In An Officer and a Spy, bestselling author Richard Harris recreates the Dreyfus affair that fascinated Europe in the last years of the 19th century. The story is told from the viewpoint of Georges Picquart, an officer of the French army sent to observe the public humiliation of Alfred Dreyfus in 1895 following his trial and conviction for spying for the Germans.
Picquart knows Dreyfus as a former student at the military training academy. Like many of his countrymen at the time, Picquart accepts Dreyfus’s guilt because he distrusts Jews. When Picquart is promoted to head of military intelligence, however, he starts to notice irregularities in documents used in evidence against Dreyfus. I found Georges Picquart a sympathetic yet flawed character who must overcome his prejudice and his devotion to the army to discover the truth of the matter.
Based on historical fact, An Officer and a Spy tells a tale familiar to modern readers of how organisations hide their mistakes and punish whistle blowers. The wretched condition of Dreyfus after years of imprisonment on Devil’s Island reminded me of Julian Assange today. In a situation reminiscent of today’s war in Ukraine, the French harboured great bitterness against Germany after losing territory in Germany’s war with France in 1870.
As well as its historical interest and relation to current events, An Officer and a Spy provides a delightful recreation of Paris at the time. Before the advent of modern technology, work proceeded at a slower pace. Picquart walked Paris streets to appointments and waited days for replies to letters. He took train journeys through France for army business. Meetings in Paris took place in ornate buildings, all beautifully described. While early parts of the novel match this sedate pace, tension and pace increase as Picquart discovers some disturbing evidence and finds his own reputation and life in danger.
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