Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man: A gripping WWII espionage thriller by a former special forces officer

William Catesby, a teenage SOE officer, is parachuted into Occupied France to thwart an act of treachery that could shape the future of France. He is drawn towards Lyon, a city of backstreets and blind alleys, and is privy to infighting and betrayal. Edward Wilson's Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man is an excellent example of a thrilling SOE spy novel that draws on his own special forces training.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 07 July 2022
Publisher: Quercus Publishing

A thrilling SOE spy novel by a former special forces officer who is poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré, Edward Wilson, seems poised to inherit the mantle of John le Carré. The Irish Independent reports that Catesby will delight those readers looking for less blood and more intelligence in their spy thrillers. Publishers Weekly praised Cambridge, 1941, for its "more George Smiley than James Bond" approach.

A teenage William Catesby leaves his studies to join the war effort. Parachuted into Occupied France as an SOE officer, he witnesses remarkable feats of bravery during the French Resistance. Yet, he is also privy to infighting and betrayal, as some of the Maquisards are more concerned with controlling the peace than fighting the war. Double agents and informers abound, and with torture a certainty if he is taken, Catesby knows there is no one he can trust. Passed from safe house to safe house, with the Abwehr on his tail, he is drawn towards Lyon, a city of backstreets and blind alleys. His mission is simple: thwart an act of treachery that could shape the future of France.

Edward Wilson's excellent Portrait of the Spy as a Young Man draws on his own special forces training. The Independent describes it as "engaging," "dynamic," and "stylistically sophisticated." Wilson's fascination is as much with how the spy betrays himself as with how he manipulates others. The Times praised him for his "praise for Edward Wilson: Stylistically sophisticated. Wilson knows how to hold the reader's attention." W.G. Sebald praised him for his "all-too-often, amid the glitzy gadgetry of the spy thriller, all the fast cars and sexual adventures, we lose sight of the essential seriousness of what is at stake." John le Carré reminds us, often, and so do.

Weight: 216g
Dimension: 128 x 198 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781529422283