The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War
The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 shattered the myth of Western invincibility. In this extraordinary early spy novel, Allen Upward claims to reveal the secret history behind it all. Monsieur V, an enigmatic agent operating in the shadows of empire, is summoned from London to St. Petersburg with instructions from Lord Bedale: uncover the treachery driving the world toward war. What he finds is Princess Y, a dangerous and duplicitous figure playing both sides against each other, and a web of hidden interests pushing empires toward cataclysm. The novel weaves submarine technology that could doom entire fleets, the infamous sinking of English fishing boats by the Russian Baltic fleet, and the Machiavellian maneuvers of powerful figures manipulating events from behind closed doors. Originally published when its predictions seemed like hallucination, the book has since been proven startlingly accurate. For readers who wonder what really happened in the shadows of history, this is espionage fiction that claims to pull back the curtain.
