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January 16, 2023

The Odessa-Born Jew-Turned British Secret Agent Who Might Have Inspired James Bond

Rosenblum, ace of spies.

A native of tsarist Russia, Sigmund Rosenblum left for Britain in 1890s, where he took the name Sidney Reilly and at some point began working for a precursor of MI6 (the UK equivalent of the CIA). Thus began a career of espionage and intrigue that, according to some, was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels. It is also the subject of Benny Morris’s Sidney Reilly: Master Spy, which tries to sift through legend and speculation to determine the facts of Reilly’s exploits. A.E. Smith writes in his review:

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January 16, 2023

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  5. The Odessa-Born Jew-Turned British Secret Agent Who Might Have Inspired James Bond

    Rosenblum, ace of spies.