The Double Traitor by E. Phillips Oppenheim

Less-than-credible spy novel set at the outbreak of World War I

British writer E. Phillips Oppenheim was one of the most popular authors of spy thriller novels in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His novel The Double Traitor was published in 1915. Since the story deals with the outbreak of World War I in Europe, it was a very timely fictionalization of current events. Even before the Great War, Oppenheim was writing novels about evil German spies working to infiltrate, invade, and conquer England. This trend in his work increased in frequency and intensity once the Germans declared war in 1914.

Francis Norgate is an English diplomat in Berlin. In a night club one evening, he gets into an argument with a boorish Prussian prince over a woman they are both wooing. The next day, Norgate finds himself relieved of his position,. The Kaiser, apparently a friend of the offended prince, has requested the diplomat’s ejection form Germany. The disgruntled Norgate returns to London for a leave of absence until he is assigned to a different embassy. On his way home, he shares a train compartment with a fellow passenger: Mr. Selingman, a German manufacturer of crockery. Over the course of the journey, Norgate learns that Selingman runs a German spy network in England. Upon his arrival in London, Norgate reports this to his superiors in the British government and to Scotland Yard, but no one will listen to him. The idea of Germany inciting a war with Britain is regarded as a ludicrous. Norgate, therefore, decides to take matters into his own hands and infiltrate Selingman’s spy ring by posing as a traitor to his country.

I previously read an Oppenheim novel entitled Havoc, published in 1911, in which he predicted the coming world war. The Double Traitor is less impressive because it merely relates events after the fact. A Bosnian Serb anarchist assassinates the Austrian archduke. Austria declares war on Serbia, with the support of Germany. Russia comes to the defense of Serbia. France, an ally of Russia, joins in. Germany invades Belgium. Then England enters the war. That’s the way things happened in the real world, and that’s the way they happen in Oppenheim’s novel. In The Double Traitor, Oppenheim proposes that the entire chain of events was calculated by Germany (as represented here by Selingman) as an excuse to declare war on England and conquer the British Isles.

Even if you agree with Oppenheim on that assertion, The Double Traitor often strains believability. The manner in which Norgate first learns about the German plot is too easy and convenient. The gullibility of Selingman in taking Norgate under his wing does not ring true. Norgate going undercover in a German spy ring, without any authorization from the British government, would make him a real traitor in the eyes of the law, not a fake one. The cluelessness of everyone but Norgate as to the intentions of Germany also seems a disingenuous fallacy designed to amplify Norgate’s heroism. Nevertheless, if you’re willing to suspend disbelief, this is a brisk and catchy read. One must have a high tolerance, however, for snooty aristocrats, Norgate included, whose main concern in life is who they dine with and where on any given night. The gentlemanly priggishness and feminine haughtiness that Oppenheim thought was so cool in the Victorian Era is quite grating in hindsight.

When all is said and done, it is difficult to see what Norgate really accomplished. World War I proceeded nonetheless, despite his spy-busting efforts. In fact, he knew about the assassination of Franz Ferdinand beforehand and did nothing to stop it. Oh well, if you don’t think too hard, you just might find yourself enjoying this fluffy potboiler of international intrigue.

If you liked this review, please follow the link below to Amazon.com and give me a “helpful” vote. Thank you.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R13ZPI1PJO3XJN/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_rdp_perm