Burnside is exactly as you describe -- tragically heroic.
He's a bit too much a cold warrior, proving that we need checks
and balances such as the FCO, JIB, etc.
Wellingham is a fascinating character, though I believe the
relationship between Burnside and Peele is the best of all. There
is a great deal of subtle humor (or should I say humour) mixed in.
I have only read one spy novel in my life but understand
that in addition to intelligence (D-INT) there is also a counter-
intelligence function in MI6. I never heard of a D-CINT. Did I
miss something? Perhaps Burnside took this job after the conference.
> From owner-sandbaggers@skylee.com Sun Sep 17 17:46:22 1995
> From: "JONATHAN TRACY" <RASSILON@uhura.trinity.toronto.edu>
> To: sandbaggers@skylee.com
> Date: Sun, 17 Sep 1995 20:09:57 -0400
> Subject: Burnside as hero
> Priority: normal
> X-Mailer: Pegasus Mail v3.22
> Sender: owner-sandbaggers@skylee.com
> Content-Length: 483
>
> I don't know if this is actually an active list--I haven't seen any
> posts since I joined a week ago. I just wondered if everyone agreed
> with me that Burnside was, fundamentally, heroic (if tragically so)--
> sacrificing personal happiness and the comfort of an unburdened
> conscience for his ideal of duty. I was also wondering if everyone
> else enjoyed as much as I did the friendship/suspicion/manipulation
> interaction between Burnside and his ex-father-in-law.
>
> Jonathan Tracy
>