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Mata Hari: tantsijanna, kurtisaan, salakuulaja
Selles raamatus ilmub hollandlanna Margaretha Geertruida Zelle alter ego, eksootiline tantsijanna Mata Hari, lugeja ette kogu oma äraspidises ekstsentrilisuses: naine, kelle terve täiskasvanuelu oli üksainus fantastiline valede ja pooltõdede võrgustik, kurtisaan, kelle ülevoolav, kütkestav seksuaalsus tõmbas mehi nagu magnetiga.
Kui Mata Hari poleks Esimese maailmasõja keerises teinud katastroofilist otsust astuda spionaažimaailma, võinukski ta jääda üheks Prantsusmaa arvukatest, unustuse hõlma vajunud grande horizontale’idest. See, mis edasi juhtus, oli aga osalt farss ja osalt tragöödia, mis lõppes Mata Hari hukkamisega 1917. aasta oktoobris. Enda teenistusse jõudsid ta värvata nii sakslased kui ka prantslased – ja sama kaalusid venelasedki. Needsamad kahjutud fantaasiad ja luiskelood, mis ümbritsesid tema lavakuju, said nüüd osaks sõjaaja topeltagentide surmatoovast mängust. Häbistavate sõjakaotuste õigustamiseks oli Prantsuse võimudel vaja kinni püüda salakuulaja. Mata Harist, tantsijannast, kurtisaanist ja fantasöörist, sai nende peaauhind.
Kui Mata Hari poleks Esimese maailmasõja keerises teinud katastroofilist otsust astuda spionaažimaailma, võinukski ta jääda üheks Prantsusmaa arvukatest, unustuse hõlma vajunud grande horizontale’idest. See, mis edasi juhtus, oli aga osalt farss ja osalt tragöödia, mis lõppes Mata Hari hukkamisega 1917. aasta oktoobris. Enda teenistusse jõudsid ta värvata nii sakslased kui ka prantslased – ja sama kaalusid venelasedki. Needsamad kahjutud fantaasiad ja luiskelood, mis ümbritsesid tema lavakuju, said nüüd osaks sõjaaja topeltagentide surmatoovast mängust. Häbistavate sõjakaotuste õigustamiseks oli Prantsuse võimudel vaja kinni püüda salakuulaja. Mata Harist, tantsijannast, kurtisaanist ja fantasöörist, sai nende peaauhind.
264 pages, Hardcover
First published September 7, 2017
14 people are currently reading
129 people want to read
About the author
Mary W. Craig
7 books19 followersI am Mary W. Craig, a writer and historian. I am a former Carnegie scholar and a graduate of the University of Glasgow. I write historical fiction and non-fiction about ordinary people and how they live their lives buffeted by the politics and economics of the elite.
Some historians are known as hedgehogs, happily snuffling about rooting out the minutest of historical details. Others are known as eagles, soaring on high they see the great vistas of historical events. A few are known as magpies: if something shiny and interesting catches their eye they will try to capture it where possible.
I am a magpie.
Some historians are known as hedgehogs, happily snuffling about rooting out the minutest of historical details. Others are known as eagles, soaring on high they see the great vistas of historical events. A few are known as magpies: if something shiny and interesting catches their eye they will try to capture it where possible.
I am a magpie.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 23, 2017
Other than the knowledge that Mata Hari had been a spy (and mistakenly assigned by my memory to WWII), I knew nothing about the woman originally born as Margaretha Geertrudia Zella. Mary W. Craig’s “A Tangled Web” helped eliminate all the false ideas I had and enabled me to come away with not only a solid knowledge of Mata Hari but also educated me on the political and moral climate of Europe in the early 20th century. Did Mata Hari receive a fair trial, or was she judged and her moral character found wanting? This, among other subjects, is fully explored in the book.
Mata Hari is a Malay phrase that can be translated as “eye of the day,” a name that in hindsight more than adequately describes the book’s subject. Ms. Craig furnishes us with a complete story, beginning with Mata Hari’s parents and extending to the time of her execution. This book is painstakingly researched, and the author obligingly provides not only a bibliography, but also a notes and a reference section (this section includes all the papers examined from different countries).
I especially liked that the author would not take a potential incident and offer only a shred of proof while presenting that incident as fact. Whenever Ms. Craig encountered this situation, she was always careful to offer the different possibilities the ambiguous evidence might lead one to believe. Once it was established that it was not possible to prove without a doubt what had happened, the author would then lead the reader down the most logical path by using established evidence to disprove some of the possibilities. It was refreshing to read a historical text where the writer was not afraid to admit that all the facts have become blurred over time, leaving only what she believes might be the truth, based on her extensive investigations.
