Spies of the Kaiser: Plotting the Downfall of England

by William Le Queux

Overview

'Classics of Espionage' is a reprint series designed to recover lost and long forgotten texts that have been influential in the history and popular culture of modern espionage. The criteria for 'classic' status reflects judgements about readability, literary merit, historical impact and the uniqueness of the story as an account of the still-hidden realm of modern espionage. Each text will be accompanied by a scholarly introduction explaining the book's significance and production history, and highlighting the author's career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783988267344
Publisher:	Otbebookpublishing
Publication date:	07/07/2023
Series:	Classics To Go
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

William Tufnell Le Queux (2 July 1864 – 13 October 1927) was an Anglo-French journalist and writer. He was also a diplomat (honorary consul for San Marino), a traveller (in Europe, the Balkans and North Africa), a flying buff who officiated at the first British air meeting at Doncaster in 1909, and a wireless pioneer who broadcast music from his own station long before radio was generally available; his claims regarding his own abilities and exploits, however, were usually exaggerated. His best-known works are the anti-French and anti-Russian invasion fantasy The Great War in England in 1897 (1894) and the anti-German invasion fantasy The Invasion of 1910 (1906), the latter becoming a bestseller.

Table of Contents

	Illustrations	vi
	Introduction	vii
	If England Knew	xxxiii
1.	How the Plans of Rosyth were Stolen	1
2.	The Secret of the Silent Submarine	20
3.	The Back-Door of England	39
4.	How the Germans are Preparing for Invasion	58
5.	The Secret of the New British Aeroplane	75
6.	The Secret of the New Armour-Plates	91
7.	The Secret of the Improved 'Dreadnoughts'	107
8.	The German Plot against England	124
9.	The Secret of our New Gun	140
10.	The Secret of the Clyde Defences	160
11.	The Peril of London	173
12.	How Germany Foments Strife	184
13.	Our Wireless Secrets	199
14.	Playing a Desperate Game	212

Editorial Reviews

A wildly paranoid tale, first published in 1909, in which patriotic British heroes battle German secret agents who are plotting the invasion of Britain. Historian Nicholas Hiley's introduction describes the novel (which Le Queux believed to be factually- based) as pivotal to the formation of M15, Britain's counter- espionage organization, which instigated a nationwide hunt for a non-existent enemy. Paper edition (unseen), $16.95. Distributed by ISBS. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Booknews

"worthy of its place in the history of espionage - I consider it well worth a read". Bulletin of the Military Historical Society

"As Nicholas Hiley demonstrates in his fine introduction to Spies of the Kaiser, MI5 itself owed its inspiration to the fiction of William Le Queux. Here, it appears, we have art imitating life, which is itself imitating art (of a sort)." Times Literary Supplement

"Le Queux"s novel played a significant part in the founding of the modern British intelligence community and thus fully deserves its place in the new Frank Cass series, Classics of Espionage." Christopher Andrew, The Daily Telegraph

"Frank Cass are to be congratulated on reprinting, with its original illustrations, one of Le Queux"s most influential works ... greatly enhanced by a fascinating and expert 24-page, well-referenced introduction. Victorian Military Society

From the Publisher