Greek Memories by Compton Mackenzie first edition 1932

 London: Cassell and Company, Limited, 1932
 
8vo., original publisher’s black cloth, ruled, decorated and lettered in gilt to spine; pp. [vi], vii-xi, [i], 587, [i]; together with black and white photograph frontispiece portrait; a few light spots and marks to edges and margins; corners and spine ends pushed; a very good copy, otherwise. 
 
First edition. 
 
Compton Mackenzie was a celebrated writer at the start of the Great War when he was recruited by the British Secret Services to run the Aegean Intelligence component of what later became known as MI6. These Greek Memories, a memoir of his time in the country, were published in 1932, and quickly sparked outrage for his exposure of secret documents naming agents in the field. Mackenzie was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act, and the book was swiftly recalled, with all remaining copies destroyed. By the time it was republished, a number of dangerous passages had been omitted, making this, the true first edition, rare indeed. 
 
An incredibly scarce work of wartime espionage.