About Dr Claire Hubbard-Hall
At the end of 2023, I took a big risk and left academia to pursue my dream of being a writer. I published my first spy history book in October 2024 and have not looked back. My feet haven’t touched the ground as the response to Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence has been incredible. I was interviewed for ITV News at Ten and invited to talk on BBC Radio Five Live. The press ran stories on the identity of the ‘real’ Miss Moneypenny, with MI6 ‘secretary’ Kathleen Pettigrew appearing on the front page of the Guardian newspaper, as well as a centre spread in the Daily Star and articles in the Sunday Telegraph and the Daily Mail. Many more amazing things followed, which included a window display at the prestigious Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly London (as well as the St. Pancras shop). Not bad for a ‘Boffin’ as described by the Daily Star.
The hamster wheel hasn’t stopped, as the book was published in the USA and Canada on 25 February 2025 (under a different title, Secret Servants of the Crown). I am enjoying every minute of the promotional work, as the remarkable ladies featured in the book deserve as much recognition as possible for their secret service. But many spy stories are waiting to be told, and I intend to publish some here on Substack. Other tantalising tales will be saved for future books, which you will be the first to know about. You may also want to check out my website www.clairehubbardhall.com
So, your mission, if you choose to accept (sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun), is to support the discovery of new stories about men and women who did their very best to cover their tracks. Spying is, by nature, a game of smoke and mirrors, but no one can truly disappear.
Join me, the spy historian, as I explore the long history of secret intelligence never intended for your eyes.
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