British Invasion and Spy Literature, 1871–1918

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 1-30

3. Foreign Agents, Invaders, Government Responses, and Novels: The Battle of Dorking to The Great Secret

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 31-57

4. Foreign Agents, Invaders, Empire, Government Responses, and Novels

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 59-95

5. The Early War Spy Scare and ‘The Hidden Hand’

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 97-135

6. The Concept of the Gentleman in British Spy Literature

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 137-166

7. The Portrayal of British Women in Wartime Occupations in British Spy Literature During World War I

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 167-198

8. ‘The Most Dangerous Woman on Earth’: Sexuality in British Spy Literature During World War I

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 199-221

9. Conclusion

   • Danny Laurie-Fletcher

   Pages 223-230

10. Back Matter

    Pages 231-264

    PDF

This book examines British invasion and spy literature and the political, social, and cultural attitudes that it expresses. This form of literature began to appear towards the end of the nineteenth century and developed into a clearly recognised form during the Edwardian period (1901-1914). By looking at the origins and evolution of invasion literature, and to a lesser extent detective literature, up to the end of World War I, Danny Laurie-Fletcher utilises fiction as a window into the mind-set of British society. There is a focus on the political arguments embedded within the texts, which mirrored debates in wider British society that took place before and during World War I – debates about military conscription, immigration, spy scares, the fear of British imperial decline, and the rise of Germany. These debates and topics are examined to show what influence they had on the creation of the intelligence services, MI5 and MI6, and how foreigners were perceived in society.

• Spy Literature
• British Invasion Literature
• World War One
• Military Conscription
• Spy scares
• MI5
• MI6
• Intelligence services
• spy novel within a historical context
• Portrayal of British Women
• Wartime occupations
• British and Irish Literature

• College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

  Danny Laurie-Fletcher

Danny Laurie-Fletcher is an adjunct researcher at Flinders University, Australia.

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