The Great Secret |
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| Author:
| Oppenheim, E. Phillips |
| ISBN: | 978-1-4922-6906-9 |
| Publication Date: | Aug 2013 |
| Publisher: | CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $10.25 |
Book Description:
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The classic thriller by the father of modern spy fiction.
"So cunningly continued, so intricate in its convolutions without being obscure, so skillfully managed as to development and climax, that it furnishes breathless reading from first to last...The story has in it a suggestion of one of the very best of his earlier books, 'A Maker of History,' in that it deals with an international complication, a favorite Oppenheim theme. But the variations are such as to make a novel...
More Description
The classic thriller by the father of modern spy fiction.
"So cunningly continued, so intricate in its convolutions without being obscure, so skillfully managed as to development and climax, that it furnishes breathless reading from first to last...The story has in it a suggestion of one of the very best of his earlier books, 'A Maker of History,' in that it deals with an international complication, a favorite Oppenheim theme. But the variations are such as to make a novel and extremely interesting plot which involves a fascinating American woman, a seeming adventuress who really isn't, and a good-natured sport of an Englishman who loves her, as well as a lot of other mysterious personages of different nations, who gamble for the great secret, which refers to an underground plan on the part of Germany to descend on England and occupy London....It is only fair to describe 'The Great Secret' as one of the cleverest novels Oppenheim has yet printed. In one respect he really commands admiration: he presents the wildest and most impossible situations with such an air of grave matter of fact-ness, that you are fairly ashamed not to believe it. The author has ever appearance of believing it; why not the reader?" -The Bellman, Volume 4, May, 1908
"As a story-teller he has reached the highest mark yet registered.. The mystery begins on the very first page."--Baltimore Sun
"This once-famous British writer was universally known as 'the prince of storytellers'. Oppenheim was the inventor of the spy novel, creating the "rogue male" school of suspense thrillers, in which the hero stays one step ahead of the law while racing around the world attempting to right a wrong. His dips into the shadowy world of diplomacy certainly caught the public's attention. His most famous novel, The Great Impersonation, was filmed three times between 1921 and 1942, lastly as a propaganda piece starring Ralph Bellamy and Evelyn Ankers. In this, an enemy agent discovers an unconscious man adrift in a boat who is his exact double, and takes his place. It's estimated that around 30 of his books were made into films." -The Independent