“Is it possible that innocence is not recognised in an age of enlightenment and truth? Let them search. I ask no favour, but I ask the justice that is the right of every human being. Let them continue to search; let those who possess powerful means of investigation use them towards this object; it is for them a sacred duty of humanity and justice.”
In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, is found guilty of spying and passing on France’s military secrets to the Germans. After being publicly degraded and stripped of his rank at a ceremony in Paris, he is exiled to Devil’s Island to live in solitary confinement in a tiny stone hut. One of the men involved in the conviction of Dreyfus is Georges Picquart, the narrator of An Officer and a Spy.
At first, Georges is sure that Dreyfus is guilty, but after being promoted to Colonel and made head of the Statistical Section (French military intelligence) he starts to have doubts. And when evidence of a second spy comes to light, Georges begins to wonder…what if Dreyfus was innocent all along?
An Officer and a Spy may be a work of fiction, but the events I’ve described above really happened. Known as the Dreyfus Affair, it was a serious miscarriage of justice that caused a huge scandal and divided public opinion in France. The author Emile Zola was even inspired to write an article in support of Dreyfus which was published under the title J’accuse…! and led to him being brought to trial for libel. The most shocking aspect of the case was the extent to which military officials had attempted to cover up the truth and fabricate evidence to hide the fact that mistakes had been made and that an innocent man had been used as a scapegoat.
This fictional account of the Dreyfus Affair is closely based on historical fact. The first half of the novel follows Georges Picquart as he discovers that there’s more to the case than meets the eye; in the second half we see what he decides to do with the information he has uncovered. Every step of the way he is thwarted by the very people he should have been able to depend upon for help and it becomes obvious that some members of his department are more interested in protecting their reputations than in seeing justice prevail.
This is the first book I’ve read by Robert Harris; for a long time he’s been an author I’ve been aware of without ever thinking I might enjoy, but when I saw that this novel had won this year’s Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction it convinced me to give it a try. And guess what? I loved it! Not having much previous knowledge of the Dreyfus story (it was touched on in Paris by Edward Rutherfurd but this is the first time I’ve read about it in any depth), I was completely gripped by Georges Picquart’s investigations.
From the historical fiction perspective, this book is excellent. It’s packed with information but never becomes boring or overly detailed and it’s firmly set in its time period – Georges travels by steam train, he communicates via telegram, and during a posting in Tunisia he can only rely on out-of-date newspapers as a way of following the progress of the case at home in France. But I would also recommend this book to readers of spy novels and thrillers and to anyone who enjoys well-written, well-researched fiction in general. Although the pace is slow at the beginning, it soon becomes quite a page turner, especially if you’re not very familiar with the facts of the Dreyfus Affair.
An Officer and a Spy really is a fascinating novel and took me through a range of emotions from shock to frustration to absolute outrage! Now I would like to try another book by Robert Harris. Any suggestions?
She Reads Novels 
I must certainly look out for this!
Now I would like to try another book by Robert Harris. Any suggestions?
Of those that I’ve read, I’ve especially enjoyed Enigma and The Ghost. He’s a very good writer, though, so I can’t imagine you’d go wrong whatever you chose.
I’m glad to hear that! I really like the sound of Enigma so maybe I’ll try that one next.
This book sounds interesting; I’ve heard about the Dreyfus Affair, but don’t know many of the details. When done well, there’s nothing better than historical fiction for making history come alive. I’ll have to check this author out!
I think it’s probably best not to know too many of the details before you read this book. The story is more suspenseful that way!
I’ve been keen to read this too – thanks for the glowing recommendation, I’ll definitely search it out now!
I hope you’ll love it as much as I did if you do read it. It’s one of my favourite books of the year so far.
A great review. I haven’t read any Robert Harris, but have always wanted to read Fatherland, but this also looks really good.
I wish I hadn’t dismissed Robert Harris for so long as an author I didn’t think I’d like. His books all sound great.
I read and liked Enigma and Fatherland years ago, but Robert Harris’s later books didn’t really appeal. Until now – I’d like to read more about the Dreyfus affair, and to win the Walter Scott prize when there was a very strong field is certainly a recommendation.
Enigma seems to be the one most people are recommending, so I think I’ll probably try that one next.
This sounds really interesting. I haven’t read anything by Robert Harris though I’ve seen the name around a lot. After reading your thoughts I am more inclined to pick up something of his.
He seems a really popular author, but I haven’t paid his books any attention until now. I loved this book and can’t wait to read another one.
Some time ago I read an article about the Dreyfus Affair that made me really curious to know more. This sounds like a really good place to start! I’m not familiar with the author at all – but I plan to change that!
I knew very little about the Dreyfus Affair before I started to read this book so I found it completely fascinating!
I really enjoyed Pompeii by Harris. It’s extremely atmospheric, and there is lots of fascinating info on vulcanology, Roman culture, and Roman engineering all wrapped up in a good mystery.
Pompeii does sound interesting. I don’t read a lot of fiction set in Ancient Rome, so that would be something a bit different for me.
I know the library has several of his books but they’ve never really appealed to me. I would probably enjoy this one as it’s about the Dreyfus Affair.
His books have never appealed to me either, even though I didn’t really know what they were about – which wasn’t very fair of me! If you have any interest at all in the Dreyfus Affair, then I would definitely recommend this one.
Enigma gets the vote from me. It is a long time since I have read it and I like the sound of this book immensely.
Another vote for Enigma! I think I’ll have to make that the next one I read.
I haven’t enjoyed Harris’s more recent books and so have not yet picked this one up. Perhaps though he is back on the form that made ‘Enigma’ one of my favourite novels in the year it came out. I’ve always been interested in the Dreyfus Affair so maybe it is time to go back to him.
As this is the first of his books I’ve read, I obviously don’t know how it compares to his earlier ones, but I did think it was excellent. I must try Enigma next!
what a marvelous work of historical fiction!
Yes, it is!
This sounds wonderful. I just went to goodreads and added it to my “to read” list. Thank-you for bringing it to my attention and for the wonderful review!
You’re welcome, Laura! 🙂
Pompeii and Fatherland and Enigma and. . . . .I have enjoyed them all. Only one I haven’t read is Lustrum.
Great! It sounds like I have a lot to look forward to!
My husband got this for Christmas and absolutely loved it. It’s waiting in my tbr pile…. I really DO want to get to it, particularly after your excellent review.
I’m glad your husband loved it and hope you will too. It really is an excellent book.
Apart from ‘An officer and a spy’ I also enjoyed ‘Imperium’ and ‘Lustrum’ by Robert Harris. In fact, the court scenes in ‘An officer and a spy’ reminded me of ‘Imperium’.
I still haven’t read anything else by Robert Harris, so thanks for the recommendations. I love the sound of both Imperium and Lustrum.
I loved Pompeii, very vivid. I have Imperium and Conspirata on my TBR, but I can’t recommend them since I haven’t read them. This one I haven’t bought but it’s been on my radar; I’m only waiting for Amazon to drop the price.