An Officer and a Spy
The Dreyfus Affair as told by Robert Harris
If I saw it in a bookshop I would have passed by. I would assume it was a Spy novel. It is but based on historical events what is known as the ‘Dreyfus Affair’.
Alfred Dreyfus was a Captain in the French Army who was convicted of treason. It was believed he was a German spy. Dreyfus was Jewish and it emerged that he was the victim of anti Semitism perpetrated by senior Army officers.
Colonel Picquart who had a minor role in Dreyfus’s conviction became the commanding officer of Army intelligence. It was in this role he came upon documents that led him to question the conviction of Dreyfus and to the uncovering of the true spy.
Picquart believed in doing the right thing but as he attempted to do it he found himself blocked and ultimately being accused of being a spy. The story brings to life Paris of the late 19th and early 20th century
Dreyfus is the subject of the story yet the story is primarily about Piquart, his involvement in convicting Dreyfus, his discovery of the truth, his attempts to rectify the wrong, his subsequent humiliation and then his restoration.
Within the tale there is a quote attributed to Aristotle, ‘The true measure of a man’s character is his actions’. This was with reference to Picquart being accused of being an antisemite. I was thinking the true measure of how good a book is whether I finish before the book group meets? I finished all 608 pages!
The book is divided into two parts. Part one was enjoyable but slow. I felt I was walking in and out of offices within the Ministry of War as Harris told the tale. I wondered what could be left out to make it a shorter read, his liaisons with Pauline, his jaunts to the country? Towards the end of part 1 when Picquart becomes the subject of suspicion and accusation, the pace quickens maybe Harris is a long-distance writer? I read part 2 in a week. I dandered in Part 1 for at least 4.
Dreyfus is subject to four years of isolation on ‘Devil’s island’ in French Guiana. Picquart is not subject to such harshness yet both men fulfilled Dostoevsky thoughts on a hero. A quote used in the tale.
“What makes a hero? Courage, strength, morality, withstanding adversity?” Dostoevsky
The true spy was believed to be Estehrhazy who after being acquitted fled to of all places ‘Harpenden’ a town within the St Albans district of which most of our book group live (we had a visitor from Canada on our zoom call).
Historical fiction has the power to bring alive history to people like me who may never find the historical account. Harris well exceeded in captivating me and giving me a resource to draw on when I find myself, as I have done at different points in life, a lone voice.
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