Intrigue: Espionage and Culture

An inventive and surprising examination of a century of spy fiction.

Why do spies have such cachet in the twentieth century? Why do they keep reinventing themselves? What do they mean in a political process? This book examines the tradition of the spy narrative from its inception in the late nineteenth century through the present day. Ranging from John le Carré’s bestsellers to Elizabeth Bowen’s novels, from James Bond to John Banville’s contemporary narratives, Allan Hepburn sets the histo...