An Officer and a Spy - by Robert Harris (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: London: Hutchinson, 2013.

Book Synopsis

A whistle-blower. A witch hunt. A cover-up. Secret tribunals, out-of-control intelligence agencies, and government corruption. Welcome to 1890s Paris - From Robert Harris, the bestselling author of Conclave

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Winner of the Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction - Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award

Alfred Dreyfus has been convicted of treason, sentenced to life imprisonment on a far-off island, and publicly stripped of his rank. Among the witnesses to his humiliation is Georges Picquart, an ambitious military officer who believes in Dreyfus's guilt as staunchly as any member of the public. But when he is promoted to head of the French counter-espionage agency, Picquart finds evidence that a spy still remains at large in the military--indicating that Dreyfus is innocent. As evidence of the most malignant deceit mounts and spirals inexorably toward the uppermost levels of government, Picquart is compelled to question not only the case against Dreyfus but also his most deeply held beliefs about his country, and about himself.

Review Quotes

Winner of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

British National Book Awards--Popular Fiction Book of the Year

"Outstanding . . . Finds its chilling thrills in the unlikeliest of places." --USA Today

"[A] superb historical thriller. . . . Thick with scenes of code-breaking, covert surveillance, hairsbreadth escapes and violent death." --The Wall Street Journal

"Harris has, with this novel, taken [Le Carré's] place as the master of making documents and scraps of paper, the details of painstaking intelligence work, into drama. " --The Daily Beast

"[Harris] outdoes himself. The period details are pitch-perfect . . . and the action pulses with intensity." --The Miami Herald

"A gripping tale." --The New York Times

"Mesmerizing. . . . The Dreyfus affair remains astonishing, and this exceptional piece of popular fiction does it justice."
--The Washington Post

"A thrilling page-turner. . . . Thick with espionage, daring and cruel turns of fate."
--New York Daily News

"A crisp, fast-paced drama. . . . From one of the great scandals of the late 19th century, Harris has written a novel which is true to the facts, scrupulously so, but reads like a combination of Le Carré at his best and Conan Doyle writing about Sherlock Holmes."
--The Daily Beast

"Robert Harris's novel speaks to our times in its examination of the potential dangers of military intelligence."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"A compelling narrative of state corruption. . . . While finely attuned to modern resonances of surveillance, cultural identity and patriotic loyalty, Harris stays true to the atmosphere and morals of the period."
--The Guardian (UK)

"A master storyteller at the top of his game. . . . The echoes of our own time are deafening. But Harris is far too smart to labor the point. He just drives his story forward, marshalling his cast of fools and knaves, soldiers and spies, dodgy handwriting experts and discreet mistresses, to superlative effect."
--Mail on Sunday (UK)

"Claustrophobically gripping. . . . Written in elegant prose reminiscent of the 19th-century historical novel, but its form is a hybrid of the contemporary thriller, the spy novella and the courtroom drama. It is persuasive and engaging on all of these levels, while providing a unique and fresh reading of the Dreyfus affair."
--The Irish Times

"Instantly absorbing. . . . Great for fans of Ken Follett, John le Carré, Louis Bayard, Caleb Carr, and Martin Cruz Smith."
--Booklist (starred review)

"Easily the best fictional treatment of the Dreyfus Affair. . . . Harris perfectly captures the rampant anti-Semitism that led to Dreyfus's scapegoating."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Espionage, counterespionage, a scandalous trial, a cover-up, and a man who tries to do right make this a complex and alluring thriller."
--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

ROBERT HARRIS is the bestselling author of sixteen novels, including Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium, The Ghost Writer, Conspirata, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, Dictator, Conclave, Munich, and The Second Sleep. Several of his books have been adapted to film, most recently An Officer and a Spy. His work has been translated into forty languages. He lives in the village of Kintbury, England, with his wife, Gill Hornby.