The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
by Jennet Conant
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jennet ConantEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-09
ISBN: 0743294580
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Book Reviews of The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
Book Review: He Shagged for His Country
Summary: 5 Stars
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"The Irregulars," comes to us as a thoroughly, even exhaustively researched glimpse at a critical moment in British, and American, history. It's authored by Jennet Conant, journalist who has written profiles for "Vanity Fair," "Esquire," "GQ,""Newsweek," and "The New York Times," and author of the bestselling Tuxedo Park : A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II; and 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos. She tackles the fraught years prior to America's entry into World War II, when the British were forced to fight the German Third Reich on their own; the intense war years that followed; and the no less intense immediate postwar years of the two countries.
Conant does this by focusing on Washington, D.C. during the years when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was U.S. President, and Winston Churchill was British Prime Minister. She also noticeably focuses on celebrated British author Roald Dahl; not that he's not worthy of attention, of course, but it's not clear that he should be the centerpiece of this book. It may be that she simply had access to a cache of his previously unseen materials.
During the prewar period, the British, standing alone against the Nazi war machine, desperately needed American help, and so, with FDR's tacit permission, came up with a desperate scheme, putting in place a ring of British spies in America. Under the leadership of that famed millionaire newspaper publisher Canadian, Sir William Stephenson, AKA Intrepid, they were charged with mounting a secret campaign of propaganda and political subversion to weaken America's isolationists, bring the country into the war against Germany, and influence U.S. policy in favor of the U.K. They were officially the British Security Coordination (BSC) although the troops preferred to call themselves the Baker Street Irregulars, after Sherlock Holmes amateur helpers, and they were amateurs, with no spying experience, picked for their looks, their charm, their cleverness and their wit. They planted British propaganda in American newspapers and radio programs, in aid of which they secretly influenced leading journalists, including Drew Pearson, Walter Winchell, and Walter Lipmann. They harassed prominent isolationist America Firsters and anti-New Dealers, and American corporations that did business with Nazi Germany.
They continued their work during the war, helping to found and construct/instruct their American counterpart, the Office of Secret Services (OSS), under the leadership of another famed master spy, (Wild) Bill Donovan, an amiable Irishman who himself employed a significant number of Brits. And, as the war came to a close, they occupied themselves with the postwar world, particularly the allocation of air routes, fighting for their country's economic well-being against the shrewd and greedy Juan Trippe, of Pan American Airlines.
Many well-born young Britishers were involved in this effort, and several would go on to fame and fortune. Among them were Ivar Bryce, whom Conant describes as "Tall, dark and handsome to the point of absurdity, he looked like an Aztec prince and was often mistaken for a film star. He was born to European nobility, counted the Marquess of Milford-Haven and the Earl of Medina as nephews, and radiated the languid ennui of someone who never had to work for a living." She quotes Lord Mountbatten on his distant nephew, "It's terrible, the advantages he's had to overcome."
Bryce was an old school chum of the Scotsman, Ian Fleming, who was also playing the game for all he was worth. Fleming would go on, of course, to create the world's most famous and popular fictional spy, James Bond, No. 007. And, according to Conant, this typically thrifty Scot, in creating his works, never wasted a scrap of his wartime experience, nor a bit of a co-workers name. Also enjoying the fun was another Scotsman, David Ogilvy. Actress/writer Ruth Gordon described him, on his arrival, as "the tall young man with the flaming red hair." Rosser Reeves declared, "In those days David looked just like Lord Byron." Ogilvy would go on, during the postwar years, to found Ogilvy and Mather, and become the world's most famous advertising man. Well-known, witty, and gay British playwright Noel Coward was also active. Well, it's quite obvious; Mother Country wasn't picking these particular spies for their ability to blend into walls.
