The Second Oldest Profession – Spies and Spying in the Twentieth Century by Phillip Knightley (2003)
The first chapter of The Second Oldest Profession – Spies and Spying in the Twentieth Century by Phillip Knightley (2003, 2nd Edition, London, Vintage) contains a description of the interaction between spy fiction (particularly that of Le Queux) and the setting up of MI5 & SIS (MI6).
The Second Oldest Profession: The Spy as Bureaucrat, Patriot, Fantasist and Whore, Andre Deutsch (London) and as The Second Oldest Profession: Spies and Spying in the Twentieth Century, W. W. Norton (New York) is a comprehensive and controversial history of espionage in our times. The first permanent intelligence agency was created in 1909, and within a few years all the great powers had similar agencies. Concentrating on Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, the book reveals why these services are not worth the enormous sums they cost, are not effective in predicting enemy actions, and cause more trouble than they prevent. [Publisher’s description]