Celia's Secret : The Copenhagen Papers

by Michael Frayn, David Burke

Who is Celia, and what are the mysterious papers found concealed under the attic floorboards of an old country house? Are they simply instructions for assembling a table-tennis table, written in idiosyncratic German, or could they contain a coded message?

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Plays, Drama, Science

Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Michael Frayn is an English playwright and novelist. He is best known as the author of the farce Noises Off and the dramas Copenhagen and Democracy. His novels, such as Towards the End of the Morning, Headlong and Spies, have also been critical and commercial successes, making him one of the handful of writers in the English language to succeed in both drama and prose fiction. His works often raise philosophical questions in a humorous context. Frayn's wife is Claire Tomalin, the biographer and literary journalist.

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on the play Copenhagen, also by Frayn. I recommend you read or watch it shortly before reading this book so you can understand all the references it makes to the play. Frayn takes the concept of perception, the central theme of the play, and explores it in a much more personal, but also light-hearted level, within this book.

[MickPro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical jokes aren’t my thing really. But this clever, very smart, original and creative series of gamesmanship is well worth the ride. It centers around a play and/ or a gathering and/or the machinations of an actor with a wonderful wandering sense of could have beens.

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining and thought provoking. I read this after seeing and then reading Michael Frayn’s play Copenhagen. Familiarity with the play really enhanced my enjoyment of this book.

[Viktoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

In diesem Buch wird ein Scherz eines Schauspielers mit dem Theaterautor Michael Frayn beschrieben. Es geht um das Thema des Theaterstücks "Kopenhagen" (Gespräch 1941 Werner Heisenberg mit Niels Bohr, bei dem immer noch nicht ganz klar ist, was Heisenberg von Bohr wollte). Heisenberg wurde mit anderen Physikern des deutschen Uranprojektes gegen Ende des Krieges inhaftiert und nach England gebracht. Dort wurden sie 6 Monate festgehalten. Die Engländer wollten herausfinden, ob sie das Wissen haben, um eine Atombombe zu bauen. Da setzt nun der Scherz des Schauspielers an: Er erfindet eine Frau, die in dem Haus in England später gewohnt hat und dort deutsche Dokumente unter Dielen gefunden hat. Sie wendet sich an Frayn. Dieser glaubt, dass die Dokumente echt sind.
Michael Frayn beschreibt aus seiner Sicht, wie er die Dokumente bekam und der Schauspieler, David Burke, wie er die Dokumente und Celia erfunden hat. Ist ganz nett, aber sicher nur für diejenigen, die im Thema stehen.

[notgettingenough · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry, my very dear Michael Frayn, but this book is a serious piece of wankery if ever I saw one.

There is also a dreadful piece of proofreading, a whole page appearing at page 76 and then again at page 96. Page 76 is entirely missing, it is correctly placed at p. 96, should you possibly care.

But I can see that you don't.

[Brenda Stahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm currently burning through all of the Copenhagen series and Michael Frayn - you are hilarious. The hoax about uncovering the mysterious papers and how this ensconced that little town was comically riveting. No wonder Copenhagen won the Tony :)

[Elly Stroo Cloeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gift from Joris J, who was apparently cleaning out his, or Meike's personal library. Thanx Joris!
One day during the run of Michael Frayn's play Copenhagen, a curious letter arrived from a housewife in Chiswick. She enclosed a few faded pages of barely legible German which she thought might have some relevance to the mystery at the play's heart. They turn out to mark the start of a long and winding trail. The subject op Copenhagen is the strange visit that the German physicist, Werner Heisenberg, made to his former Danish colleague Niels Bohr in 1941. The two old friends now found themselves on opposite sides in a world war, amd Heisenberg could not explain to Bohr that he was running the Nazi's secret atomic programme. His intentions have intrigued and baffled historians, and the hitherto unpublished German documents which Celia Rhys-Evans now began to send Michael Frayn cast a remarkable new light on certain aspects of the story. The gradual emergence of these papers was followed with particularly close interest by the actor, David Burke, who was playing Niels Bohr, and who had happened to have a wide experience of documents of this sort. When it was all over, David Burke and Michael Frayn sat down together, rather as Bohr and Heisenberg do in the play, to try to unravel the mystery, and like Bohr and Heisenberg, to confront once again the eternal difficulty of knowing why we do what we do.

Marvelous booklet, I enjoyed it a lot, especially Burke’s part.

[James O'Halloran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gem of an intrigue about memory, interpretation of evidence, imagination, desire and how we construct what we take to be real.

[Joanna Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

had me PRANKED.

[Artie LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because at one time I knew one of the participants .. it is short and occasionally funny, but frankly if it hadn't been short I probably wouldn't have stuck with it to the end.

[Jocelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s so rare to have a really fun read that gives you furiously to think ...

[Matt Heavner · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun and perfect follow on to the play!

[Lev Reyzin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the play Copenhagen, so I picked up The Copenhagen Papers. This book gives some warning that it’s not what it seems, but what it is simply isn’t that interesting.

[claudio pagani · Rating 3 out of 5]

C’e’ qualcosa di piu’ potenzialmente esplosivo di due amici che s’ingannano a vicenda? Probabilmente no, a meno che, come in questo bel libricino, i due amici si fermino poco prima del disastro.

Il primo amico e’, Michael Frayn l’autore di "Copenhagen", il play teatrale di successo dove si mette in scena l’incontro fra Heisenberg, il grande fisico al lavoro sull’atomica tedesca durante la seconda guerra mondiale, e Bohr, il suo amico e collega danese, uno dei fondatori della teoria quantistica e della nuova fisica del 900, nella Danimarca occupata dai nazisti. L’incontro e’ avvolto nel mistero, cosi’ come e’ misteriosa la prigionia di Heisengerb e altri suoi colleghi tedeschi che alla fine delle ostilita’ per diversi mesi vengono segretamente custoditi dagli inglesi in una villa di campagna, Farm Hall, col fine di capire quanto vicini fossero i tedeschi alla bomba.

L’attore David Burke impersona Bohr nel play di "Copenhagen", come Frayn e’ affascinato dal mistero della storia e dall’amicizia (interrotta) dei due grandi fisici, ma e’ anche un gran simpaticone, e decide di preparare questo scherzo al suo sceneggiatore: gli fa pervenire, spediti da una certa signora Celia, alcuni fogli che sembrano essere il diario tenuto durante la prigionia da uno dei fisci rinchiusi a Farm Hall. Frayn cade nella trappola, spera esaltato che questi nuovi documenti possano svelare cosa sia successo a Farm Hall, quanto Heisenberg sapesse davvero sulle reazioni nucleari, il suo rapporto con Bohr. Frayn inizia a tradurre i documenti, ne chiede a Celia di nuovi, chiede aiuto ad amici, fisici e traduttori coinvolgendoli nell’inganno.; fino a che, grazie alla soffiata di un altro attore, scopre di essere caduto in una trappola, il cui autore e’ proprio il suo amico Burke.

La storia qua si fa complicata, perche’ per non svelare l’identita’ della spia Frayn non fa saltare completamente il gioco, e non rivela a Burke la scoperta. Burke da parte sua capisce che Frayn ha dei dubbi ma non puo’ sapere che Frayn e’ anche a conoscenza dell’autore dell’inganno. Sarebbe questa la situazione spettacolare e perfetta per scavare nell’animo e nel rapporto dei due amici, il truffatore coi sensi di colpa, l’ingannato con la vergogna e il rancore per essersi fatto imbrogliare, E invece qua lo scritto perde d’interesse, perche’ invece d’entrare nell’intimo e nel personale gli autori cominciano a vagheggiare discutendo di realta’ e percezione, mondi immaginari e possibili od impossibili e simili astrusita’, e fanno finire tutto a tarallucci e vino e amici come prima. Rimanendo cosi’ una lettura intrigante, ma anche un’occasione persa.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hah! I was hoaxed into reading by the title and synopsis, but I'm glad I was—this is a very nice little piece. It's about a practical joker playing a trick on Serious Playwright Michael Frayn and pulling it off for, honestly, a lot longer than you might expect. I think my favorite part was reading about the way these two men each took pains to spare the other embarrassment when the jig was up.

Anyway, it's good to know that there are people out there as gullible as I am. it makes me want to forge some documents.

By the way, did you hear that in the United States, next year (2015) is the last year people will be allowed to have babies without a permit from the Department of Health and Human Services? It's being done to combat overpopulation. Seems like an extreme measure to me, but what do I know?

[Paula Geist · Rating 3 out of 5]

The play based on a hoax perpetrated against Frayn, the author of Copenhagen If you like Copenhagen, you should read this too. However, this book doesn't stand up well by itself.

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, light read. I found it to be the most delightful kind of nonfiction; reading was like hearing one crazy story told by two of my most interesting friends. Prepare to have your mind messed with.

[Yumna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read anything else by Frayn, but if this is the kind of stuff he has to offer, I'd love to read more! Haven't read such a funny, entertaining and engaging book in ages! I was rolling with laughter! Loved it!

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read - based on a true story - with a few twists. Read it immediately after reading Frayn's play Copenhagen for full effect.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would kill anyone who did this to me, even though I'm against killing... in this circumstance... totally excusable.

[Yumna M. Usmani · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read! love it!

[Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good book on an elaborate practical joke