“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.
Those readers who are expecting any exciting tales of daring do from MI5 will be left sorely disappointed. This is not a book to read if you want to know the inside story of MI5, indeed, it is highly unlikely a book spilling state secrets would be published. Worryingly, the book does indicate the hoops Stella had to jump through to get the book about her life published. Whilst she was encouraged to write her life story by some of her former colleagues, unsurprisingly, the thought of such a high-profile member of MI5 writing their autobiography left some of her colleagues reeling with the thought that she would be stupid enough to put the security of the country at risk. Reading the Epilogue, not only did this woman work hard to get to the top of her career, but she also fought hard to obtain the requisite approval to get her book published.
This book was originally published back in 2001, only a few days before the tragedy of 11th September (or 9/11) unfolded. In the preface of the edition I read, she notes that whilst she was not surprised by the events that occurred, she was surprised by the reaction to it.
“Terrorism did not begin on September 11th 2001 and it will not end there. Though the method of attack was new and the results particularly horrific, September 11th was just the latest stage in a phenomenon that has gripped the modern world since at least the 1960s.”
This statement is from a woman who had worked through the cold war and the IRA troubles of Northern Ireland, who understood, that however hard you worked to be one step ahead of the ‘baddies’ the ‘war on terrorism’ cannot be won outright. Whilst it would be wonderful to know all the in’s and out’s of her job at MI5, for obvious reasons it is information she cannot publish. How much of her original work was edited out of her book is unknown, but even though she remains tight lipped about all the secrets she can tell, this book is still a fascinating insight into how a woman made it to the top of a male dominated industry back in the 1960’s.
This is a conventionally written autobiography with Rimington recounting her life in chronological order. We start at the very beginning, May 1935, when Stella was born. The world was still a safe place, her father had a steady job and all was well. Within the next four years all that was set to change. By the age of four, war had broken out and the family moved from their home in London to escape the bombs.
“On a May day in 1940, when I was just five, I had my first experience of the ‘need to know’ principle in action.”
Little could the five-year-old Stella know that this was going to be the mainstay of her future career.
Her story progresses through her childhood, and her education, where women didn’t choose university courses with a career in mind, they were encouraged to take academic studies such as English and History instead. She obtained a degree in English which helped her obtain her first job as an archivist. Her various skills were noticed and found to be useful as she turned her hand into becoming a Junior Assistant Officer for MI5 in 1969.
Her life in India was thought-provoking; she clearly was an intelligent woman, yet she was leading the life of a diplomat’s wife. The expectations of what she should and shouldn’t do in comparison to her male colleagues were made very clear. And so it was heart-warming to know that encouraging her to take part in plays and performances in India would assist her future career "a fairly well-developed imagination and good amateur dramatic skills" helped her to become the Deputy Head of the Soviet bloc intelligence section, Assistant Director of the counter subversive branch, and Director of Counter Terrorism before finally taking the helm as Director General of MI5.
But it wasn’t just her imagination and acting skills that helped her move upwards in what was still a male dominated field. She quickly learnt the skills that would command respect from her male colleagues, to “speak up and be confident (read: be assertive but don't whine or be obnoxious), do good work and consistently, ask after the positions and responsibilities you want (read: closed mouths don't get fed), be prepared, be persistent, and don't be afraid to take risks (read: don't say a reactive "no"...take on positions or responsibilities that seem "frightening" or too much or even too dull, you can do it).”
When we watch spy programmes like “Slow Horses” or James Bond films, the world of spymasters and espionage looks very exciting, but in Stella’s version of events, her route to the top was based on grit, determination and hard work. Whilst her career choices led to the breakdown of her marriage, and missing out on many of the joys of motherhood, with lateral thinking she managed to juggle being a mother and keeping her career a secret from her two daughters.
This book reflects the changing attitudes of society throughout the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and now in 2024, it is positive to see how far society has changed, however, it was equally frustrating that women still face a world of sexism and discrimination. When it was announced in the press that Stella Rimington had become the new head of MI5, they didn’t seem overly concerned about anything other than what she waswearing – a statement that still rings true.
This might be a book that recounts much of Stella Rimington’s personal life in an emotionless, factual manner, but it is a highly absorbing tale of one woman’s rise to the top and the remarkable life that she has had.
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Memoir, Politics, Espionage
Release Date: 1st September 2002
Publisher: Random House UK
Pages: 320
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