The bedbug : Klop Ustinov, Britain's most ingenious spy

Klop Ustinov was Britain's most ingenious spy - but he was never licensed to kill.

Instead, he was authorised to bemuse and beguile his enemies into revealing their deepest, darkest secrets.

From the Russian Revolution to the Cold War, he bluffed and tricked his way into the confi dence of everyone from Soviet commissars to Gestapo Gruppenfuhrer.Although his official codename was U35, he was better known as 'Klop', meaning 'Bedbug' - a name given to him by a ver y understanding wife on account of his extraordinary capacity to hop from one woman's bed to another in the King's service.Frequenting the social gatherings of Europe under the guise of innocent bon viveur, he displayed a showman's talent for entertaining (a trait his son, the actor Peter Ustinov, undoubtedly inherited) and captivated unsuspecting audiences while scavenging their secrets.Using exciting anecdotes and first-hand accounts, Peter Day explores the fascinating life of one of espionage's most inventive and memorable characters.

The Bedbug was a master of uncovering the truth through telling tales; now his own tale can be told.The Dialogue Espionage Classics series began in 2010 with the purpose of bringing back clas sic out-of-print spy stories that should never be forgotten. From the Great War to the Cold War, from the French Resistance to the Cambridge Five, from Special Operations to Bletchley Park, this fascinating spy history series includes some of the best military, espionage and adventure stories ever told.