In the book, Ms. Craig tells us that by the time WWI came along, Mata Hari was caught up in her fantasies, believing she could do no wrong. She was supported in this belief by an adoring public and men who were besotted with her and would allow this sort of behavior. This story of her life is interesting as well as entertaining. Also enjoyable are the pictures provided, as these can be just as revealing as the text. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Trafalgar Square Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book.
Mata Hari is a Malay phrase that can be translated as “eye of the day,” a name that in hindsight more than adequately describes the book’s subject. Ms. Craig furnishes us with a complete story, beginning with Mata Hari’s parents and extending to the time of her execution. This book is painstakingly researched, and the author obligingly provides not only a bibliography, but also a notes and a reference section (this section includes all the papers examined from different countries).
I especially liked that the author would not take a potential incident and offer only a shred of proof while presenting that incident as fact. Whenever Ms. Craig encountered this situation, she was always careful to offer the different possibilities the ambiguous evidence might lead one to believe. Once it was established that it was not possible to prove without a doubt what had happened, the author would then lead the reader down the most logical path by using established evidence to disprove some of the possibilities. It was refreshing to read a historical text where the writer was not afraid to admit that all the facts have become blurred over time, leaving only what she believes might be the truth, based on her extensive investigations.
In the book, Ms. Craig tells us that by the time WWI came along, Mata Hari was caught up in her fantasies, believing she could do no wrong. She was supported in this belief by an adoring public and men who were besotted with her and would allow this sort of behavior. This story of her life is interesting as well as entertaining. Also enjoyable are the pictures provided, as these can be just as revealing as the text. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley and Trafalgar Square Publishing for providing me with an advance copy of this book.
September 26, 2017
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley
Perhaps the first thing one learns about Mara Hari is that she was dancer and a slut. Then, perhaps one learns she was a slut because she danced naked and slept with a great many men. Then one hears that she was spy and was shot for it. But the important thing that one is told is that she was very, very sexy. In fact, she seems to be the spy that gets remembered not so much because of the doubt of her guilt, but because she was a sexpot.
She also wasn’t a very good spy. She got caught after all
Mary W. Craig’s new book tries to present a more nuanced picture of Mata Hari, or at least as much as one can giving the problem of sources.
Margrethe Zell was born in the Netherlands, where she lived until her marriage took her to the Dutch East Indies. Her early life, Craig points out, was nice until her father suffered a major loss in business. What then followed as an unclear life plan and, what today, we would consider at the very least statutory rape – an affair with an instructor. Craig’s details about Hari’s early life - her struggles after the family bankruptcy and her time spent with relatives are related in a matter of a fact way. There is pity in Craig’s writing, but Craig isn’t turning the biography into a more sinned against than sinning story. Hari isn’t portrayed as a victim, but as a woman who took control of her life.
Or if she is, she is doing it by taking a brutally honest about Mata Hari.
Nowhere is this more obviously in the discussion of Zell’s marriage with MacLeod. It is a marriage that produced two children, possibly infected Zell with an STD, and was abusive. While not excusing MacLeod’s behavior, Craig also places the man in context, in particular with his treatment of Hari after separation and divorce, noting that MacLeod’s actions had more to do with protecting his daughter than anything else.
Hari was no saint, and in addition to her sexual activities (less shocking today than when Hari lived), Craig does closely examine and places Hari’s dancing in the times. The discussion of whether Hari was lying or promoting a fantasy with her “Eastern” dancing. How much of her dancing was imply an illusion that everyone brought into, like the body stocking she wore? Craig can’t give a definite answer but she does truly address the issue, even reading books about Hari that were published during the height of her popularity.
Craig, in part, is hampered by the self-serving purpose of some her sources (and she is clear about this) as well as a lack of sources. Yet, despite these drawbacks, Craig does paint an interesting, more revealing portrait of a woman who is usually known simply for sex.
Perhaps the first thing one learns about Mara Hari is that she was dancer and a slut. Then, perhaps one learns she was a slut because she danced naked and slept with a great many men. Then one hears that she was spy and was shot for it. But the important thing that one is told is that she was very, very sexy. In fact, she seems to be the spy that gets remembered not so much because of the doubt of her guilt, but because she was a sexpot.
