I could not and cannot identify with what drove her lifelong commitment to a political dogma born of the Bolsheviks。 That she could remain deeply committed to the failed Marxist-Communist ideology， even after learning of the mass destruction and misery wrought by Stalin's gulags and mass purges， is confounding on a deeply moral level。 I would like to know more about her children and what life was life after they learned the truth about their mother。 I recommend this book if you like true stories about female spies， WW2， the Cold War。 。。。more
Chrissie
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***********************The Englishman's Daughter: A True Story of Love and Betrayal in World War I 3 stars ***********************The Englishman's Daughter: A True Story of Love and Betrayal in World War I 3 stars 。。。more
Robin Henry
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