Surveillance, Security, and Wartime Propaganda: John Lehmann at the BBC

Abstract

John Lehmann was one of the most influential figures to emerge in 1930s British literary life, with his editorial work at venues such as New Writing and the Hogarth Press connecting him to many of the key cultural networks of the era. During the Second World War he was blocked from staff roles in intelligence and information agencies, but still managed to undertake a range of broadcasting for the BBC. Drawing on the archives of MI5, the BBC, and the Political Warfare Executive, this article sheds new light on Lehmann's war work and the often-covert debates occurring between agencies as they assessed Lehmann's potential for such work. Through this, this article shows how tensions over politics, sexuality, and class affected Lehmann's access to the BBC, and more broadly it illustrates the roles of state security and propaganda agencies in the recruitment of prominent authors to new wartime broadcasting networks.