She also wasn’t a very good spy. She got caught after all
Mary W. Craig’s new book tries to present a more nuanced picture of Mata Hari, or at least as much as one can giving the problem of sources.
Margrethe Zell was born in the Netherlands, where she lived until her marriage took her to the Dutch East Indies. Her early life, Craig points out, was nice until her father suffered a major loss in business. What then followed as an unclear life plan and, what today, we would consider at the very least statutory rape – an affair with an instructor. Craig’s details about Hari’s early life - her struggles after the family bankruptcy and her time spent with relatives are related in a matter of a fact way. There is pity in Craig’s writing, but Craig isn’t turning the biography into a more sinned against than sinning story. Hari isn’t portrayed as a victim, but as a woman who took control of her life.
Or if she is, she is doing it by taking a brutally honest about Mata Hari.
Nowhere is this more obviously in the discussion of Zell’s marriage with MacLeod. It is a marriage that produced two children, possibly infected Zell with an STD, and was abusive. While not excusing MacLeod’s behavior, Craig also places the man in context, in particular with his treatment of Hari after separation and divorce, noting that MacLeod’s actions had more to do with protecting his daughter than anything else.
Hari was no saint, and in addition to her sexual activities (less shocking today than when Hari lived), Craig does closely examine and places Hari’s dancing in the times. The discussion of whether Hari was lying or promoting a fantasy with her “Eastern” dancing. How much of her dancing was imply an illusion that everyone brought into, like the body stocking she wore? Craig can’t give a definite answer but she does truly address the issue, even reading books about Hari that were published during the height of her popularity.
Craig, in part, is hampered by the self-serving purpose of some her sources (and she is clear about this) as well as a lack of sources. Yet, despite these drawbacks, Craig does paint an interesting, more revealing portrait of a woman who is usually known simply for sex.
October 31, 2017
Mary W. Craig has done a great disservice to Mata Hari. The last thing Mata Hari wanted was to be seen as the "teary wife" that was a victim of so many rotten things in her life. She was never like that and did not see herself in that role.
First and foremost we should remember her as the great innovator of dance in the twentieth century. Without any formal training she recognized the unique and deeply engaging Hindu dance that she came into contact with. She engaged Indian musicians as well as studied the dance technique to give performances that changed dance forever. She crossed borders and changed minds and sensibilities.
That Craig is too dismissive about Mata Hari and her dancing technique, discussing none of what made it brilliant and innovative, she again and again refers the unwarranted accusation that the Indian style dance was a mere excuse to get around censorship laws so she could sell her erotic nudity on the Parisian stage.
If this was the case then she should not have been so successful. More naked flesh could be found in other well known theatres without such a pretense. Much more important was Mata Hari's vocal and persistent plea for audiences to understand the religious and cultural meaning of the dances she performed. This was her great discovery, that something wonderful existed outside of European culture, something that had to be engaged because it was part of a much richer ocean of human experience, than just the Parisian stage.
That Mata Hari was condemned merely for being the wrong person at the wrong time to sell gossip about who was sleeping with who to the wrong side is merely an accident of history. Many during the First World War were sentenced to die senselessly. Mata Hari was a bright and brilliant spirit whose intellect and skill changed the world and how we perceive the world. Read this book for the facts of her life but do not pay much attention to Craig's editorial speculations.
First and foremost we should remember her as the great innovator of dance in the twentieth century. Without any formal training she recognized the unique and deeply engaging Hindu dance that she came into contact with. She engaged Indian musicians as well as studied the dance technique to give performances that changed dance forever. She crossed borders and changed minds and sensibilities.
That Craig is too dismissive about Mata Hari and her dancing technique, discussing none of what made it brilliant and innovative, she again and again refers the unwarranted accusation that the Indian style dance was a mere excuse to get around censorship laws so she could sell her erotic nudity on the Parisian stage.
If this was the case then she should not have been so successful. More naked flesh could be found in other well known theatres without such a pretense. Much more important was Mata Hari's vocal and persistent plea for audiences to understand the religious and cultural meaning of the dances she performed. This was her great discovery, that something wonderful existed outside of European culture, something that had to be engaged because it was part of a much richer ocean of human experience, than just the Parisian stage.
That Mata Hari was condemned merely for being the wrong person at the wrong time to sell gossip about who was sleeping with who to the wrong side is merely an accident of history. Many during the First World War were sentenced to die senselessly. Mata Hari was a bright and brilliant spirit whose intellect and skill changed the world and how we perceive the world. Read this book for the facts of her life but do not pay much attention to Craig's editorial speculations.
