Elena Standish

The Elena Standish series follows a British photographer recruited into intelligence work as fascism and Nazism spread across Europe in the 1930s. Elena’s assignments take her through Italy, Germany, Austria, the United States and the English country-house world, where photographs, diplomatic contacts and family relationships become sources of both evidence and danger.

The five novels combine espionage with the history of appeasement, political violence and the weakening of democratic institutions. Elena’s work repeatedly tests the loyalties of her MI6 family and colleagues, showing how private betrayal and ideological conviction can prepare the ground for international war.