Spy

by Bernard Newman

A quick-witted and often satirical take on the traditional espionage novel, Spy follows a British soldier who uses the fluent German learnt at his mother's knee to get behind the battlefields of World War One. He becomes a spy in the Low Countries.

Cleverly using his theatrical past to play out a range of identities and appearances, the young man finds himself in the German High Command itself and faces the prospect of being unmasked at any moment. Being able to influence key players of on both sides, from Erich Ludendorff to General Haig, Spy tells the story of one English man who influenced the outcome of the war, drawing on his own survival skills and using his own brand of psychological warfare.

Spy is the mock-memoir that fooled the nation. Running to over eighteen reprints, Newman carefully played on the public perception of himself as a key figure in British espionage during and after World War One, blurring the very line between fact and fiction.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

Bernard Charles Newman was a prolific English author who published fiction and non-fiction. He was considered an authority on espionage (and a possible spy himself) and wrote spy novels and books on espionage. He was also a travel writer, wrote science fiction, and published crime fiction, sometimes using the pseudonym "Don Betteridge".

Reviews

[gabhan odubhfaigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing

A good book. A good insight into the reality of war with the British. The times have changed. The story flowed well enough. Some old wording but smoothly understandable never the less. I enjoyed it. !