Heather Salter uncovers a remarkable secret history of espionage and counterespionage, repression and resistance, corruption and courage, heartbreak and betrayal in Shanghai between the world wars. At the heart of this story lies the fate of Tatyana Moiseenko and Yakob Rudnik – known then only as Paul and Gertrud Ruegg – a couple arrested, tried, and imprisoned for running a clandestine communist spy ring. Against the backdrop of the battle between communism and anti-communism that would shape much of the twentieth century, this dramatic history provides a uniquely human perspective on the global volatility of the 1930s. Through Tatyana and Yakobs' eyes, Salter traces global police networks, MI6 in China, and the worldwide reach of the Comintern to shed light on the deep historical roots of antagonism between Russia, China, and the West.

‘A sweeping, high-stakes saga of spies and revolutionaries in the turmoil of 1930s East and Southeast Asia. The relentless quest by one man for the truth about his parents.’

Helen Fry - author of The White Lady

‘On of the great appeals and challenges of writing Shanghai’s history is that it belongs to so many countries and cultures. In The Shanghai Agents we get a compelling glimpse of a city and a time that is not at the pivot between two worlds, but at the intersection of many.’

James Carter - author of Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai

‘The covert world of international communism in the 1920s and 1930s was populated by dedicated, often mysterious agents, operating under multiple pseudonyms, their nationalities unclear. Shanghai, the vivid hub of commerce, imperialism, decadence and modernism in Asia, was also the hub for international communism. This engaging study gives human faces to two agents, the Rueggs, possibly Belgian, possibly Swiss, actually Soviets; he used eight name, she five. Ruegg was the name under which they were tried for espionage in a Chinese court in 1931. Using rare records the author gives us a compelling view of international communism at work. She unravels the wildly complicated, sometimes comical, often tragic lives of the agents, as they worked to provide funding, propaganda and information for nascent communist movements all over Asia. Their efforts to help China’s communists, holed up in the remote interior, were limited but their dedication to a cause that later betrayed them in Stalin’s purges, was unquestionable.’

Diana Lary - author of China's Republic

'Fascinating. Heather Salter has brought an extraordinary story to light, exposing the human idealism, naivety and terror inside the complex power politics of colonialism, communism and nationalism that shaped the 20th century.’

Clare Mulley - author of Agent Zo

‘In summer 1931 a Russian married couple, known as ‘the Noulens’, were arrested by British police in Shanghai, and charged with seeking to undermine the Chinese Nationalist government. Their arrest led to the exposure of an international network of Communist activists that stretched across East and Southeast Asia. In this clever and absorbing book, Heather Salter skilfully connects the individuals and organizations that were affected by the exposure, showing how their commitment to create a better world propelled them into a world of danger, deception, betrayal, murder, and repression at the hands of various colonial authorities. Her book is well researched, imaginatively conceived, and engagingly written.’

Steve Smith - author of Supernatural Politics: Mao Zedong and the Drive to Eliminate Religion in China, 1949–79

‘The Noulens Affair of 1931 has finally found its historian. Using archives from the Soviet Union, China, Taiwan, London, and Washington, Heather Salter unravels in vivid prose the complex communist, colonial, and intelligence networks that led to the arrest of two Communist International agents – Tatyana Moiseenko and Yakob Rudnik – in Shanghai that was world news at the time and shaped revolutions across East and Southeast Asia.’

Hans van de Ven - author of Blood Dawn: World War II and the Making of Modern Asia

‘Drawing on press accounts from the period, trial transcripts, and Russian archives, Salter has written what has to be the definitive account of this episode. She has also written a book that readers who are interested in modern Chinese history, Russian machinations in China, intelligence tradecraft, the Comintern, or a good spy stories will enjoy.’

Martin Petersen Source: The Cipher Brief