Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man: A gripping WWII espionage thriller by a former special forces officer

by Edward Wilson

A thrilling SOE spy novel by a former special forces officer who is 'poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré'

'Edward Wilson seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré' Irish Independent

'More George Smiley than James Bond, Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers' Publishers Weekly

Cambridge, 1941. A teenage William Catesby leaves his studies to join the war effort.

Parachuted into Occupied France as an SOE officer, he witnesses remarkable feats of bravery during the
French Resistance.

Yet he is also privy to infighting and betrayal - some of the Maquisards are more concerned with controlling the peace than fighting the war. Double agents and informers abound, and with torture a certainty if he is taken, Catesby knows there is no one he can trust.

Passed from safe house to safe house, with the Abwehr on his tail, he is drawn towards Lyon, a city of backstreets and blind alleys. His mission is thwart an act of treachery that could shape the future of France.

'Edward Wilson's excellent Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man draws on his own special forces training'
Independent

'Engaging . . . Dynamic . . . Wilson's fascination is as much with how the spy betrays himself as with how
he manipulates others' The Times

Praise for Edward

'Stylistically sophisticated . . . Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention' W.G. Sebald

'A reader is really privileged to come across something like this' Alan Sillitoe

'All too often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake. John le Carré reminds us, often, and so does Edward Wilson' Independent

304 pages, Paperback

Published December 5, 2023

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Edward Wilson served in Vietnam as an officer in the 5th Special Forces. His decorations include the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal for Valor. Soon after leaving the army, Wilson became a permanent expatriate in the UK in 1974. He formally lost US nationality in 1986. Edward Wilson is a British citizen, but has also lived and worked in Germany and France.

Reviews

[Pirate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author's The Envoy was very dark and absolutely outstanding so it was with great pleasure I picked up this in Daunt. It does not disappoint. For atmosphere, characters and the storyline are excellent. Melding historical characters with the fictional ones works a treat -- the scene when Catesby and Marie, his radio operator, desperately try to forewarn Jean Moulin of the trap set for him is especially brilliant. There is a nice scene with the legendary fearless one-legged American agent Virginia Hall. The internal politics of the Resistance, the boredom and the fear are splendidly portrayed with vivid detail. Some of the worst turncoats or double agents feature too Henri Dericourt and Rene Hardy and they are given short shrift. Above all aside from the pleasure of meeting Catesby, whose name may suggest an aristocratic Roman Catholic descended from one of the Gunpowder Plot conspirators but is actually from a modest family, it is to learn of the great French Communist Resistant Georges Guingouin. A remarkable fellow who liberated Limoges. However, sickeningly former Vichy officials tried through spurious charges to avenge that in the 1950's and have him murdered whilst in custody. Therein lies the bitter sweet side of Liberation in France some of the worst collaborators were let off -- so the country could come together again -- and a tale was allowed to perpetuate that most French were resistants....anyways Guingouin at least lives on as a bridge in Limoges is named in his honour..the Vichy apparatchiks names long forgotten. Catesby too lives on which I am hugely pleased by as he is a character worth following as the Cold War progresses. I am not giving anything away here as it is clear from the start that he survives. A very fine read and Edward Wilson -- who himself has had a very colourful life -- is a gem of a writer.

[Angus Jellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got through most of it when waiting for a plane whose departure was delayed for three hours. This implies that I found it thrilling - I didn’t, but it was fine.

[Mary · Rating 1 out of 5]

The dropping of names-eg Blunt, Beckett, Hartnell- seemed totally pointless and just didn't fit in and the Boris Johnson reference actually ludicrous. I never quite understood what Catesby's job was and having read several books about SOE operations, some of his antics would be totally contrary to his extensive training. I persevered with it simply to see how it concluded. There were too many references to serious events with devastating consequences but we never found out what actually had happened. I won't be reading any more of his books.