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    The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
    The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
    The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington

    Written by Jennet Conant

    Narrated by Simon Prebble

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Prior to the U.S. entering WWII, a small coterie of British spies in Washington, D.C., was formed. They called themselves the Baker Street Irregulars after the band of street urchins who were the eyes and ears of Sherlock Holmes in some Arthur Conan Doyle stories. This group constituted the very beginning of what would become MI6, the British version of the CIA, and they helped support the fledgling American intelligence service, known at the time as the OSS. Among them were writers Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, and the flamboyant Canadian industrialist turned professional saboteur William Stephenson, known by the code name "Intrepid," upon whom Fleming would later base his fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Richly detailed and carefully researched, Conant's narrative uses never-before-seen wartime letters, diaries, and interviews to create a fascinating, lively account of deceit, double dealing, and moral ambiguity-all in the name of victory.

    Editor's Note

    Better than spy fiction…

    Before “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Roald Dahl was one of the top British spies in Washington. This riveting and funny history traces his efforts to spread gossip to ensure FDR’s re-election and keep America in WWII.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateSep 9, 2008
    ISBN9781598877670
    Author

    Jennet Conant

    Jennet Conant is the author of Man of the Hour: James B. Conant, Warrior Scientist, and the New York Times bestsellers The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington and Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II. She has written for Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ, Newsweek, and The New York Times. She lives in New York City and Sag Harbor, New York.

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    Reviews for The Irregulars

    4/5

    25 ratings18 reviews

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    • 3/5
      There were somewhat more parts of this books of which I would say "I liked it" than of which I would say "it was okay." Two and a half stars seems about right.Roald Dahl wrote the two favorite books of my childhood: "James and the Giant Peach" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." So there's a possible inherent interest in learning more about the early career of a creative writer. Moreover, the premise of "The Irregulars" sounds really interesting: Roald Dahl and a group of other young talented "dashing" British spies in wartime Washington DC! Moreover, one of those other young talented "dashing" British spies was Ian Fleming! But Dahl and Fleming had relatively little to do with one another. And then you realize that the main focus of Dahl's "espionage" work involved collecting ordinary daily stories about the Vice-President, and also doing research on the post-war relationship of Britain and the United States regarding commercial international air travel. In other words, fairly mundane stuff. As author Conant admits, "A lot of what passed for espionage in those day could be described as enterprising reporting." [If you don't know what "cabotage" means and why it was important, you will learn about it here.] Interesting up to a point, but not exactly page-turning material.There's something rather limiting about the scope of the book: the really genuinely important British spies in Washington DC during World War II were working for the Soviets! [Most notably Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess, who are only mentioned here in a brief footnote.] What I did like from the book was the unexpected insight it provides into some of the internal politics of FDR's administration between Pearl Harbor and the elections of November 1944, in which Roosevelt won a remarkable fourth term. Dahl was never part of FDR's inner circle, but he was an occasional guest at Hyde Park, and kept particularly close tabs on the President's relationship with his peculiar and independent Vice President Henry Wallace. The young Dahl socialized often with Wallace, and they shared a very close mutual friend in the wealthy generous and ambitious Texas newspaper magnate Charles Marsh. I gained a lot of insight into Wallace in this book, something I didn't expect going into it.I also picked up some interest historical gossip/trivia/factoids that I hadn't known before. Sir William Stephenson, head of "British Security Coordination" in the United Stated during World War II, was a Canadian by birth. Roald Dahl had an affair during the war with American Congressperson, playwright, and anti-communist crusader Claire Booth Luce. Charles Marsh's second wife Alice Glass was a long-time lover of future President Lyndon Johnson. And Patricia Neal, who became Dahl's first wife in 1952, had earlier been the lover of film icon Gary Cooper.An earlier reviewer here noted Conant's peculiar mistake of describing Cardiff Wales as "a small fishing village". There are a few other howlers as well. In a previous era, an editor at a prestigious commercial firm like Simon and Schuster would have caught these errors. Times have changed!
    • 4/5
      interesting, well-written story. Nicely rounds out the Intrepid history
    • 5/5
      While most people know about the Fifth Columnists, Nazi sympathizers, and Isolationists who fought for control of the American government and public opinion through the 1940s, few know just how far a desperate Britain was willing to go in order to secure the aid of America in its struggle against Germany. The well-know children's author Roald Dahl, along with Ian Fleming, Noel Coward, and a host of other young British notables were in fact part of a super-secret intelligence organization designed to turn the tide of American public opinion towards the war in Europe, at all costs - and by any means necessary. A long, difficult, deeply rewarding and entirely amazing book; read this if you're snowed in for a few days, and have the wherewithal to check some of the offhand references.As an aside, if HBO ever decides to make another wartime series, I hereby officially nominate The Irregulars. You don't need gunfire to have suspense, and the war is as much at home as it is on the front lines.
    • 5/5
      I did not know that Roald Dahl, author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach" had been a spy. Conant tells a rollicking story of the tall and dashing RAF pilot in Washington DC during the war years. He cuts a wide swathe through the pretty young things of the era - irresistible to many apparently, but not a particularly nice person.

