Oh, I certainly watched 'Reilly: Ace of Spies' with keen interest myself. Not only for the artistry, but the fascinating subject, being a long time James Bond fan.
The Wikipedia article on Sidney Reilly is quite good, with an extensive bibliography. He certainly has captured people's imaginations over the years. I wonder if Ian Fleming had not mentioned Reilly he would have been as infamous? I've thought that apochryphal stories go with the territory in regards to espionage. It also occurred to me that espionage agents need to be decadent as there is no telling what they might be required to do. They must use their opponents' tactics against them, as with police for example, they must often use criminal tactics, which can easily corrupt. Sidney Reilly was a quite intelligent unscrupulous person from a troubled milieu who was somewhat desperate. I imagine his real story is lost, and might have been even during his lifetime. Reilly was also quite romantic. He allegedly collected artifacts of Napolean, a hobby as an admirer, but also presumably as investment. I'm sure his romantic nature also made him psychotic. I also imagined that he might not have been all that certain about his past, what with his continual need for a cover story, and self deceit to appease his conscience.
He certainly captured my imagination. He reminds me of Aleister Crowley, a similar contemporary British figure.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_Reilly
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