"Ace of Spies" or Ultimate Grifter? Sidney Reilly and the World of British Intelligence

This episode of HISTORY’S DEVILS delves into the life of Sidney Reilly, a dashing, semi-mythical MI6 officer who has often been referred to – without much reason – as the “Ace of Spies”. James Crossland is joined by Professor Rory Cormac (author of How to Stage a Coup, and Fakers: A Top Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries of the Disinformation Front) for a conversation that explores Reilly’s duality as both a charming spy and a deceitful grifter who worked his way into the British intelligence community whilst building side careers as an arms dealer and radium peddler, all whilst acquiring as many as four wives without ever bother to divorce one of them. Along the way, Reilly allegedly stole German war plans, tried to kill Valdimir Lenin and, in the final act of his melodramatic life, conspired with a supposedly anti-Bolshevik secret society to destroy the Soviet Union from within.Join James and Rory for this wild ride of truths, half-truths and outright lies! Buy James’ book:https://eandtbooks.com/books/rogue-agent/Buy Rory’s book:https://www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Rory-Professor-of-International-Relations-Professor-of-Inter-Cormac/Fakers--A-Top-Secret-Tale-of-Phantoms-and-Forgeries-on-the-Disinformation-Front-Line/15874311  Further ReadingAndrew Cook, Ace of Spies: The True Story of Sidney Reilly (History Press, 2004)Robin Bruce Lockhart, Reilly: Ace of Spies (1967)James Crossland, Rogue Agent: From Secret Plots of the Psychological Warfare, the Untold Story of Robert Bruce Lockhart (Elliot & Thompson, 2024)Keith Jeffrey, MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service, 1909-1949 (Bloomsbury, 2010)  Chapters00:00 Introduction to Sidney Reilly: The Ace of Spies04:34 The Duality of Sidney Reilly: Hero or Villain?08:52 Reilly's Early Life and Transformation12:50 The Rise of a Bigamist: Sidney Reilly's Marriages25:33 The Legend of the Ace of Spies: Myths and Reality30:37 The Problem with Historical Sources31:00 Reilly's War-time Activities34:15 MI6's Role in America35:50 The Black Tom Explosion37:14 Reilly's Recruitment into MI640:21 The Bolshevik Revolution and Reilly's Role42:14 The Lockhart Plot46:09 Reilly's Failures in Espionage48:04 Double-Crossing and Confusion50:23 Reilly's Later Years and Grifting54:08 “The Trust” and Reilly’s Final Mission56:21 The Mysterious Death of Sidney Reilly59:34 The Enduring Legend of the Ace of SpiesThanks to SOULFULJAMTRACKS for their tune "Dark Halloween"Follow HISTORY's DEVILS On Instagram @historysdevilshttps://www.instagram.com/historysdevils/On Substackhttps://jamescrossland.substack.com/Follow JAMES CROSSLANDOn Bluesky @jamescrossland.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/jamescrossland.bsky.socialTag HISTORY's DEVILS@historysdevils#HistorysDevils #JamesCrossland #HistoryPodcast #Podcast #History #DarkHistory #HistoricalBiography #TrueHistory #HistoryDocumentary #Deepdive #Storytelling History's Devils is a history podcast exploring the lives of murderers, charlatans, psychopaths, dictators, war criminals, tyrants, demagogues, revolutionaries, cult leaders, conquerors, fraudsters, and other controversial figures.History's Devils is hosted by James Crossland, professor of international history and author of:Rogue Agent: From Secret Plots to Psychological Warfare, the Untold Story of Robert Bruce LockhartThe Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism...