This is a really good spy story, unlike so many that are full of unbelievable contrivances, fascinating both for the historical details, and for the character development, and for the sense of place that the author does so well. Highly recommended!

“Kill the traitor! Kill the Jew!” These words rang out on the streets of Paris on the fifth of January 1895. As Captain Alfred Dreyfus was publicly degraded after being found guilty of espionage by a court martial. Dreyfus, a young artillery captain in the French army was accused of passing along military secrets to the German nation. Among those convinced of his guilt was a Major Georges Picquart. Picquart had been promoted to the head of the “Statistics Section.” This was the name of the military counter intelligence agency. Among his many duties his superiors told him to keep an eye out on the Dreyfus case. They wanted to make sure that no appeal would ever be able to stand.

Picquart did as he was told. That led to a problem. As Picquart began to close in on another suspected spy he began to have doubts about the evidence used to convict Dreyfus. Before long he asked too many questions and was himself the target of the military establishment. Eventually the whole of France would be drawn into this affair and the repercussions would still be felt over a century later.

This is the story that bestselling author Robert Harris set out to tell. An Officer and A Spy is told in the first person by Colonel Picquart. The book is very well written with meticulous attention to detail. The world of late nineteenth century Paris comes vividly to life. We meet a fascinating cast of characters. In addition to the military officers we also meet Emile Zola, George Clemenceau, and many other influential figures from this era.

One of the most important aspects of the Dreyfus Affair is the that it served as a focal point for the rising anti-Semitism of the period. Harris covers this quite well, He brings out the open hostility of many in the military towards Jewish officers. I found one of his footnotes rather chilling when he pointed out that the officer in charge of the initial Dreyfus investigation was the father of the Vichy official in charge of Jewish affairs during the German occupation. In many ways the Dreyfus was the first glimpse of what was to come in the next century.

This is a great novel. As always, Harris keeps the action moving and the characters interesting. I highly recommend this book.

This fictional account of the Dreyfus Affair was lent to me by a friend who, knowing my work on arbitrary detention within the context of the War on Terror, could not recommend it highly enough - to the extent that he posted his copy for me to read.

I was not familiar with the incident, but the feeling, the texture, the detail were all familiar to an extent that I had not been prepared for.

The book opens with discussions around a national security case that is in part heard in secret so as to exclude the accused from knowing the evidence against him. What follows is a web of lies and cover-ups that exist solely to protect institutions from public disgrace, rather than any commitment to the truth. It is a story about what happens when we allow those who are fearful of others, permit their bigotry to define their actions.

This is not a book set in our time, but in so many ways it is about our time.

3.5

Wonderful historical fiction that also meets the Megan thriller criteria, set in 1890’s Paris.

I picked this book up on a lark and was very pleasantly surprised! A great read by all accounts, the narrator did a great job overall and handled all of the French words and phrases with aplomb. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction, especially the ones based closely on true stories.

Really enjoyed this book. I like the details and the description. It's not one of those page turning books, but one that really takes time to develop the story and the characters. Other than that, its interesting to see how this historical fiction is developed. It's not simply a recollection of events, but writing from the point of view of one of the main characters; something which makes it stand out.

This was my first miss for Robert Harris’s books. It gets an extra star for the historical research, but this one was dull and repetitive and seemingly endless, and the audiobook narration was overly florid.

8,5/10