04-08-2019, 08:10 PM
About the spy story: taking into account late 19th c. conditions, I think it is very likely that V. was set free in Russia under the condition of going to London and spy on the Russian emigrants there, was turned arround by the British Secret Services or was working as a double agent. I would explain so much, including the Ethel Boole story and Anne Nill. And his success as a bookseller, that has set many people wondering. For example, it would be interesting to know if his BM contacts had Secret Service connections, they could have been laundering money. Many late 19th c. Scientific Institutions were involved in these operations. But as far as I know, the British files are kept secret even today.