The writer Doris Lessing lived for may years in what is now called Zimbabwe. She had communist leanings and that was cause for the British Secret Service to follow her closely, over a period of twenty years. The files have been opened. 

What happens when a young person, an adolescent, will meet a famous writer? It happened to the 15 year old Rebecca Swift. Her parents had invited for dinner the writer Doris Lessing, who had lived for many years in Rhodesia.

In the colonial days and during the cold war the communists were perceived to be the enemy (not without reason). The world of spying was an extensive world, that not only focused on politicians but also on writers and singers. One of the writers who was followed was Doris Lessing, who spent many years in … Continue reading mi5 spied on doris

Often there is a close relationship between politics and writing. Some writers get kicked into jail. Others prefer to leave the country. Some get followed by the secret service. This following got the writer Doris Lessing. For many years she was followed by the British MI5 due to her communist leanings.

A book on books and writers. It was published many years ago and now, reshaped, put on the market again.  One of the writers that have been interviewed for this book is the Nobel prize winner Doris Lessing. She lived for two and a half decades in Rhodesia and often in her writing this place … Continue reading my favourite books: doris lessing