Stalin's Apostles by Antonia Senior.jpg
Stalin's Apostles by Antonia Senior.jpg

Stalin's Apostles by Antonia Senior

from $13.99
Hardcover:

Five Cambridge friends betrayed their country—and helped Stalin gain half of Europe.

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, with Kirkus and the Christian Science Monitor praising its "deep research and dazzling writing."

Rent new hardcover on Trove: $13.99 - Each rental copy can be rented for 30 days. If you love the book and decide to keep it, the remaining balance applies. More information below.

Buy new hardcover on Trove: $35.00

____________________________________________

About the book:

Antonia Senior traces the Cambridge Five—Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—from their idealistic student days at Cambridge into the heart of British intelligence, where their secret loyalty to Stalin's Soviet Union reshaped the balance of power in postwar Europe.

Drawing on newly available archives across the United States, Britain, Lithuania, Albania, and Poland, Senior reconstructs how five brilliant young men convinced themselves that betrayal was a moral act, and how their choices fed directly into Stalin's expanding empire.

A former Times journalist and historian, Senior brings a reporter's eye for pace and a scholar's command of the archive, turning a familiar espionage story into something newly urgent and precise.

Stalin's Apostles reads like a thriller while asking a serious question: how do the most privileged and well-educated among us come to serve tyranny, and what does it cost the rest of us when they do?

Five Cambridge friends betrayed their country—and helped Stalin gain half of Europe.

Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing, with Kirkus and the Christian Science Monitor praising its "deep research and dazzling writing."

Rent new hardcover on Trove: $13.99 - Each rental copy can be rented for 30 days. If you love the book and decide to keep it, the remaining balance applies. More information below.

Buy new hardcover on Trove: $35.00

____________________________________________

About the book:

Antonia Senior traces the Cambridge Five—Kim Philby, Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—from their idealistic student days at Cambridge into the heart of British intelligence, where their secret loyalty to Stalin's Soviet Union reshaped the balance of power in postwar Europe.

Drawing on newly available archives across the United States, Britain, Lithuania, Albania, and Poland, Senior reconstructs how five brilliant young men convinced themselves that betrayal was a moral act, and how their choices fed directly into Stalin's expanding empire.

A former Times journalist and historian, Senior brings a reporter's eye for pace and a scholar's command of the archive, turning a familiar espionage story into something newly urgent and precise.

Stalin's Apostles reads like a thriller while asking a serious question: how do the most privileged and well-educated among us come to serve tyranny, and what does it cost the rest of us when they do?

  • Publisher: PublicAffairs

    Title: Stalin's Apostles: The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire

    Author: Antonia Senior

    On Sale Date: July 7, 2026

    ISBN-13: 9781541704381

    ISBN-10: 154170438X

    Format: Hardcover

    Retail Price: $35.00 USD

    BISAC: History / Europe / Russia & the Former Soviet Union

    Page Count: 480

    Dimensions: 9.6 in H | 7.1 in W | 1.6 in T

    Weight: 1.6 lb

  • Antonia Senior studied history at Cambridge and spent thirteen years at The Times, where she served as its historical fiction reviewer for over a decade and twice chaired the judging panel for the Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown award. She is the author of three historical novels and hosted The Spymasters Podcast; she now co-hosts The History Book Buffs. Stalin's Apostles is her first work of nonfiction.

  • Readers are calling it gripping, meticulous, and revelatory:

    • Early readers describe Stalin's Apostles as the definitive account of the Cambridge Five.

    • Reviewers praise its archival rigor paired with thriller-like pacing.

    • Early readers call it essential reading for understanding Soviet influence in the West.

    • Booksellers highlight its access to newly declassified material across three continents.

This book is for you if:

  • You’re fascinated by the Cambridge Five and how ordinary students became Soviet spies.

  • You want deeply-researched history that reads with the pace of a thriller.

  • You’re drawn to stories of ideology, class, and betrayal inside elite institutions.

  • You want Cold War history told through the people who actually shaped it.

  • You appreciate historians who mine newly declassified archives for the real story.

Trove is different.

We rent new books.

How Renting Works

Step 1

Choose a Book

Rent what you like. But if we’re missing something, let us know — we can get it for you.

Step 2

Receive it

Three delivery options.

Simple, hassle-free, and delivered straight to your door.

Step 3

Read and Decide

If you want to return it — no worries!

We’ll send you a new return label and instructions for an easy return.

Simply ship it back in either the box it came in or any box. 

Step 4

Return it

Read it and decide if you love it!

If you keep it, you will be charged the remainder price for the book, as if you bought it outright.

Then it’s yours!

Learn About Renting

We expect you may have some questions…

  • We believe hardcover books are simply too expensive, especially new releases. Trove gives you a lower-cost option to read new books immediately. Rent first, then return it when you are done — or keep it if you love it!

  • Renting from Trove lets you read a new hardcover without paying the full purchase price upfront. Choose Rent New, read the book for up to 30 days per copy, then return it or keep it. If you keep it, the remaining balance applies as if you bought it outright.

  • Yes! Trove offers new hardcover books for rent or purchase. Renting gives readers access to new releases at a lower upfront price than buying the hardcover outright.

  • You own it! If you rent a book and decide you want to keep it, the remaining purchase balance will apply. No action is needed.

    This lets you start with the rental price and only pay the rest if you feel the book belongs on your shelf.

  • Each rental copy is kept for 30 days, with a maximum of 90 days. When your rental period ends, simply return the book using the return instructions included with your order. The book should be returned in very good condition so another reader can enjoy it!

  • Trove is based in Washington, D.C., but we ship anywhere within the United States! Each shipping option and costs are shown at checkout before you place your order.

  • If a rental book is lost, not returned, or returned with major damage, the remaining purchase balance may still apply. If something happens to your rental, contact Trove as soon as possible so we can work with you to resolve the issue.

Have more questions?

We’re new, we get it!

Reach out to us and someone will get back to you shortly.

FAQs
Contact us