The Irregulars

Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington

By: Jennet Conant

Narrated by: Simon Prebble

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 M16, 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 M16 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.

©2008 Jennet Conant (P)2008 HighBridge Company.

Critic reviews

"A thoroughly engrossing story, one Conant tells exceptionally well." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Reads like a classic spy novel....With this excellent history of personalities and politics during World War II, Conant adds successfully to her previous books that have made vivid the war's background players. Highly recommended." ( Library Journal)
"Simon Prebble, fastidiously pukka in his accent, has a fine 'top-secret' voice, shaded with condescension and understatedly urgent. Coming from him, the expression 'rumor mill' sounds especially insidious, and the deeds he describes - 'eavesdropping and peering over people's shoulders,' forgery, political subversion and general backstabbing - seem wonderfully dastardly." ( Washington Post Book World)

Pretty good

Very interesting story especially how these individuals became who they are where. Lagged for a bit but is recommended.

Fascinating insight into wartime politics

Roald Dahl's intriguing career is reviewed in this excellent book. I was fascinated by how this 'childrens author' was connected to the political elite during the most tumultuous period of modern history and how famous many of his then colleagues became.
Including 007 author Ian Fleming and ad-man David Ogilvy.

Simon Prebble's voice and style are perfect match to this novel making it a joy to listen.

interesting

I learned a lot about about activities connected with WWII -- British spys in the Americas, Vice President Wallace, and Washington DC society. I had no idea that children's book writer Dahl had been a British spy in the US! It was definitely worth reading. But, the book was not linear and would jump back and forth. I prefer my non-fiction to be chronological.

Interesting account

I wanted to be fascinated and looked forward to learning about an experience I'd never explored before. In some sections of the book I was captivated, but other sections dragged on and I found myself wishing the editor had been more heavy handed.

Surprising

I downloaded this book on a whim. It was on sale and I've been listening to lots of WWII history and wanted something a bit different. In addition, I've read a lot of Dahl and own most of his children's books. The material is engrossing and the narrator is quite good. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because there is a middle section of the book where the story necessarily goes away from Dahl only to come back to him later that is somewhat confusing in audiobook format. The names and dates can come fast and furious and be a little overwhelming at times. In the end, however, it was a fascinating story and is told well by both author and reader.

Worth Your Time

Any additional comments?

I was torn between giving the story 3 and 4, only because it dragged in places and went off in several tangents. In the end, I decided on 4 because for history buffs, the story is an important chapter in U.S.-British relations. There are times when you feel like Dahl is "the most interesting man in the world" as the commercial says, and there are other times when you believe he stumbled and charmed his way along for much of his life. He, not to mention the others, was certainly an interesting character. There is no doubt about that. The reader, Simon Prebble, is excellent. Good enough that, when Audible recommended "The Irregulars" after I finished "The Day of the Jackal," I gave it a try when I saw that Prebble read this one too. This is a worthwhile piece of history and I recommend it.

WW2 History on the Home Front That You Never Knew

Terrific story with terrific characters, British and American, and history that I never knew.

Needed a players card to keep track...

Would you try another book from Jennet Conant and/or Simon Prebble?

No

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Wrapped up Dahl's life rather quickly in the end.

Did Simon Prebble do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Yes, fairly good given the large number of characters with minimal parts.

Did The Irregulars inspire you to do anything?

I did have to google several people mentioned just to see what they looked like given the descriptions in the book.

Any additional comments?

I would have enjoyed the story more if there actually had been a story. I felt I was listening to a long list of people who showed up at places and hoped something would happen. I was rather disappointed that it read more like a thesis than popular press.

Fascinating stuff

This is a remarkable book. The reading is "transparent", I didn't notice anything wrong at all. The book is fascinating, If you know WWII era history fairly well, you'll find all sort of people you perhaps didn't expect, for example Lyndon Johnson and Ian Flemming. I didn't even know how well I knew the works of Roald Dahl, in particular. I've listened to it a couple of times, and enjoyed it on the second listening.

My main complaint is that not enough of the darker "undercover" aspect of the history is revealed. Perhaps later more information will be revealed.

Slow down Simon

--it's not so bad a book that Prebble had to rush through it - but my download (Enhanced format) was read at too brisk a pace. Since this is easy listening history, that pace detracted from the enjoyment of the listen.

I suspect those who know much about the period will quibble over details, but for me this was an entertaining look at propagnada making and the types who find themselves spinning it - more relevant an industry today than ever. This was better listening than most spy stories and the only violence is verbal, committed against oponnents' spin.