| Author: | Adrian Searle | ISBN: | 9780752483436 |
| Publisher: | The History Press | Publication: | February 29, 2012 |
| Imprint: | The History Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Adrian Searle |
| ISBN: | 9780752483436 |
| Publisher: | The History Press |
| Publication: | February 29, 2012 |
| Imprint: | The History Press |
| Language: | English |
The first book to reveal the truth behind one of the strangest stories of espionage to emerge from World War II Dorothy O'Grady is uniquely placed in the annals of espionage, as she was the first Briton condemned to death under the Treachery Act of 1940 after she was frequently spotted on the outskirts of a prohibited area on the Isle of Wight, insisting time and again that her dog had strayed. Had her appeal not saved her from the gallows, she would have been the only woman of any nationality to suffer death under the Act during World War II. Yet the full story of her extraordinary brush with notoriety and its enduring legacy has never been told. Now, with the benefit of access to previously classified documents, the truth underpinning the O'Grady legend can be revealed. Following her appeal she served nine years in prison for her wartime crimes—but was she really a spy in the employ of Germany? Or was O'Grady, as she insisted years later, a self-seeking tease who committed her apparent treachery "for a giggle?" Or was there some other motivation that drove her to wartime infamy in a case which reverberated around the world? This book examines all the evidence to reach a disturbing conclusion.
The first book to reveal the truth behind one of the strangest stories of espionage to emerge from World War II Dorothy O'Grady is uniquely placed in the annals of espionage, as she was the first Briton condemned to death under the Treachery Act of 1940 after she was frequently spotted on the outskirts of a prohibited area on the Isle of Wight, insisting time and again that her dog had strayed. Had her appeal not saved her from the gallows, she would have been the only woman of any nationality to suffer death under the Act during World War II. Yet the full story of her extraordinary brush with notoriety and its enduring legacy has never been told. Now, with the benefit of access to previously classified documents, the truth underpinning the O'Grady legend can be revealed. Following her appeal she served nine years in prison for her wartime crimes—but was she really a spy in the employ of Germany? Or was O'Grady, as she insisted years later, a self-seeking tease who committed her apparent treachery "for a giggle?" Or was there some other motivation that drove her to wartime infamy in a case which reverberated around the world? This book examines all the evidence to reach a disturbing conclusion.
