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Josh Ireland

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The Traitors: A True Story of Blood, Betrayal and Deceit Kindle Edition

by Josh Ireland (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 300 ratings

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'An epic tale of love, dishonour, bravery, cowardice, betrayal and high-treason. Beautifully written. A stunning debut' Damien Lewis

Playboy. Fascist. Strongman. Thief.
Traitors.

John Amery is a drunk and a fanatic, an exiled playboy whose frail body is riven by contradictions. Harold Cole is a cynical, murderous conman who desperately wants to be seen as an officer and a gentleman. Eric Pleasants is an iron-willed former wrestler; he is also a pacifist, and will not be forced into fighting other men's battles. William Joyce can weave spells when he talks, but his true gifts are for rage and hate.

By the end of the Second World War, they will all have betrayed their country. The Traitors is the story of how they came to do so. Drawing on declassified MI5 files, it is a book about chaotic lives in turbulent times; idealism twisted out of shape; of torn consciences and abandoned loyalties; and the tragic consequences that treachery brings in its wake.

Print length

325 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

John Murray
Publication date

July 13, 2017
File size

1883 KB
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Enhanced typesetting

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Editorial Reviews

Review

A terrific read that is lucid, insightful and beautifully written. Josh Ireland's masterful prose breathes life into these complex, deceitful, yet profoundly fascinating traitors. Set against a backdrop of violent extremism and political failure, The Traitors rings a loud warning bell from history―Giles Milton

A well-written and very readable account of these four unappealing characters . . . this is a tough subject to get to grips with. Ireland's book is a very worthy effort―Literary Review

Absorbing . . . Josh Ireland organises this testament of treachery with vim and purpose . . . he skewers his subjects with a piercing revulsion―Mail on Sunday

An epic tale of love, dishonour, bravery, cowardice, betrayal and high-treason. Beautifully written. A stunning debut―Damien Lewis

His book is timely, certainly, in raising questions about patriotic loyalty . . . Josh Ireland writes with friendly immediacy. He is a suave raconteur who gets the pace of his stories right―TLS

In this clever, racy book [Josh Ireland] tells the stories of four British citizens who served Nazi Germany . . . full of energy and stylish phrase-making―The Times

Ireland gives a vivid account of this repellent, but fascinating, quartet―Daily Mail

Ireland tells his four characters' stories with immense skill, to reveal their motives and lead them to inevitable ruin. In the process, he raises a question of great importance now: what is patriotism, and why should we care?―Observer, Books of the Year

Ireland's book gives a good flavour of the personality defects that caused men to betray their country . . . Ireland tells their stories entertainingly, and examines their motives without prejudice―Daily Telegraph

Josh Ireland's achievement is to tell the story of some of Britain's most inglorious, notorious and vainglorous characters in the most glorious and elegant way. He provides a warning for our times from this true story, painting the most vivid of pictures with the sharpest of novelist's pens―John Bew

Startlingly vivid . . . unmistakably a book of our times―Prospect Magazine

[Ireland] comments intelligently on their motives and describes enough of their worlds and views to give us essential context―The Spectator

About the Author

Josh Ireland was born in 1981 and lives in London. After leaving York University with a masters in history he worked in publishing for eight years and is now a freelance editor and writer. The Traitors is his first book.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01NBXTMNC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Murray (July 13, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 13, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1883 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 325 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #3,018,846 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,377 in 20th Century History of the UK
- #12,895 in World War II History (Kindle Store)
- #21,569 in History (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.0 300 ratings

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4 out of 5

300 global ratings

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Amazon Customer

the traitors

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2018

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a very informative book

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Top reviews from other countries

Stephen Bentley

Unknown History

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

I knew about only two of the people who are mentioned in this book. having read Rebecca West "The Meaning of Treason". Excellent survey of the people as characters, what they did and the extent of their treachery towards their comrades in arms and the rest of us as fellow countrymen and women needs to be known. Their distorted personalities come through very clearly, altogether a fascinating read.

One person found this helpful

John R Gleeson

A beginner's guide to a part of history that tends to be overlooked.

Reviewed in Australia on April 18, 2021

Verified Purchase

Entertaining and interesting

Alan Falder

Enlightening

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 30, 2021

Verified Purchase

An interesting read about characters,some of which I had heard of, but this book gives an interesting insight into the decisions each made. Each had a complex character that took them down a dark road.
For those interested in why people embark on a journey of betrayal this is a very good read.

3 people found this helpful

David Evans

Horrifying

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

Did not like gratuitous bad language. It is terrible story of treachery, and whilst an astonishing feat of writing, I am not sure what it achieves. It is not comfortable writing.I

Stephen Mitchell

Well Researched and Interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2022

Verified Purchase

Well written easy to follow and very interesting book. I had heard of a couple of the traitors Mosley and Joyce but the others were new to me, there was also a lot of useful explanation and background within the text. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.