Femme Fatale - by Pat Shipman (Paperback)

About the Book

In this persuasive new biography, Shipman takes a fresh look at the alluring, scandalous, and most notorious female spy in history.

From the Back Cover

In 1917, the notorious Oriental dancer Mata Hari was arrested on the charge of espionage; less than one year later, she was tried and executed, charged with the deaths of at least 50,000 gallant French soldiers. The mistress of many senior Allied officers and government officials, even the French minister of war, she had a sharp intellect and a golden tongue fluent in several languages; she also traveled widely throughout war-torn Europe, with seeming disregard for the political and strategic alliances and borders. But was she actually a spy? In this persuasive new biography, Pat Shipman explores the life and times of the mythic and deeply misunderstood dark-eyed siren to find the truth.

Review Quotes

"[E]ngrossing . . . casting Mata Hari's rise and fall against the background of her life, the turmoil of World War I and, ultimately, the moral standards of the era. . . . Shipman teases out the details with a novelist's skill. - Bloomberg News
"Shipman brings to her excellent books the authority of a paleontologist and the talent of an accomplished writer." - New York Times Book Review
"The melodramatic true story of a mythic grand horizontal, told with clarity and understanding." - Kirkus Reviews
"An engrossing tale that sheds new light on a mysterious woman." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Both suspenseful and shocking . . . Shipman tells her story with interest and spirit." - Los Angeles Times