Espionage
The Moot took place in July 1939, a matter of weeks before the outbreak of World War 2. With thousands of young men legally entering Britain for the event, it is almost certain that foreign powers would take advantage to allow their spies to infiltrate.
Sophienstrasse
"Propped against an empty glass vase was a half postcard. The old man handed it to Miško, and Miško placed it beside his. They matched perfectly. The old man’s half said: “Sophienstraße”." Moot p 164
Jessie Jordan
"Jessie Jordan, as well as being a spy, had run a post-restante operation from Perth and Dundee for the Abwehr until she was arrested the previous year and convicted that May." Moot p 166
Winston Churchill
‘In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be protected by a bodyguard of lies.’ Epigraph of Moot
Winston Churchill
RA Butler
‘Good governance flourishes in the dark.’ Epigraph of Moot
RA Butler
BBC outside broadcast
In front of them was a round microphone, bigger than a human face. Another man was turning a knob on what looked to Bob like a chest of drawers but with the drawers running vertically instead of horizontally. Behind him, yet another man was turning knobs on an instrument panel that was similar to Bob’s wireless at home, but much larger. However they did a live broadcast, Bob reflected, it took a lot of them. Moot p 83
Camera
"He pulled it out and held it in the palm of his hand, a tiny camera about the size of a packet of cigarettes. On the back it read “Minox Riga”. Beside the camera in the rucksack was a roll of film, impossibly small, looking like a set of miniature binoculars." Moot p 96
More about the 1939 Moot
Find out more about the background to the novel Moot
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