Secret Kingdom

First published in 1999, Secret Kingdom was the second panel in Francis Bennett's Cold War trilogy. 'For all of us now the Cold War is history... What interested me as a writer was how we survived. What went on behind the scenes?... I went looking for my own fictional explanations for historical events... In Secret Kingdom, which takes place in Hungary in the dangerous summer months [of 1956] that led directly to the Revolution, I knew that the British ambassador's warnings of trouble building up had been ignored by the Foreign Office in London. Why? What were the consequences of such an extraordinary and irresponsible act?' Francis Bennett 'The Cold War here is not just a political but also a psychological landscape... In picking out a personal history from the greater tapestry unfolding in the background Bennett has produced a literary thriller of considerable merit.' The Times

Francis Bennett was educated at Radley and Cambridge. He worked in publishing for nearly twenty years, finally as the Group Managing Director of Thomson Books. In 1987 he co-founded Book Data, the first bibliographic agency anywhere to introduce full information about titles. He was its Managing Director from 1987 until 2005 when he was appointed Chairman. He retired from Nielsen BookData in 2006. For many years Francis Bennett served as the Vice-Chairman of the Book Development Council, the export department of the UK'S Publishers Association. He has Chairman of the Society of Bookmen and has served on many other boards, committees and panels. He has received a British Book Award 'Lifetime Achievement'. He now acts as a publishing consultant.