      Dahl's patron was one Charles Marsh, super-rich publisher and behind the scenes machinator for Vice President Wallace, future President Lyndon B. Johnson, and others. Marsh adopted Dahl, mentored him, sometimes financed him, and enabled Dahl to function as a conduit between Roosevelt and Churchill, and more broadly between the US and British governments.

      Most of the book is taken up with a little too much detail about the gossipy, alcohol soaked, cocksmanship of Roald Dahl, Ian Flemming and their other buddies in wartime Washington. They social-climb, they charm, they seduce, they joke, they party in the city, they party in the country. The book enables us to contemplate the ways in which awful people can be charming, and fascinating people can be repulsive. It's enjoyable in its way, perhaps particularly if you are a former international relations scholar such as myself.

      In the course of the story we are reminded and enlightened about the early days of the OSS, predecessor to the CIA, and its close relationship to the British secret service. We watch the emergence of an American intelligence service as a close parallel to the emergence of the United States as an effective world empire.

      The real literary punch comes in the final chapter in which the author sums up everything that happened after the halcyon days of spying and screwing, from the late 1940s until Dahl's death in 1990. As, decade by decade, Dahl's marriages and children and travels and books role by, we get a marvelous cinematic sense of a life lived. His later life may have been lived well or poorly (it certainly produced some good children's literature) but it was all rather ordinary compared to those days of parties and sex and secret messages when the fate of the world hung in the balance.
    • 4/5
      Roald Dahl's own work is defined by twisting expectations and perceptions. So it is only fitting that Jennet Conant's look at his service as a British spy on the United States does just that to what most Americans think about World War II.The very idea that the Allies would have spied on each other is something that most readers may never have considered. Conant consistently emphasizes the desperation with which Britain in general and Churchill in particular worried over American involvement in and perception of the war. In his own role, Roald Dahl was but a foot soldier, but as in all authentic tales those on the front lines have the best stories to tell.The heroes here are people we know: Dahl, Ian Fleming, David Ogilvy, FDR and Churchill. But Conant digs beyond their exploits and shines light on the movers behind them, people like William Stephenson, who headed the British intelligence effort in the U.S., and Charles Marsh, an American newspaper tycoon and would-be Washington power player. It is these folks, with their myriad motivations, both high-minded and patriotic and vengeful, protective and territorial that informed the progress of the way. Conant presents it all down to the sordid details of Dahl's and Marsh's ribald correspondence, Dahl's affair with Tyrone Power's wife and another with Congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce. Dropping in from time to time are the heroes of later stories, Harry Truman (who played poker with Dahl) and Lyndon Johnson (who was a frequent guest at Marsh's Virginia retreat).All of the major moves of the war, from Lend-Lease to D-Day, are given fresh impetus to American readers with the British perspective, which was downright combative at times for such a close ally. Dahl and Co. were not above stealing, lying or propagandizing to achieve their ends, and it is such impolite behavior that saw them largely ostracized from polite society following the war. The machinations are as compellingly rendered here as in any spy novel, and anyone with interest in the period (or in Dahl) should read the book.
    • 3/5
      Interesting, if a bit lightweight. The copy editing in the first hardcover edition was terrible and affected my opinion of the book overall.
    • 5/5
      During a casual conversation a couple weeks ago, I mentioned I had a passing interest in Ian Fleming. One of my family members who is a big history buff suggested I try reading this book about Roald Dahl and his work with the BSC Irregulars during World War II. Like many other bookies, I was vaguely familiar with Roald Dahl because of the fame he attained authoring popular children's books like "James and the Giant Peach", but I knew little else about his history. Somewhat reluctantly I decided to give it a try and it turned out to be one of the most intriguing historical accounts I have read in many years. J Conant's research on the charismatic Dahl and the other dashing men-about-town (Fleming included) utilized by William Stephenson as propaganda agents in wartime Washington reads in places like page-turning fiction, but this wartime tale is based on meticulous research including official correspondence and telegrams, personal diaries, family interviews, etc. Dahl certainly crammed a lot of living into his time here on Earth (RAF fighter pilot, spy, seducer of the rich and famous, husband, father, award-winning author, etc.), but I almost wish he had squeezed in a few more adventures because the book ended much too soon for me. Dahl's personal exploits aside, this book also provides valuable insights into the ways politicians and the media influence public opinion and national policy. Conspiracy theorists, communists, isolationists, politicians, aviators, historians, cryptographers, journalists, and even those just interested in the juicy gossip of high society will all find golden nuggets here. Bottom line: It's an interesting piece of history and a very entertaining story -- I highly recommend it.
    • 3/5
      After being injured as a pilot in the RAF, Roald Dahl spent the WW2 years in the US as a British spy, working with Stevenson and Ian Fleming and others to do all they could to encourage US support for Britain and to urge the US to join the fight. He was rather a bon vivant and social butterfly who was very well connected, but I really didn't feel he had a very exciting war. It was interesting enough to keep going, but doesn't earn high praise.
    • 4/5
      Ok, so I tend to put authors of books I adored in childhood (here, Matilda) on pedestals. Even though James & the Giant Peach scared me, and Gene Wilder as Willie Wonka from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory freaked me out a little, too, I could forgive Roald Dahl almost anything for Matilda. Surely he must be a fine, upstanding, wholesome family man if this is the material he produces, yes?

