John Murray picks up Milton's 'exhilarating' Stalin tale

Historian Giles Milton's "exhilarating" wartime story Vodka with Stalin: The Allied Mission to Wartime Moscow has gone to John Murray.

Nick Davies, m.d. of John Murray Press, bought UK and Commonwealth rights including e-book and audio from Georgia Garrett at RCW. It will be published in spring 2024. Vodka with Stalin has also been acquired in the US by Caroline Zancan, senior editor of Henry Holt. 

“Vodka with Stalin: The Allied Mission to Wartime Moscow will be the latest in a stellar line-up of narrative history books from Milton which have now surpassed the one-million copy mark and include Nathaniel’s Nutmeg, White Gold, Samurai William, Russian Roulette, D-Day, Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and, most recently, Checkmate in Berlin,” John Murray said. 

“Beginning with a secret diplomatic mission to Moscow in 1941, Vodka with Stalin tells the remarkable, high-stakes, four-year story of the Allied attempts to keep the Red Army fighting on the Eastern Front and to prevent Stalin from striking a deal with Hitler. As President Roosevelt privately admitted, the failure of their mission would lead to the defeat of the Soviet Union and — ultimately — the Western Allies.” 

John Murray will be reissuing Milton’s 20th-century titles — Russian Roulette, Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and D-Day — with new covers for 2022. These books will sit alongside the paperback edition of Checkmate in Berlin: The First Battle of the Cold War (John Murray, April 2022). John Murray’s campaign for the paperback launch next April will include paid social, digital display and print advertising celebrating reader reviews, plus creative partnerships with museums and institutes “to bring the history to life".

It has also been announced this week that award-winning writer Clive Bradley has been hired for the television adaptation of Churchill’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (John Murray). Bradley has been signed up by Academy Award-nominated producer Kit Golden, Tom Mangan and Mark Hollinger, who have secured the TV rights to the book.

Davies said: “Vodka with Stalin is an exhilarating wartime story: part big-time adventure, part psychological thriller, it offers a wholly fresh appraisal of how the allies were able to defeat Nazi Germany, as well as giving new insights into the personality of the enigmatic Soviet leader. It is a brilliant companion piece to Checkmate in Berlin — a book that has drawn comparisons with [John] le Carré's writing — and Milton’s other 20th-century histories and we’re thrilled to be publishing it at John Murray.” 

Milton, whose work has been published in 25 languages, said: “I am delighted to be working once again with Nick Davies and his excellent team at John Murray. Vodka with Stalin is an eye-stretching and hitherto untold story which will be built on ground-breaking new research. I look forward to breathing life into its trio of principal characters.”