At the time of his death Eric Hobsbawm was the most famous historian in the world. He not only wrote history was also witness to it, from the Communist uprising in Europe to revolution in Cuba where he was Che Guevara’s interpreter. He was instrumental in the birth of New Labour and was also a jazz journalist for The New Statesman. This is the story of his family life. Marlene Hobsbawm grew up in a comfortable middle class Jewish home in Vienna but that life was shattered by the rise of Nazism. Age five she fled the country with her family and settled in the UK. A talented linguist, Marlene worked post-war for the UN in Italy helping to rebuild the country and then onto war torn Congo. Returning to the UK she met Eric Hobsbawm. This is the story of their roller coaster life together, much of it spent under the scrutiny of M15.