      Um. Apparently not so much, it seems. Interesting, yes. Sainted, no.
    • 5/5
      Who knew the Brits had spies in America before and during World War II? Well, now I do ... thanks to this very interesting story by Jennet Conant. Actually, the intelligence/propaganda group's first purpose, before America entered World War II, was to pooh-pooh the isolationists and convince everyday Americans to side with Britain against Hitler. Raold Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and much else, was a key player. A pilot in the Royal Air Force, he was injured badly enough that he was not allowed to continue flying. Still in his early 20s, he made his way America as a diplomat -- a genuine war hero, tall, handsome and personable. Who better to insinuate himself into Washington society and work his way into the corridors of power?The Irregulars reads like a novel ... the best kind of non-fiction. It was a selection of the non-fiction readers' group at my public library ... it is likely to engender some great discussion.
    • 3/5
      I was torn between two and a half stars and three for this book. Two and a half because it is quite pedantic and went on and on about the politics of Washington during the war, which was not what I signed up for when I read the title. It seemed to me that there was very little about the actual espionage which went on. Three stars because it was on a topic I had heard very little about and it gave me a good overview of Roald Dahl's life. Having read it, I now understand why his books never sat very well with me. He is not someone I would have enjoyed knowing and I have no doubt that the feeling would be mutual. This book does add another facet to the wartime spies though, and for that I am glad I read it. It did not have a good pace. The author would have some good tales, then get lost in a myriad of details which bogged down the reader, or change the focus completely.
    • 4/5
      UPDATE 5/4/10: Currently finshing this in the car, again. More intrested in the women Dahl knew and did he ever. Know them that is. Bibically. Known.

      It was super interesting but I just didn't have time to finish it. I might try reading the end instead of the audio.
    • 2/5
      I really enjoy Roald Dahl as an author, so I was looking forward to The Irregulars. I had no idea that Britain was working so hard to sway American policy toward World War II and get Americans involved. This should have been an interesting book. But I got lost in all the names, and if anything interesting happened, I missed it. Two stars is being generous, but I did enjoy the biographical parts about Dahl's family life and early writing career.
    • 4/5
      As a huge Roald Dahl fan, both of his children’s books and adult short stories and memoirs, this nonfiction piece was a no-brainer for me. After being injured during his stint as an RAF pilot Dahl is sent to America to insinuate himself into the political society in Washington D.C. He’s been recruited to work for an obscure British intelligence agency that gathered information in America during World War II. Conant tells of Dahl’s liaisons with a gossipy intimacy that makes the book read like a novel. He was a bit of a rake, unfettered by marriage and able to find friends and lovers wherever he went. A wealthy publisher, Charles Marsh, took Dahl under his wing and helped him along in the publishing world, which eventually led to Dahl’s career as an author. Fellow spy and friend Ian Fleming went on to write the James Bond novels. I love that this book fills in an important gap in Dahl’s life. It picks up where his first two memoirs, Boy and Going Solo, leave off. It explains how he became a writer while also giving the readers fascinating details about his work as a spy. BOTTOM LINE: A must for fans of Dahl, Fleming or spy novels in the style of John le Carré. It’s not an action packed story, but a look at what went on behind-the-scenes during WWII.  
    • 3/5
      I was unfamiliar with the life of the author of Charlie and Chocolate Factory etc before picking up this volume. It moves fairly swiftly through his war time service and focuses the vast majority of the book on his time in Washington with a couple chapters to after the war and the later endeavors he bent his life too. The focus is on the few war years in Washington D.C.