October 23, 2017
Let me begin by saying that I dearly wanted to love this book. It holds all of the elements that intrigue me: international spies, cunning and daring ladies of their era, exciting and tense world affairs, affairs in general......but I found our heroine to lack depth and was incredibly disappointed that less was done to engage the reader with her. Here was a woman ahead of her time and way over her head in her dalliances, and yet there is little to no emotion surrounding her behaviors and exploits. We get only the vaguest of notions that she cared about her children, she claims love for a number of men at various times, but there is no substance to her character as a person. Nothing to draw you in and make you love her, hate her, or some combination thereof.
The history is clearly there, but the story lacks imagination and the rich detail that might have left us breathless or aghast at her exploits.I found it difficult to imagine why any country would have had interest in this woman as a spy, as she comes across as rather dull and cunning only in so much as it takes to get a fine dress and her next meal.
In short, its rather like a Christmas tree without the decorations, lovely but uninteresting.
The history is clearly there, but the story lacks imagination and the rich detail that might have left us breathless or aghast at her exploits.I found it difficult to imagine why any country would have had interest in this woman as a spy, as she comes across as rather dull and cunning only in so much as it takes to get a fine dress and her next meal.
In short, its rather like a Christmas tree without the decorations, lovely but uninteresting.
October 26, 2017
Although I greatly appreciated the clear review of global history, I was surprised by the condescending and rather insulting tone used in writing about Mata Hari. Craig makes this feminist icon seem like a naive dolt who had no other skill than sex work rather than seeing the great Mata Hari as a survivor. She's a woman who began to sculpt her life as a teen after so much family rejection. She embraced sexuality and yes, used it to make a living. This doesn't make her shallow and only interested in her furs and jewelry as Craig describes when it comes to how and why Mata Hari was recruited by the Germans and the French as a spy.
To be honest, I couldn't even finish this because I was so disappointed.
To be honest, I couldn't even finish this because I was so disappointed.
March 1, 2026
A Tangled Web: Mata Hari: Dancer, Courtesan, Spy
By Mary W. Craig
Book Review by Michael Attard
Mary Craig is an historian specializing in the history of central Europe from 1848 to 1933. Mata Hari was born in 1876 and executed in October 1917. The biography reads more like a text book than a novel. This is not a negative criticism but rather reflects the author’s objective approach to the many, often confusing details. The introduction serves as a summary of Mata Hari’s life, including her tragic ending. It would appear that the author presumes that Mata Hari’s notoriety is such that her execution is already known to readers.
As a young girl growing up in the Netherlands, she attended private school, but this ended with her father’s bankruptcy. After her mother’s death, M’greet as she was known, was sent to live with her godfather, who was also her uncle. She was 15 years old. She never did fit in with others. “She was dark-haired and olive-skinned, in distinct contrast to the blonde, pale-skinned idealized notion of beauty in the Netherlands.” She was also tall at 5ft 9in (175cm).
The author cannot offer a firm explanation as to why M’greet was sent to be trained for a job while other young women were being trained for marriage. This is especially confusing in that she was never offered a job at any of the various family businesses. At one point, she was training to be a kindergarten teacher. And as would be the case throughout her life, the combination of circumstances and personal choices would lead to difficult situations. M’greet, then 16, became involved in a sexual relationship with the 51-year-old headmaster. Once the scandal was discovered, she was forcibly removed from the school. “M’greet acted not with contrition but defiance. And it was that which condemned her in everyone’s eyes.”
This early event in M’greet’s life is put into historical context by the author. The female was automatically seen as the guilty party. And the fact that the woman readily admitted to the enjoyment of sex was conclusive proof that she was depraved. This carried forward, and when the question of whether or not she was a spy was before the all-male military court, her morals and perceived depravity were equated with the character of a traitor.
Her story is interesting from start to finish. She marries a military man, and shortly after the birth of her son in 1897, the young family set sail for the Dutch-controlled East Indies. For M’greet, “Colonial life was a mixture of work and boredom.” The marriage was already spiraling downward, with violence an almost daily event. She found a partial escape through dance. The author is intent upon telling M’greet’s story within the context of the time and calls out the illusion of glamor. “The social façade that hid the brutality of empire was necessary to maintain the fiction of bringing civilization to the natives.”
