The Bedbug

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 confidence of everyone from Soviet commissars to Gestapo Gruppenführer. Although his official codename was U35, he was better known as 'Klop', meaning 'Bedbug' – a name given to him by a very 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.