New Edinburgh-based book offers fascinating insight into gritty reality of Military Intelligence

A former member of the highly secretive British Military Intelligence is publishing his debut novel, A Pansy Resting on its Laurels: Private, next month, which provides an authentic and heartfelt insight into the lives of ordinary people working in an extraordinary job.

Everyone has heard of MI5 and MI6, but what about just plain MI? Private tells the story of the complex world of Military Intelligence from the ground up, offering a unique and intriguing glimpse into a world privy only to a select few.

Drawing on his own lived experience in the British Military and Military Intelligence, author Joseph Lindsay sheds new light on the as yet unseen parts of life as a spy, opening readers eyes to a hidden world with his deftly written prose and gripping story.

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Joseph Lindsay moved to Edinburgh in the late 1960s where he attended Wardie primary school and The Royal High School. Whilst at school, he got his first taste literature and the desire to write never went away.

Private by Joseph LindsayPrivate by Joseph Lindsay
Private by Joseph Lindsay

After leaving Napier University, he joined The Royal Scots as a Private on an ‘O’ type commission with the intention of becoming an officer. After leaving the British Army, he worked for a while in Africa and then found himself back in Edinburgh where, by pure chance, he joined the Territorial Army Intelligence Corps.

He served more than 20 years with the Edinburgh-based unit and was mobilised into the regular Army for the Global War on Terror after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001. He went on to serve with the British Army in Afghanistan and afterwards spent four-and-a-half years in Iraq helping with the reconstruction of the war-torn country.

A Pansy Resting on its Laurels: Private is the first in a series of six novels telling the story of joining the British Army and rising through the ranks as a member of British Military Intelligence.

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The books are a fictionalised version of real events, many of which take place in Scotland, particularly around Edinburgh, so those who know the city will instantly recognise places and names.

A Pansy Resting on its Laurels: Private will be released on February 25 and is available to pre-order now with Amazon, Waterstones, WHSmith, and all major retailers.

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