“Stella Rimington worked for MI5 between 1969 and 1996, one of the most turbulent and dramatic periods in global history. Working in all the main fields of the Service's responsibilities - counter-subversion, counter-espionage and counter-terrorism - she became successively Director of all three branches, and finally Director-General of MI5 in 1992.
She was the first woman to hold the post and the first Director-General whose name was publicly announced on appointment. In Open Secret, she continues her work of opening up elements of the work of our security services to public scrutiny, revealing the surprising culture of MI5 and shedding light on some of the most fascinating events in 20th century history from the ultimate insider viewpoint.”
I suspect that this could be a ‘marmite’ type of book, which is a bit of a mean thing to say when it is a book about someone’s life. I really enjoyed it. It tells the remarkable story of how a woman managed to climb to the top ranks of the British Secret Service; however, it has been written in a style that is not the most engaging. By this, I mean the sentences are often long and rambling and need rereading several times to understand what point Stella is trying to convey to the reader. A lot of autobiographies are about celebrities; therefore you can ‘hear’ the voice of the writer in your head as you read. This can often help with understanding what point is being made and in what context the writer is mentioning it, as you would instinctively know what inflections they would make.
As I have never met, or indeed heard much about Stella before, I found it took a while to gel with her informative, but matter of fact telling of her life story. And what a life she has led! Stella Rimington has quite a dry sense of humour, she’s also a bit sarcastic, so I found her character rather endearing! I imagine a lifetime spent exasperated by ‘the men in suits,’ who think women can’t accomplish anything other than raise children and keep the canapés and light-hearted conversation flowing at corporate events, would make you somewhat sardonic.
