Paulo Coelho

"A novel of Mata Hari's final days, as written by the woman herself while accused of espionage" --

A Novel

The Spy

'Beautifully written and gripping'. Sunday Mirror When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Soon she was feted as the most elegant woman in the city. A dancer who shocked and delighted audiences, as a confidante and courtesan she bewitched the era's richest and most powerful men. But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari's lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917 she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees and accused of espionage. Told in Mata Hari's voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to break the conventions of her time, and paid the price.

Julie Rubens

Really good book! Very wel written and intriguing!

starry.

Janna Niemi

An interesting book. I wasn’t too familiar with Mata Hari’s story before so I can’t comment too much about the quality of the facts in this book, but I learned a lot and this was easy and interesting to read. It wasn’t any where near as heavy read as the traditional biographies which to me is perfect.

Barbara Williford

Mata Hari as a young woman is trying to escape her Dutch heritage so she marries young and is enticed by the thought of living abroad. When that dream fizzles and reality is more than she wants, she leaves the East and heads to Germany and Paris to build a name for herself as an exotic dancer and a kept woman. She gets sucked into espionage, double spying and eventually a scapegoat when the war hits and it all comes crashing down. Her past and her relationships catch up with her. An excellent book and well narrated.

This is a fictional account of the life of Mata Hari, the famous exotic dancer in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1917, she was executed by the French government for espionage. Mata Hari was a larger than life figure who fashioned any number of lies about herself and her history to achieve the life she wanted. Those lies came back to bite her in the ass during her farce of a trial. 

I really like the structure of this novel. It's told through news articles and confessional letters from a variety of sources, though the bulk of the book is written by Mata Hari, with another significant section written by her lawyer following her conviction. 

I'm not totally enamored with this book, though, because I just feel like something's missing. I'm not even sure what is missing exactly, I just feel like I would have wanted to see more of actual experiences during the war. Despite the espionage being the reason for her death and the source of the title, there didn't actually seem to be a lot from her about how she dealt with the counterespionage shenanigans she got caught up in. And I suppose part of that is because even as she's writing her final letter, she doesn't want to lose her front, but it just felt lacking to me.

Amanda Rocha

Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist and The Witch of Portobello, again bewitches readers with The Spy, a novel based on the life of Mata Hari.

Based on real events
Based around the historical facts surrounding her life and 1917 arrest, Coelho weaves together a first-hand account of what really happened during her life - how she felt, and justifies some of the reasons for her actions.



The Prologue describes Mata's gruesome execution by firing squad. Imagining her final moments as she gets dressed for a final time and fearlessly faces her own death with open eyes - refusing to be blindfolded.



The letters she penned greatly inspired Coelho, helping to shape the voice of Mata. Using the pronoun "I", Coelho writes the story from her perspective,  in the way he believes she must have felt.

Coelho brings depth to her story, combining fact with fiction. He provides readers with both her emotional state of mind as well as researched facts behind the case - modern evidence suggests her innocence. Integrated into the story are an assortment of the lists and clippings Mata Hari had collected and deliberately left behind before her execution, as well as historical photographs of Mata herself.

  


pg. 12
The Spy chronicles Mata Hari's abusive relationship to the Indonesian Army Captain, the birth (and deaths) of her children, and her cultural isolation while living in Indonesia. Mata identifies these events as sources of the pain she faced and reveals that she used dance and sexuality as weapons to overcome her nightmare.

My decision: I could no longer accumulate problems and live so far beyond the limits of human suffering. (27)
Mata Hari's story is a classic exhibition of overcoming ones weaknesses to assert ones self as independent. Although her rebellious actions cost her her life, she remains an archetype for the modern independent woman who refuses to stifle one's sexuality.

'Beautifully written and gripping'. Sunday Mirror When Mata Hari arrived in Paris she was penniless. Soon she was feted as the most elegant woman in the city. A dancer who shocked and delighted audiences, as a confidante and courtesan she bewitched the era’s richest and most powerful men. But as paranoia consumed a country at war, Mata Hari’s lifestyle brought her under suspicion. In 1917 she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees and accused of espionage. Told in Mata Hari's voice through her final letter, The Spy is the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to break the conventions of her time, and paid the price.

The Spy A Novel

Reviews