Name: Elizabeth Atwood
University Affiliation and Position: Hood College, Associate Professor
Book Title: The Liberation of Marguerite Harrison, America’s First Female Foreign Intelligence Agent
- Describe the focus of your book.
This biography is the story of a middle-aged Baltimore socialite and newspaper reporter who in 1918 became America’s first female foreign intelligence agent. Although nearly forgotten now, Harrison was one of the most interesting American women of the early twentieth century. She became an intelligence agent at a time when many thought it was unseemly for women to even vote. Nevertheless, she traveled to some of the most dangerous parts of the world from 1918-1925, including war-torn Germany, Poland, Russia, Asia, and the Middle East, collecting information that helped guide U.S. foreign policy in the aftermath of World War I. She helped identify suspected Red agents, located Americans held in Bolshevik prisons, and scouted economic investment opportunities in Siberia and Iran.
The Russian Bolsheviks arrested her three times and imprisoned her twice for espionage, but she managed to escape the firing squad thanks to her charm and family connections. She also founded a Baltimore children’s hospital, created a woman geographers’ society, and saved the life of King Kong creator Merian Cooper.
- How did you come across this subject? Why did it interest you?
I first learned about her when I was a reporter at the Baltimore Sun. She was part of the folklore of the newspaper and her photograph was mounted outside a conference room. I thought it was shocking, even scandalous, for a reporter to work as an intelligence agent. A few years ago, when I had the chance to go on sabbatical, I decided to find out more about this fascinating and controversial figure.
- What archives or research materials did you use?
I began with Harrison’s own autobiographies and then compared her account with those of records in the National Archives and the Archives of the Russian Federal Security Bureau. Although she left very few letters, her files in the National Archives are fairly extensive and include some of her spy reports. In Moscow I was able to see her prison records, which included copies of her interrogations. I also read the articles she wrote for the Baltimore Sun and Evening Sun, accounts by contemporaries who knew her and interviewed her granddaughter, who lives in the Baltimore area.
- How does your book relate to journalism history? How is it relevant to the present?
Marguerite Harrison considered herself above all a newspaper woman and her espionage was carried out with the full knowledge and cooperation of her editors at the Baltimore Sun and the Associated Press. Some historians believe the scandal that erupted when her spy activities were revealed played a role in the American Society of Newspaper Editor’s adoption of a code of ethics in 1922.
I argue that her most important contribution was that she set the precedent for the American female intelligence officer. Prior to the Military Intelligence Division hiring Harrison, American officials were reluctant to hire women, believing they could not be trusted with overseas military assignments. The Europeans had no such reservations and frequently employed women to pry information from unsuspecting targets. Most famous of these was Mata Hari. Harrison was different. She persuaded the director of the Military Intelligence Division to hire her based on her knowledge of European culture and languages. She employed her keen observation skills in writing insightful intelligence reports.
- What advice you have for other historians working/starting on book projects.
My best advice is to look for a good story that holds your interest because you’ll be living with it for quite a while. In my case, I spent years trying to figure out Marguerite Harrison. She was not very likeable in many ways. She had an affair with her sister’s husband, abandoned her son, worked as a double agent, and betrayed other journalists. But I found her fascinating and tried to understand what motivated her to do what she did.
