Origins of the Spy Novel

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 17:19:48 -0400, "Francis A. Miniter"
<miniter.RemoveThis@attglobalZZ.net> wrote:

 >Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
 >spy novel. . . .
 >
 >What early spy stories can the rest of you think of?

Well, from early reports, we learn that spies don't necessarily agree
among themselves:

"But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at
once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it.

"Then the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up
against the people; for they are stronger than we." So they brought to
the people of Israel an evil report of the land which they had spied
out, saying, "The land, through which we have gone, to spy it out, is
a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in
it are men of great stature. And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons
of Anak, who come from the Nephilim; and we seemed to ourselves like
grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them." Then all the congregation
raised a loud cry; and the people wept that night. And all the people
of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation
said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would
that we had died in this wilderness!" (Numbers 13:30-14:2 RSV)

The key here may be in these particular spies not appreciating what a
host of grasshoppers can accomplish in a land of milk and honey.

_Riddle of the Sands_, though, isn't something that just has spies in
it. It has suspense and average white-collar blokes sneaking around
and uncovering a mystery in which a sinister figure with a withered
arm is plotting the destruction of Old Blighty. I think that's what
makes it the prototype of the modern spy thriller.

Then there are the ironies of Childers' own life and death.

Don<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

Don Tuite wrote:
 > On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 17:19:48 -0400, "Francis A. Miniter"
 > <miniter.RemoveThis@attglobalZZ.net> wrote:
 >
 >
  >>Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
  >>spy novel. . . .
  >>
  >>What early spy stories can the rest of you think of?
 >
 > <snip>.
 >
 > _Riddle of the Sands_, though, isn't something that just has spies in
 > it. It has suspense and average white-collar blokes sneaking around
 > and uncovering a mystery in which a sinister figure with a withered
 > arm is plotting the destruction of Old Blighty. I think that's what
 > makes it the prototype of the modern spy thriller.
 >
 > Then there are the ironies of Childers' own life and death.
 >
 > Don
 >
 >
Hi Don,


I think I have been working too hard. I imagined that the
post that got me going was many days old, not less than 24
hours!

Your current post makes me think of John Buchan's "Prester
John" (1910) where the first person narrator, an arrogant,
adventurous young man, leaves Scotland, goes to South Africa
and ends up spying on a native uprising.


Francis A. Miniter<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 17:19:48 -0400, Francis A. Miniter wrote:

 > Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
 > spy novel. That got me thinking about the origins of these stories. I
 > can think of:
 >
 > 1. Dumas, The Three Musketeers, which heavily invovles a spy
 > element. The Duke of Buckingham and all that.

TTM came a few years before the novel that sprang to my mind, which is
Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. That involved various forms of espionage
and it wasn't just focused around the Defarge's underground network.
Solomon Pross (aka John Barsad) was gathering information on the
Revolution for the Crown and also spying on Charles Darnay. Given the
French trust in him and his eventual employment in the Bastille, I'd say
he was clearly a double agent.

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 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

 > Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
 > spy novel. That got me thinking about the origins of these stories.
 > [...] What early spy stories can the rest of you think of?

The Prometheus legend and the Epic of Gilgamesh - in both you have
someone acting as a secret agent for all humanity on a mission behind
enemy lines to get something vitally important (fire, immortality).

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 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 21:52:32 -0400, "Francis A. Miniter"
<miniter RemoveThis @attglobalZZ.net> wrote:

 >Your current post makes me think of John Buchan's "Prester
 >John" (1910) where the first person narrator, an arrogant,
 >adventurous young man, leaves Scotland, goes to South Africa
 >and ends up spying on a native uprising.

John Buchan wrote several other spy novels -- "The thirty-nine steps" and
"Greenmantle" come to mind.

Then there is Conrad's "The secret agent" and possibly "Under Western eyes".


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 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

"Francis A. Miniter" <miniter RemoveThis @attglobalZZ.net> writes:

 > Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
 > spy novel. That got me thinking about the origins of these stories.
 > I can think of:
 >
 >
 > 1. Dumas, The Three Musketeers, which heavily invovles a spy
 > element. The Duke of Buckingham and all that.
 >
 >
 > 2. One of the Sherlock Holmes stories dealing with the theft of
 > plans for a ship, I think. A detective novel with an espionage
 > subplot.
 >
 >
 > What early spy stories can the rest of you think of?

J. F. Cooper wrote The Spy in 1821.

Bruce<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

Bruce McGuffin wrote:

 > "Francis A. Miniter" <miniter.DeleteThis@attglobalZZ.net> writes:
 >
 >
  >>Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
  >>spy novel. That got me thinking about the origins of these stories.
  >>I can think of:
  >>
  >>
  >>1. Dumas, The Three Musketeers, which heavily invovles a spy
  >>element. The Duke of Buckingham and all that.
  >>
  >>
  >>2. One of the Sherlock Holmes stories dealing with the theft of
  >>plans for a ship, I think. A detective novel with an espionage
  >>subplot.
  >>
  >>
  >>What early spy stories can the rest of you think of?
 >
 >
 > J. F. Cooper wrote The Spy in 1821.
 >
 > Bruce

Hi Bruce,

It sits on my shelf but I never read it. Maybe it is time.


Francis A. Miniter<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel 

"Francis A. Miniter" <miniter.TakeThisOut@attglobalZZ.net> writes:

 > Bruce McGuffin wrote:
 >
  > > "Francis A. Miniter" <miniter.TakeThisOut@attglobalZZ.net> writes:
  > >
 >
   > >>Someone recently commented about a 1903 novel they considered an early
   > >>spy novel. That got me thinking about the origins of these stories.
   > >>I can think of:
   > >>
   > >>
   > >>1. Dumas, The Three Musketeers, which heavily invovles a spy
   > >>element. The Duke of Buckingham and all that.
   > >>
   > >>
   > >>2. One of the Sherlock Holmes stories dealing with the theft of
   > >>plans for a ship, I think. A detective novel with an espionage
   > >>subplot.
   > >>
   > >>
   > >>What early spy stories can the rest of you think of?
  > > J. F. Cooper wrote The Spy in 1821. Bruce
 >
 >
 > Hi Bruce,
 >
 > It sits on my shelf but I never read it. Maybe it is time.

If you do, report back.

I started the Leatherstocking Tales with my wife once. I used to read
them outloud to her. But after the first few we kind of lost our
way. Actually, she kept falling asleep. We've been halfway through The
Pathfinder for 15 years now.

I doubt I'll read any more aloud, but I've heard some of the Natty
Bumpoless books are more interestng.

Bruce<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Origins of the Spy Novel