The Irregulars, Jennet Conant
The Irregulars, Jennet Conant
3 Rating(s)
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The Irregulars
Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington

Author: Jennet Conant

Narrator: Simon Prebble

Unabridged: 11 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/09/2008

Synopsis

Prior to the U.S. entering WWII, a small coterie of British spies in Washington, D.C., was formed. They called themselves the Baker Street Irregulars after the band of street urchins who were the eyes and ears of Sherlock Holmes in some Arthur Conan Doyle stories. This group constituted the very beginning of what would become MI6, the British version of the CIA, and they helped support the fledgling American intelligence service, known at the time as the OSS. Among them were writers Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, and the flamboyant Canadian industrialist turned professional saboteur William Stephenson, known by the code name "Intrepid," upon whom Fleming would later base his fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Richly detailed and carefully researched, Conant's narrative uses never-before-seen wartime letters, diaries, and interviews to create a fascinating, lively account of deceit, double dealing, and moral ambiguity—all in the name of victory.

About Jennet Conant

Jennet Conant is the author, most recently, of Fierce Ambition. Her other books include the New York Times bestselling Tuxedo Park, 109 East Palace, The Irregulars, The Great Secret, and the critically acclaimed Man of the Hour. She lives in Sag Harbor, New York.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mahlon on July 30, 2009

Jennet Conant's book The Irregulars promises much but delivers little. You'd think that a book that chronicled the activities of a British spy ring in WWII Washington would involve exciting tales of clandestine missions and other cloak and dagger activities. Unfortunately, Dahl's activities were lim......more

Goodreads review by Libby on September 23, 2009

Unlike several other readers who have reviewed this, I didn't find this book boring in the least. The pacing toward the beginning is a bit awkward, as the author makes the mistake of introducing the entire cast of characters in a big info-dump at the beginning which makes them all run together, but......more

Goodreads review by Jan C on April 17, 2017

Not sure how to review this. It was quite readable. Dahl and his ring of people are basically just big gossips. We don't whether he actually DID anything. But the British tried to move the Americans to war (during WWII) long before America was ready to go to war. Congress was, to a large extent, domi......more

Goodreads review by Robin on October 14, 2016

I'm not really sure I've ever been so disappointed by a book. And let me be clear: nobody in the world loves this group of spies more than I do. And if you were to stand here and ask me, I would tell you to go write your own fanfiction about Ian Fleming and Christopher Lee and Ian Fleming and Roald......more

Goodreads review by Susan on December 27, 2022

During the leadup to American's involvement in WWII, the English with the help of a few Americans established an organization (the BSC--British Security Coordination), whose job it was to promote Britain and its war needs to American politicians, tycoons and other decision makers. It was also to be......more

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