I, Dreyfus

by Bernice Rubens, Gareth Armstrong (Narrator)

Sir Alfred Dreyfus, eminent headmaster of one of the greatest schools in England, is found guilty of a heinous crime. When Sam Temple, literary agent, visits Dreyfus in prison, he finds a man sunk beyond despair.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature

Audio CD

First published March 11, 2013

About the author

Bernice Rubens was born in Cardiff, Wales in July 1928. She began writing at the age of 35, when her children started nursery school. Her second novel, Madame Sousatzka (1962), was filmed by John Schlesinger filmed with Shirley MacLaine in the leading role in 1988. Her fourth novel, The Elected Member, won the 1970 Booker prize. She was shortlisted for the same prize again in 1978 for A Five Year Sentence. Her last novel, The Sergeants’ Tale, was published in 2003. She was an honorary vice-president of International PEN and served as a Booker judge in 1986. Bernice Rubens died in 2004 aged 76.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

’m not giving anything away by speaking of conspiracy and injustice. What else could could happen to someone called Alfred Dreyfus? A century after the historical Dreyfus became the focus of that case which divided France for decades, with continuing resonance even now, his fictional namesake, a respected British teacher, is embroiled in a similar cause célèbre. Perhaps his greatest mistake is to become headteacher of an expensive English public school (Heaven alone knows why he might want to leave the headship of a more than successful state school for such a closed establishment - being Jewish would only be one of multiple reasons for not being “one of us” - Scots, Irish, Catholics, Protestants (I exclude Anglicans from that designation) need not apply, unless ancient aristocracy, anglicised to the point of extinction of individuality.
This Dreyfus has a family with the same names as the real man, but meets with even more sinister foes. When Captain Dreyfus was accused, there had been an act of treason, and he, poor man, being not only Jewish but Alsatian, and therefore speaking with a German accent and having a German name, with relatives who’d chosen to remain German, when Alsace/Lorraine changed hands after the Franco-Prussian war, reputedly too serious to engage in Officer’s Mess shenanigans, fitted the bill. The conspiracy against him seems to have grown more slowly, but there’s no denying that it was fuelled by, and reciprocally fired anti-Semitism. Harder to insult Germany, which had a big, nasty army!
Fortunately this modern Dreyfus doesn’t have to spend years on Devil’s Island in conditions of medieval cruelty, nor do his supporters suffer the perils of imprisonment (Zola, though he escaped to UK before banged up) or suicidal military missions (Picquart).

I still divide French writers, politicians and celebrities of the first half of the 20th century according to whether they were Dreyfusards (good) or anti-Dreyfusards.

The historical Dreyfus refused to believe he could not be both Jewish and French. This modern avatar seems to have chosen, in the end, to reject Englishness in favour of the identity he’d repressed, and had never lived, as had his parents.

It reminds me of a real life interview on BBC Radio 4; a young man who had grown up Anglican, realised he was gay. His mother said, “What’s the problem? Just get married and keep a boy in a flat somewhere, like everyone else!” But when he found out that his mother had arrived in Britain on a Kindertransport, that she was Jewish, and, therefore so was he, and began to take an interest in Judaism, eventually converting (presumably enduring the requisite sacrifice of sensitive flesh) she rejected him completely. What was that about?

Surely there is a difference between integration and assimilation??

[Lindsey Clewett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured this book. I immediately warmed to Dreyfus, and his agent Sam Temple, and despite the sombre storyline, the narrative was light, bordering on humorous. Knowing the story of the original Alfred Dreyfus I obviously assumed that the protagonist was innocent of the terrible crime he’d been found guilty of, although I did keep an open mind, not wanting to assume there was no unexpected twist at the end. The references to the holocaust were unsurprisingly disturbing as was the horrible predicament that Dreyfus finds himself in, and yet it was not uncomfortable reading. I very much wanted to hear Dreyfus’ side of the story, not merely because I wanted to hear any side of the story as initially we only know he is imprisoned and not why. And then of course there are still many unanswered questions once Dreyfus has completed his account so I read on, wanting to believe him but at the same time desiring confirmation as to what really happened and explanation as to why someone would do it to him. All in all it was compelling reading and I stayed up late and ignored my family to finish the book as quickly as I could. The message is still relevant today, if not in terms of a warning against, or reminder of anti-semitism, but as a caution against any kind of prejudice.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read from the Booker Prize winner. This story is set in England in the 1990's, but has echoes of an infamous legal affair in France a century before. Rubens tells a compelling story about what started out as an ordinary life; the delicate nature of human relationships; the continuing existence of anti-Semitism in modern society; and the fallibility of the justice system.

[Laura Alderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever, gripping story with overtones of the original Dreyfus affair. Alfred Dreyfus is in prison in UK and decides to write his memoirs. He has an agent, Sam, who believes in his innocence and the narrative flashes from present to Alfred's writing. You slowly piece together what has happened to him, both in his own life and that of his parents. A story of prejudice, identity and faith.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a story about Alfred Dreyfus. Interesting yet without any real understanding of the original man.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dreyfus is a talented school master who works his way up to be headmaster of a famous public school and is even knighted for services to education. Then, at the age of 48, disaster strikes as he is accused of the murder of a school boy, tried and found guilty. A publisher persuades him to write his autobiography and Sam Temple becomes his agent and friend, encouraging him to keep on writing to fight his depression while in jail. Dreyfus has been almost inadvertently concealing the fact that he is Jewish, as did his parents who went to church, were buried in their local C of E church and had their sons christened. Eventually Dreyfus is freed as a rather fantastical plot against him is revealed – many witnesses were persuaded to make up their stories.
Rubens explains at the end that she is not updating the real Dreyfus case or anything like that but she is saying that even in the 1990s prejudice against Jews is still about and can lead to terrible injustices. As he is freed, Dreyfus embraces his Jewish heritage and takes his family on a kind of pilgrimage to Paris to acknowledge and explore his family history.
A good read. Well written, concise and maintains tension as we want to find out what really happened to the murdered boy. The conspiracy is not quite credible.(less)
2 minutes ago · delete

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this the German edition, or is it some sort of weird alternative title where the title is in German for some inscrutable reason but the text is still English? I wouldn't ask except that there seems to *be* no English-language edition of "I, Dreyfus" on GoodReads. BadReads! No biscuit! How do I add a book directly, anyway? Because this is such a great book. I love Bernice Rubens and outside of the UK, at any rate, no one has ever heard of her. Not sure what her popularity is like outside of the US.