''An Officer and a Spy'' is a 2013

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

by the English writer and journalist Robert Harris. It tells the true story of the French officer

Georges Picquart Marie-Georges Picquart (6 September 1854 – 19 January 1914) was a French Army officer and Minister of War. He is best known for his role in the Dreyfus affair, in which he played a key role in uncovering the real culprit. Early career Picqu ...

from 1896 to 1906, as he struggles to expose the truth about the doctored evidence that sent

Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

Plot summary

Upon being promoted to run the ''Statistical Section'', the top secret headquarters of French military intelligence,

begins to discover that the evidence that was used to convict

of espionage, which resulted in his imprisonment for life on

, is flimsy at best. As he investigates further, he discovers that the military and the government doctored much of the evidence. The real spy is still operating. Warned off the investigation by his superiors, Picquart persists, risking his career and his life, to free an innocent man from unjust imprisonment and to expose a spy operating within the military.

Reception

The novel won the

Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter S ...

(2014), and the American Library in Paris Book Award (2014). Anna Franco praised the book highly in a review for The Objective Standard, writing, “''An Officer and a Spy'' is at once a compelling historical novel and a spy thriller, portraying a few people who take principled actions to save an innocent man.”

Film

Robert Harris was inspired to write the novel by his friend

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

's longtime interest in the Dreyfus affair. Harris followed up the novel with a script of the same story, titled ''D'', with Polanski announced as director in 2012. Although set in Paris, the film was initially scheduled to shoot in Warsaw in 2014, for economic reasons. However, production was postponed after Polanski moved to Poland for filming and the U.S. Government filed extradition papers. The Polish government eventually rejected them, by which time new French film tax credits had been introduced, allowing the film to shoot on location in Paris. It was budgeted at 60 million euros and was again set to start production in July 2016, however its production was postponed again as Polanski waited on the availability of a star, whose name was not announced. It was announced in September 2018 that the project had been retitled ''J'accuse'', and would go into production in the fall of 2018, starring

Jean Dujardin Jean Edmond Dujardin (; born 19 June 1972) is a French actor and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian in Paris before guest starring in comedic television programmes and films. He first came to prominence with the cult TV series ...

as Picquart and co-starring

Mathieu Amalric Mathieu Amalric (; born 25 October 1965) is a French actor and filmmaker. He has won several César Awards and the Lumière Awards. He is best known internationally for his roles in the James Bond film '' Quantum of Solace'', in which he pla ...

and

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgium, Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival), Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in ''The Son (2002 film), Le Fils'' ...

. It is produced by

Alain Goldman Alain Goldman, also known as Ilan Goldman (born 12 January 1961), is a French film producer. Early life Goldman was born in Montmartre, Paris, the son of Ashkenazi Jews, Jewish parents. His grandfather was the first representative for Universal P ...

and distributed by Gaumont. Jean Dujardin announced on November 26, 2018 that filming had begun that day. Dujardin announced on April 28, 2019 that filming had been completed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Officer and a Spy 2013 British novels British spy novels British historical novels British thriller novels English novels Cultural depictions of Alfred Dreyfus Dreyfus affair British novels adapted into films Spy novels adapted into films Walter Scott Prize–winning works Novels by Robert Harris Hutchinson (publisher) books