Coffee with Hitler: The British Amateurs Who Tried to Civilise the Nazis

Product Information

Richard Davenport-Hines, TLS 'Spicer's book is a resounding success, retelling the fascinating history of the Anglo-German Fellowship.

The reason why this may be important is that Goering's planned trip to the UK, which was cancelled because the war broke out, was arranged by MI6. For a moment, it genuinely seemed as if amicable relations would persist between the two countries, thanks in part to the work of the Fellowship.

We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Literary Review 'This is a complex tale, but as skillfully narrated by Spicer, it moves along briskly. The central characters are Philip Conwell-Evans; Ernest Tennant OBE; Grahame Christie; and Sir Robert Vansittart.

Charles Spicer draws on newly discovered primary sources, shedding light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchill's approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair.This was accentuated by the accession of Edward VIII, a man who was described approvingly by Ribbentrop as “a kind of English National Socialist”. It is also not entirely clear what their own agenda really was - where they willing to give Germany a free hand in eastern Europe, where they anti-communists or did they want a milder form of Nazism with which they could along with. And so, the stage is set for confidences, twists, dramas, alliances, broken promises, miscommunication, and double-bluffs. and, in some circles, quiet satisfaction that a vigorous reformer had shaken up his country in an apparently effective and forward-looking fashion. This compelling book captures the double-edged nature of “one mainstay of British values” – giving “even the most blatantly disgusting people the benefit of the doubt.

When Hitler rose to power in the early 1930s, public reaction in Britain was not that of unalloyed horror.

Drawing on newly discovered primary sources, Charles Spencer sheds light on the early career of Kim Philby, Winston Churchill's approach to appeasement, the US entry into the war and the Rudolf Hess affair, in a groundbreaking reassessment of Britain's relationship with Nazi Germany. The outstanding narrative reads like a thriller, taking readers from the salons of stately homes and St James's clubs to the mass rallies and diplomatic backrooms of Nazi Germany. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Darren O'Byrne, History Today 'This compelling book captures the double-edged nature of "one mainstay of British values" - giving "even the most blatantly disgusting people the benefit of the doubt. Caroline Sanderson, Bookseller 'Charles Spicer reveals the bold attempt of a handful of British intelligence agents to infiltrate and civilise the Nazi hierarchy.