An Officer and a Spy is an absolutely excellent historical fiction. Robert Harris is able to give a trustworthy account of the Dreyfus affair with an engaging style.
I was hooked from the first pages. I am French and we study the 1870-1914 period in school. But, read the Dreyfus story from the point of view of Picquart is a far better way to understand the atmosphere in France during this period. I discovered an antisemitic society, paranoiac and obsessed by the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. These social tensions explain why Dreyfus was charged with and found guilty without evidence. What makes the book so pleasant to read is the good balance the author strikes between historical truth and the fictional part of the story where Picquart opens his mind and shares his personal life.
An Officer and a Spy is a book every student and history aficionado should read.
Author: Robert Harris
Publisher: Knopf
I was hooked from the first pages. I am French and we study the 1870-1914 period in school. But, read the Dreyfus story from the point of view of Picquart is a far better way to understand the atmosphere in France during this period. I discovered an antisemitic society, paranoiac and obsessed by the loss of Alsace-Lorraine. These social tensions explain why Dreyfus was charged with and found guilty without evidence. What makes the book so pleasant to read is the good balance the author strikes between historical truth and the fictional part of the story where Picquart opens his mind and shares his personal life.
An Officer and a Spy is a book every student and history aficionado should read.
Author: Robert Harris
Publisher: Knopf