A Very Dangerous Woman : The Lives,. Loves and Lies of Russia’s Most Seductive Spy
Deborah McDonald, Jeremy Dronfield

Book Reviews

• "a fast-paced story of European intrigue."
  Publishers Weekly
• "Intriguing."
  Kirkus
• "Brave and multi-faceted, a mosaic monument to a mistress of deceit."
  Russia Beyond the Headlines
• "In this richly romantic biography they also create an artistic, novelistic effect in the telling of her story as, perhaps, she might have liked it to be written. It would certainly have amused her as much as it will entertain the reader."
  The Herald
• "A rollicking good read ."
  Country Life
• "...a well-researched and well-ordered biography ."
  Spectator
• "...this richly romantic biography... they also create an artistic, novelistic effect in the telling of her story as, perhaps, she might have liked it to be written. It would certainly have amused her as much as it will entertain the reader."
  Herald
• "A thrilling new biography.. The authors manage to describe Budberg’s complex motives, promiscuous subterfuge and possible betrayals without forfeiting the readers’ sympathy…. This biography is appropriately brave and multi-faceted, a mosaic monument to a mistress of deceit."
  Russia Beyond the Headlines
• "The lives, loves and lies of Russia’s most seductive spy come under scrutiny in this spiced-up biography."
  The Guardian
• "McDonald and Dronfield convincingly capture Moura's perilous sensuality."
  Wall Street Journal
• "In “A Dangerous Woman,” Ms. McDonald and Mr. Dronfield convincingly capture Moura’s perilous sensuality."
  Wall Street Journal
• "This often riveting biography "
  Independent
• "Drawing on extensive new material, including a released file kept by MI5 from 1920-1951, this is an absorbing biography of Russia’s most seductive spy. "
  Daily Mail
• "An astoundingly unbelievable life well retold in this gripping new biography. Well-written too. The book’s account of the Lockhart Affair is particularly fascinating, recreating the paranoid, anti-Western world that was Soviet Russia in the late 19-teens and early 1920s."
  Russian Life magazine
• " The authors draw on diaries, correspondence, and newly released files to create a powerful study that attracts sympathy toward their subject. ...This book is in good company with recent works about espionage such as Ben Macintyre’s A Spy Among Friends and Karen Abbott’s Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy. VERDICT Recommended for fans of espionage and strong-willed women as well as biography connoisseurs"
  Library Journal
• "a fast-paced story of European intrigue, featuring an enigmatic, strong-willed woman who married twice and whose lovers included Alexander Kerensky, Maxim Gorky, and H.G. Wells. "
  Publishers Weekly
• "A Very Dangerous Woman pulls together all the chimerical threads of Moura’s life into a well-written and carefully annotated biography that often reads like a romantic thriller – with photos of all the key real-life characters. I’d recommend it to anyone, especially those interested in the Russian Revolution, its soiled aftermath, or the elusive Moura.  "
  Historical Novels Review
• "For anyone intrigued by the mysterious underside of twentieh century history, it will be a valuable read."
  The Wellsian
• "  In their well-written biography, based on recently released MI5 records, family letters and unpublished memoirs, they present a convincing portrait of a talented survivor…A Very Dangerous Woman reads like a Russian novel, centered on a life whose truth is stranger than fiction. "
  Intelligencer