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1940s: Mata Hari’s final letter reveals a lot more than she ever could have imagined…
The Spy
What you need to know before your trail
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; a confidant and courtesan who 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. Until, in 1917 she was arrested in her hotel room on the Champs Elysees and accused of espionage.
Told through Mata’s final letter, THE SPY tells the unforgettable story of a woman who dared to break the conventions of her time, and paid the price.
Travel Guide
The world of Mata Hari
The world is a fascinating one from the opening scene in Paris where the officials come for her and cart her off from prison. But the real world of Mata Hari was infact a stage on which she acted out her whole life.
From the streets of Milan where she announces that she danced Bacchus and Gambrinis in La Scala, to the streets of Berlin and the theatres of Paris, this is the world where Mata Hari ruled and beguiled everyone in her wake. She even says herself that everyone flirts with danger and will want to meet the woman who everyone says knows and keeps the most. The dance of the veils is like the shedding of secrets.
Paris
Paris at the time is evoked via the sights and sounds of the theatres, the windmills of Moulin Rouge, the dancing girls and those who do more:
During the World’s Fair, Paris was different then, more provincial, though it still thought it was the centre of the world”
Mata Hair’s Paris is one of high kicks and secret stays in rooms in the Elysee palace hotel. She beds many important army and political figures. She flits from one place to the next but realises that ” Now I understand that I cannot run from myself”
Mata Hari was born in Leeuwarden in the Netherlands and there is an exhibition here of her and her life story – friesmuseum.nl/en/
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
What a fascinating read! I’d read a few novels based on Mata Hari but I couldn’t wait to read the one written by Paul Coelho. Using her last letter for the story is a brilliant starting point and the opening scene – for it reads like a film.
Written in her voice and from her point of view I felt I really got inside her mind although I often didn’t agree with her, I learned to see things from her perspective at times but she still shocked me!
Even though there were parts of the story I knew this was a fresh approach and a new angle to her life and times. A beguiling woman and figure
The Paris of Mata Hari is one of theatres, dances with veils and performances which hide more than they reveal. An iconic and mysterious figure brought to life on the page
A lovely touch was the photographs scattered throughout the book – made the book feel like a scrapbook of her life and this made it all the more enchanting.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Spy
Author/Guide Paul Coelho Destination: Paris. Berlin, Munich Departure Time: WW2
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