The Darkrooms of Edith Tudor-Hart

Successful photographer, spy for the Soviet Union, and single mother – Edith Tudor- Hart led an eventful life, and as illustrated in Peter Stephan Jungk’s lively biography, her involvement in the recruitment of the Cambridge Five is just one part of her story.

Born and raised in a liberal Jewish family in Vienna, Edith studied at the Bauhaus during the Weimar Republic and represented her anti-fascist, socialist ideals in her photography. After being arrested for communist activities, she emigrated to England in 1933 to avoid persecution for her political beliefs and Jewish background. There, she became known for her photographic social reportage and brushed shoulders with Anna Freud, Donald Winnicott, and Kim Philby, among others. With the latter came the period she is remembered for most – her key role in helping the KGB recruit the Cambridge Five.

Jungk tells his great-aunt’s story with a personal touch, informed by lived experience and years of research into her mysterious and enigmatic life and career. With The Darkrooms of Edith Tudor-Hart he paints a vivid portrait of one of the most important Austrian–British photographers of the twentieth century, and asks the question: Why did you get yourself into all this, Edith? Was it all worth it?

Peter Stephan Jungk is an Austrian author, journalist, and filmmaker. His notable works include The Crossing of the Hudson and The King of America.

Nick Caistor is a British non-fiction writer and prolific literary translator.

Amanda Hopkinson is a scholar, writer, and literary translator, notably from Spanish, French, and Portuguese.