After a return to the Netherlands, there was marriage separation and the earning of a living by, “entertaining gentlemen callers in maisons de rendezvous.” In 1903, she moved to Paris. She pursued Oriental dance and “created an illusion that masked her inabilities as a dancer.” In 1905, she is introduced as Mata Hari. It was La Belle Epoque, and Mata Hari was a queen. There were performances in Moscow, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Vienna, and Berlin. And there were just as many lovers. There were ups and downs over the years, but by 1914, she “was starting to enjoy life again.” “This was broken in July when the politics of the Balkans broke into her world and shattered it forever.”
At this point in the book, there is a noticeable change. The confusing details start to come quickly and the author puts forth more questions and speculation than known facts. Again, this is not negative criticism, but rather illustrates the complexity of unravelling history. We do know that Mata Hari was approached by German intelligence, that she did not refuse, but rather haggled over how much she would be paid. And to the author’s mind, Mata Hari, “failed completely to see the danger.”
She began to travel all over Europe, which was not easy to do in time of war. She persisted in her attempt to get travel papers to an area of France that was a military district, supposedly to recharge her health in the natural mineral waters. Why not go to another health spa? She later claimed that it was at this time that French officials broached the subject of her working for France. This was later denied by those officials. By now, she had raised the suspicions of the British, and they had her under surveillance. Mata Hari continued to live as lavishly and flamboyantly as she always had. For the French, this was another indication that she was a spy. Her lifestyle did not project support for the French war effort. And all along she had her lovers, almost all military men.
The movement of events can become tedious for the reader. There are a lot of names to remember. Eventually, Mata Hari is arrested by the French. The author again reminds us of the male dominated world view. The investigating magistrate believed that she was guilty from the start. “Innocent women don’t get arrested.”
She was in prison for eight months. Admitting that she had been recruited by the Germans was not helpful, and then there were revealing telegrams. However, there was never evidence of what exactly she is supposed to have revealed to the Germans. The trial took two days, one for the prosecution’s case and the second day for the defence. Cross-examination was not allowed, and the threshold of proof was low. She was found guilty and sentenced to be shot.
By Mary W. Craig
Book Review by Michael Attard
Mary Craig is an historian specializing in the history of central Europe from 1848 to 1933. Mata Hari was born in 1876 and executed in October 1917. The biography reads more like a text book than a novel. This is not a negative criticism but rather reflects the author’s objective approach to the many, often confusing details. The introduction serves as a summary of Mata Hari’s life, including her tragic ending. It would appear that the author presumes that Mata Hari’s notoriety is such that her execution is already known to readers.
As a young girl growing up in the Netherlands, she attended private school, but this ended with her father’s bankruptcy. After her mother’s death, M’greet as she was known, was sent to live with her godfather, who was also her uncle. She was 15 years old. She never did fit in with others. “She was dark-haired and olive-skinned, in distinct contrast to the blonde, pale-skinned idealized notion of beauty in the Netherlands.” She was also tall at 5ft 9in (175cm).
The author cannot offer a firm explanation as to why M’greet was sent to be trained for a job while other young women were being trained for marriage. This is especially confusing in that she was never offered a job at any of the various family businesses. At one point, she was training to be a kindergarten teacher. And as would be the case throughout her life, the combination of circumstances and personal choices would lead to difficult situations. M’greet, then 16, became involved in a sexual relationship with the 51-year-old headmaster. Once the scandal was discovered, she was forcibly removed from the school. “M’greet acted not with contrition but defiance. And it was that which condemned her in everyone’s eyes.”
This early event in M’greet’s life is put into historical context by the author. The female was automatically seen as the guilty party. And the fact that the woman readily admitted to the enjoyment of sex was conclusive proof that she was depraved. This carried forward, and when the question of whether or not she was a spy was before the all-male military court, her morals and perceived depravity were equated with the character of a traitor.
Her story is interesting from start to finish. She marries a military man, and shortly after the birth of her son in 1897, the young family set sail for the Dutch-controlled East Indies. For M’greet, “Colonial life was a mixture of work and boredom.” The marriage was already spiraling downward, with violence an almost daily event. She found a partial escape through dance. The author is intent upon telling M’greet’s story within the context of the time and calls out the illusion of glamor. “The social façade that hid the brutality of empire was necessary to maintain the fiction of bringing civilization to the natives.”
