Richard Harris' historical fiction is top notch
Our annual book recommendation edition is always one of my favorites. It’s great to learn what other people are reading and what they recommend. I look forward to reading many of the titles recommended by our readers this year.
On my part, I am recommending the historical novels by Robert Harris, many of which made it to the top of the New York Times Bestsellers list. This past winter I picked up Harris’ novel, “An Officer and a Spy” at our Daniel Island branch of the Berkeley County library. It is based on the infamous Dreyfus Affair, which in 1895 resulted in the conviction of treason of Jewish French officer Alfred Dreyfus, which included an imposition of life imprisonment at Devil’s Island.
The story is told from the perspective of Lt. Col. Georges Picquart, an officer in charge of what today we would term a counterintelligence unit. Not long after looking into the case, Picquart realizes that a spy does indeed exist in the ranks of the French Army but that it is not Dreyfus. Facing resistance from his superiors, Picquart engages in a quest to ferret out the real spy and to exonerate Dreyfus.
I won’t spill the ending or go into detail on all the twists and turns, but this fictional account of a true historical injustice is riveting and makes the reader consider past and present forms of incarceration and criminal procedure while totally engaging the reader in an enthralling mystery and crime story of the highest caliber.
After reading “An Officer and a Spy” I devoured many of the other titles by Harris in our library, including several excellent stories based in ancient Rome (“Dictator” and Pompeii”). One of his best known works, which was also made into an HBO movie, “Fatherland,” is based on the scenario that Germany won the Second World War.
All of Harris’ books are meticulously and thoroughly researched, serving as excellent history lessons as well as entertaining fiction. If you are a fan of the historical novel, these books are for you.