Assignment in Brittany [Import] [Paperback]

Helen MacInnes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1977

Another great novel by "The Queen of spy writers".

Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Fontana/Collins (1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0006149979
• ISBN-13: 978-0006149972
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,279,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, January 24, 2005

By 

Toby (Deal, Kent) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Assignment in Brittany (Hardcover)

Great story of wartime bravery and treachery. Many things stand out about this book, among them the way MacInnes always seems to find the right location for each scene, the sharp dialogue that avoids cliche, strong characters and the action that is never allowed to become gung-ho as in many wartime adventure stories. The fact it was written during the war only adds to its quality.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars very early MacInnes WW2 novel, September 20, 2004

By 

Mike Garrison (Covington, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assignment in Brittany (Hardcover)

Helen MacInnes became known for her cold war spy novels, but she started out (during WW2) by writing WW2 spy thrillers. Assignment In Brittany is my favorite of these early novels.

When an injured French civilian (rescued from Dunkirk) happens to look almost exactly like a British spy, the spy is sent over to France impersonating the Frenchman. But unbeknownst to him, the Frenchman is really a Nazi collaborator. So he gets more intelligence information than he had bargined for, but runs a much bigger risk as well.

The story works as kind of a cross between a spy thriller and The Return Of Martin Guerre. In particular, the spy falls in love with the fiancee of the Frenchman (an arranged marriage of convenience, not love). But he has to pretend to love the Frenchman's girlfriend, who is one of the Nazi agents. Inevitably his cover is blown, and he is forced to try and make a desperate escape.

The novel was written while France was occupied.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Contemporary WWII thriller, January 8, 2007

By 

David Bonesteel (Fresno, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Assignment in Brittany (Hardcover)

Helen MacInnes starts with the hoary cliche of the spy who just happens to be a dead ringer for the man he is assigned to impersonate to tell a frequently involving story that too often depends on unlikely coincidence to move the plot along. The novel is strongest when it is depicting the grim camaraderie that arises among an occupied people. I admire the way MacInnes didn't include action just for the sake of it, but nevertheless I sometimes felt that something was needed to break up the interminable tramps through the countryside. There's a sweet love story and the whole thing ends on a nicely ambiguous note.