After a return to the Netherlands, there was marriage separation and the earning of a living by, “entertaining gentlemen callers in maisons de rendezvous.” In 1903, she moved to Paris. She pursued Oriental dance and “created an illusion that masked her inabilities as a dancer.” In 1905, she is introduced as Mata Hari. It was La Belle Epoque, and Mata Hari was a queen. There were performances in Moscow, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Vienna, and Berlin. And there were just as many lovers. There were ups and downs over the years, but by 1914, she “was starting to enjoy life again.” “This was broken in July when the politics of the Balkans broke into her world and shattered it forever.”
At this point in the book, there is a noticeable change. The confusing details start to come quickly and the author puts forth more questions and speculation than known facts. Again, this is not negative criticism, but rather illustrates the complexity of unravelling history. We do know that Mata Hari was approached by German intelligence, that she did not refuse, but rather haggled over how much she would be paid. And to the author’s mind, Mata Hari, “failed completely to see the danger.”
She began to travel all over Europe, which was not easy to do in time of war. She persisted in her attempt to get travel papers to an area of France that was a military district, supposedly to recharge her health in the natural mineral waters. Why not go to another health spa? She later claimed that it was at this time that French officials broached the subject of her working for France. This was later denied by those officials. By now, she had raised the suspicions of the British, and they had her under surveillance. Mata Hari continued to live as lavishly and flamboyantly as she always had. For the French, this was another indication that she was a spy. Her lifestyle did not project support for the French war effort. And all along she had her lovers, almost all military men.
The movement of events can become tedious for the reader. There are a lot of names to remember. Eventually, Mata Hari is arrested by the French. The author again reminds us of the male dominated world view. The investigating magistrate believed that she was guilty from the start. “Innocent women don’t get arrested.”
She was in prison for eight months. Admitting that she had been recruited by the Germans was not helpful, and then there were revealing telegrams. However, there was never evidence of what exactly she is supposed to have revealed to the Germans. The trial took two days, one for the prosecution’s case and the second day for the defence. Cross-examination was not allowed, and the threshold of proof was low. She was found guilty and sentenced to be shot.
October 18, 2017
This biography of Mata Hari is an enjoyable read, revealing the woman behind the myth. Her turbulent youth, miserable marriage, and her re-invention of herself comes to life in the hands of author Mary Craig, who has meticulously researched the facts about this famous enigma of a woman who did what she wanted to do in order to live the life she dreamed. In many ways, Mata Hari was a trailblazer in her frank sexuality in an era that condemned women for any kind of acknowledgement of their own sexual identity; in other ways, she was a selfish (and irresponsible) woman who had no insight into the greater realities of her actions in early-twentieth century Europe. From her native Netherlands (I didn't know she was Dutch!) to her execution as a spy in France, Mata Hari created her own story as an exotic dancer and international sensation, and Craig documents the tale well, though the book gets a bit bogged down near its end with the transcripts of conversations during the French investigation of Mata Hari's espionage. The addition of photos at the end of the book is a delightful plus!
I was provided a free e-copy of the book by Netgalley.com in return for my honest review.
I was provided a free e-copy of the book by Netgalley.com in return for my honest review.
December 28, 2021
Mata Hari was a late bloomer. She married a brute who abused her and gave her syphilis, which in turn was passed on to her in utero baby who dies young. She is in Sumatra at this time and divorces her horrid husband and moves to Paris where she becomes, apparently, something of a sensation as a dancer and courtesan. During the first World War, she is recruited by the Germans, the French and even the Russians. What Mary W. Craig provides the reader is context for Mata Hari's poor decisions during the War while she also untangles some of the webs of deceit that have surrounded her for years.
October 3, 2025
A hugely entertaining book about someone who has become a rather clichéd byword for a seductive female spy, but she was a lot more than that, and her life is an intriguing roller coaster of high risk, disappointments, conspiracies and betrayal, right up until her tragic end. Great even if you don't normally read historical non-fiction.
October 17, 2020
Enjoyed learning all the history and facts surrounding this fascinating female. Mary's research as always is meticulous and the story weaved in was full of intrigue. Looking forward to Mary W Craig's new book Beside the annex, I'm awaiting it's delivery shorty.
April 12, 2020
During the first half of the book, I could feel some, albeit not a lot, of empathy. Yet half way through the book I felt no empathy and could not continue on.
February 13, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. I particularly liked that readers were given updates on key players instead of just Mata Hari.
January 20, 2023
A book I read ages ago, however, Goodreads didn't update my tracker when I updated it as READ -:Gee Thanks Guys
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews