Since leaving the Independent in 2014 – where I was an editor, reporter and columnist for eight years, shortlisted for the 2013 Cudlipp prize at the Press Awards – I’ve worked as a contributing editor at Marie Claire, and written freelance for publications including New Statesman, Tatler, Guardian, Telegraph, Sunday Times, ELLE, Red, and more. I’ve also been a guest on Front Row, Woman’s Hour, NPR’s Note to Self podcast, Free Thinking, and Loose Ends, as well as presenting documentaries for The One Show (39 mins and 08 seconds in!) and the World Service. A speaker at literary festivals from Cheltenham to Chiswick, I am currently working on a new major podcast for 2022, with details TBA.
My fourth novel, EDITH AND KIM, will be published on 31 March 2022. It has been lavished in praise, shamelessly pasted below:
‘Completely fascinating. A sophisticated and brilliantly constructed fictional retelling of a crucial relationship in 20th century espionage history. A tremendous achievement’ WILLIAM BOYD
‘A fascinating contribution to the literature of the Cambridge spies by a clever, nimble writer with some genuine skin in the game’ CHARLES CUMMING
‘In Edith and Kim, Charlotte Philby brings to life a dangerous game of shadows that kept me reading late into the night. A dark, atmospheric and addictive novel’ CHRIS POWER, AUTHOR OF A LONELY MAN
‘Mother, lover, revolutionary, spy – Edith Tudor-Hart will have you in her thrall from the first page. Philby’s stunning fourth novel thrusts this former bit-player in the Cambridge Spy scandal to the centre stage where she belongs. Edith and Kim combines the authenticity of your favourite true crime podcast, the intrigue of a spy novel and the page-turning grip of a psychological thriller – all wrapped up in beautiful, evocative prose that transports the reader to shady corners of 1930s London and Vienna. Her best book yet’ ERIN KELLY
‘Blending SIS files and imagined letters from her grandfather, Philby shines a spotlight on Edith Tudor-Hart as activist, spy and often desperate single, working mother, juggling the needs of her neuro-divergent child while committed to her cause. Tense, poignant and intriguing, I was left feeling as if she had had to compromise far more than the men in her life’ SARAH VAUGHAN
‘Edith and Kim is unforgettable. It is both a fascinating exploration of a key moment in history and a stunning piece of fiction. Charlotte Philby’s portrayal of these events is simultaneously that of a remarkable novelist and a member of an extraordinary family’ HOLLY WATT
My debut novel PART OF THE FAMILY was Waterstones’ Thriller of the Month in May 2020 and an editor’s pick on Radio 4’s Open Book. You can read about it in this piece in The Observer. And this interview in The Telegraph, which also appeared on the front page of The Week. My second Novel A DOUBLE LIFE was one of New York Post’s best books for summer 2021, The Times’ Book of the Year 2020 and simultaneously The Observer’s Thriller of the Month. My third novel THE SECOND WOMAN was Mail on Sunday’s Best New Fiction and a thriller of the month in the Times.
Please see a sample of my (most positive) reviews below:
‘Superbly crafted with heart-stopping twists and chills galore. A new star has arrived in the thriller firmament’ – The Times, Book of the Month
‘Brilliant… A fast-paced thriller. It’s colourful, it’s deep, the characters are fascinating. A perfect summer read.” BBC Radio 4, Open Book
‘Everyone has an agenda in this intriguing exploration of deceit and duplicity, as Philby rachets up the paranoia to Highsmithian levels.’ Laura Wilson, The Guardian
‘A gripping novel that spans decades and continents… her thrillers have been a game-changer in the spy genre.’ The Daily Express
‘A Double Life confirms Charlotte Philby as the master of a sub-genre she basically invented, dealing in the dangerous area where working motherhood and international espionage collide. Heart-breaking, gripping and always beautifully written, I can’t wait to see what she does next.’ Erin Kelly
‘Dark and addictive and magnificent’ – Joanna Cannon
‘I fell into the vivid, frightening world Charlotte Philby creates so skilfully and didn’t resurface until long after I’d turned the last page. Her characters are so real you genuinely fret over their safety in their jobs and personal lives. Everything about this book feels as plausible as if it might happen tomorrow. She is a hugely original and talented writer.’ – Jane Casey
‘An enigmatic and slippery beast. . . a cool new generation of spy novel. Just as the characters play cat and mouse with one another, so does the author with her readers – it’s a guessing game right to the end and I turned the last page with my heart pounding.’ Louise Candlish, author of Our House