      Apparently the British had a very active spy force in the United States and their goal at first was to get the U.S. to aid and join the war effort on the side of the British. They worked very hard to discredit conservative figures and organizations that worked to encourage public opinion to stay out of the war and not get involved. Many people may not realize that the Lend-Lease program that provided aid to England and other Allies was hotly debated and only narrowly passed Congress. It was the work of people that were considered progressives and liberals that frequently worked the hardest to aid England during this time.

      One of the interesting stories was about a fake map cooked up by British agents showing how Germany was going to split up South America. They planted it at a German listening post that American Intel knew about and hinted to the Americans that they heard something important may be there. They raided and sent the map all the way to FDR convinced that it was the real deal. FDR spoke of it in a speech and Hitler hotly denied it was real and demanded that FDR provide a copy. He refused and German certainly looked more sinister because of this rigmarole. The Brits meanwhile were laughing up their sleeves.

      Dahl spent a lot of time socializing. He was very affable, with dashing good looks, and had the impressive resume as a war hero shot down and no longer physically able to fly. He was also sarcastic with a fairly dark sense of humour that became more pronounced after the war and towards the end of his life. As part of his natural predilection and as part of his spy work he slept around. Pillow talk was and is a time honored way to gain information from sources. However, I will note that little effective intel from pillow talk is spoken of in this book. Most of the intel came from more direct chats or from copying of sensitive documents.

      Dahl became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt and chatted with FDR. Several times his intel went all the way up to Winston Churchill and was key in policy changes or the content of major speeches.

      Other reviewers have mentioned that the book is in parts fairly dull and it could have been written in a more salacious manner. I'm sure it could have been, especially considering the many times it talks about affairs between important Americans. It does talk about Lyndon B. Johnson and his dalliances. There is an almost stereotype of the chivalrous uniformed member's of the greatest generation that perhaps you don't think of behaving this way. Truth is people were still just as much people then as they are now and tempted with the same things. Someone once remarked that one the factors most to blame for the good old days is a poor memory. There is some truth to that.

      Dahl became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt and chatted with FDR. Several times his intel went all the way up to Winston Churchill and was key in policy changes or the content of major speeches. He rubbed shoulders with fellow British agents, Noel Coward, and Ian Fleming. He met and socialized with almost all the important people in the Hollywood and D.C. He engaged in short story writing during this time but his greatest literary success was far in the future.

      Overall it was an interesting read but not one I would recommend to everyone.
    • 4/5
      As Britain continued to fight against Hitler's army, Churchill is desperate to obtain the assistance of America to help keep them from invading English shores.Enter Roald Dahl, a wounded war hero, who, no longer able to fly sorties, is sent to Washington DC. Here, he finds a ready audience for his war stories and also starts a fledgling career as a writer. His personality, charm and good looks makes him one of the most sought after dinner guest in Washington.William Stephenson, (code name, Intrepid), coordinates and establishes the British Security Coordination, an organization with agents able to infiltrate the American movers and shakers in DC and pass information back to the British government.Roald Dahl, handsome and personable steps is recruited by Stepehson. His garrulous nature allowed him to gain entry into the hallowed homes of many Washington DC power brokers and his memory for detail allowed him to pass many seemingly innocent comments to the British, with the goal of getting America to involve herself in the war with Britain against Hitler.I thought there was alot of good researched material. A very engaging read. And here I thought Roald Dahl just wrote fun stories for children. Certainly I didn't know he played a good spy.
    • 1/5
      Dull recounting of what must have been exciting times.
    • 3/5
      Well researched, but I lost faith in the author very early on when she described Cardiff, where Dahl was born, as a small fishing village. At that time it was the capital of Wales and had a population of around 200,000. Unforgivable error.