The young Roald Dahl never could have blended into the walls, either. He was tall too, 6'4", with striking blue eyes, dashing, handsome, witty and charming. And he came trailing uniformed romance, as an injured Royal Air Force pilot. He began his American experience by being appointed to the British Embassy in Washington, but he didn't fit in particularly well there, and eventually moved to the covert side. Dahl was undoubtedly a patriot, though the odd thing is, as Conant reveals, that, although he was British born and bred, he was 100% ethnic Norwegian. His parents were both full-blooded Norwegians who had settled in the U.K.; Norwegian was spoken in the home, and vacations were taken in their far northern homeland. Dahl's Norwegian was as good as his English. Never mind: his beat was Washington, and he turned the city inside out. He conquered First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband Franklin, the President; wartime leaders from Henry Wallace to Henry Morgenthau, the heights of Washington Society, from salon society heiresses Evalyn Walsh Maclean to Alicia (Cissy) Paterson, publisher of the Washington Post. And then there were the women, troops of them, too, from strikingly beautiful Standard Oil heiress Millicent Rogers to glamorous freshman Congresswoman Clare Booth Luce, who was in the boring tenth year of her marriage to powerful Time Life publisher Henry Luce at the time. Dahl, who was reputed to be extremely well-endowed, can be said to have shagged for his country. Of his relationship with Mrs. Luce, Dahl once claimed he'd been required to perform sexually on every piece of furniture in her house. Dahl began writing of his piloting exploits during the war, and continued to write for his living, becoming best-known for his children's books "James and the Giant Peach," and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."(By the way, Dahl family prominence continues to the current day, with his granddaughter Sophie Dahl, descended from his first wife, actress Patricia Neal, as a well-known supermodel, serial dater of famous men, and now author of a well-received children's' book.)
Conant writes well, and keeps many balls spinning. She is just a little repetitive, occasionally confusing, if you can't read the book at a sitting, and who can. It gets a little tough remembering which of her handsome, hard-working British lads labored where. But, evidently, "The Irregulars" is a gossip lover's dream, particularly a political junkie's dream; and great for those who just can't get enough World War II, or spy material, particularly of the British variety, so you can count me in.
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Summary of The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
When Roald Dahl, a dashing young wounded RAF pilot, took up his post at the British Embassy in Washington in 1942, his assignment was to use his good looks, wit, and considerable charm to gain access to the most powerful figures in American political life. A patriot eager to do his part to save his country from a Nazi invasion, he invaded the upper reaches of the U.S. government and Georgetown society, winning over First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and her husband, Franklin; befriending wartime leaders from Henry Wallace to Henry Morgenthau; and seducing the glamorous freshman congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce.Dahl would soon be caught up in a complex web of deception masterminded by William Stephenson, aka Intrepid, Churchill's legendary spy chief, who, with President Roosevelt's tacit permission, mounted a secret campaign of propaganda and political subversion to weaken American isolationist forces, bring the country into the war against Germany, and influence U.S. policy in favor of England. Known as the British Security Coordination (BSC) -- though the initiated preferred to think of themselves as the Baker Street Irregulars in honor of the amateurs who aided Sherlock Holmes -- these audacious agents planted British propaganda in American newspapers and radio programs, covertly influenced leading journalists -- including Drew Pearson, Walter Winchell, and Walter Lippmann -- harassed prominent isolationists and anti-New Dealers, and plotted against American corporations that did business with the Third Reich.
In an account better than spy fiction, Jennet Conant shows Dahl progressing from reluctant diplomat to sly man-about-town, parlaying his morale-boosting wartime propaganda work into a successful career as an author, which leads to his entrée into the Roosevelt White House and Hyde Park and initiation into British intelligence's elite dirty tricks squad, all in less than three years. He and his colorful coconspirators -- David Ogilvy, Ian Fleming, and Ivar Bryce, recruited more for their imagination and dramatic flair than any experience in the spy business -- gossiped, bugged, and often hilariously bungled their way across Washington, doing their best to carry out their cloak-and-dagger assignments, support the fledgling American intelligence agency (the OSS), and see that Roosevelt was elected to an unprecedented fourth term.
It is an extraordinary tale of deceit, double-dealing, and moral ambiguity -- all in the name of victory. Richly detailed and meticulously researched, Conant's compelling narrative draws on never-before-seen wartime letters, diaries, and interviews and provides a rare, and remarkably candid, insider's view of the counterintelligence game during the tumultuous days of World War II.
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Long before Willy Wonka sent out those five Golden Tickets, Roald Dahl lived a life that was more James Bond than James and the Giant Peach. After blinding headaches cut short his distinguished career as a Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Dahl became part of an elite group of British spies working against the United States' neutrality at the onset of World War II. The Irregulars is a brilliant profile of Dahl's lesser-known profession, embracing a real-life storyline of suave debauchery, clandestine motives, and afternoon cocktails. If this sounds oddly familiar, it's no coincidence: both Ian Fleming (the creator of 007) and Bill Stephenson (the legendary spymaster rumored to be the inspiration for Bond) were members of the same outfit. Although "Dahl...Roald Dahl" doesn't quite carry the same debonair ring, there is no discrediting this fascinating look at the British author's covert service to the Allied cause during WWII. --Dave Callanan
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