I  have  in  front  of   me  a  “withdrawn”  library  book  written  by  Maxwell  Knight entitled “Be a Nature Detective” (Frederick Warne & Co 1968). On 24 June 1968 – some five months after the author of the book died – the book was borrowed from Derbyshire County Library for the very first time. I wonder if  that reader ever realised that he/she had once read the works of  one of  Britain’s most accomplished spy handlers and whether they had gone  on  to  become  a  nature  detective?

I  hope  so.