The Man on Devil’s Island: Alfred Dreyfus and the Affair that Divided France

WINNER OF THE 2010 NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARD FOR BIOGRAPHY

‘Masterly

… adds a new level of learning to the affair that defined twentieth-century France …… a book that will fascinate all those who love truth, love justice and love France, despite its many flaws’
NIGEL JONES, DAILY TELEGRAPH

In 1894, Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, was wrongfully convicted of spying for Germany, publicly disgraced and sentenced to solitary confinement for life on Devil’s Island. It was a miscarriage of justice that would unleash violent hatreds, tear France apart and stun the world.

The Man on Devil’s Island explores the clashing ideals, passions and personalities that defined both sides in the battle over Dreyfus, drawing on thousands of letters to offer a new understanding of one of the most defining moments in recent history.

‘An extraordinary study of the affair as a tragic drama that swept up a man, his family and friends, and French society’
ROBERT GILDEA, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS

‘Beautiful and complex

… scrupulous and well-written’

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

‘A re-examination of the Dreyfus Affair that offers some remarkable new perspectives

… a highly imaginative, deeply-researched inquiry’

MICHAEL MARRUS, THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT