9 h 24 minAudiobook6 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 24 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the waiter, the clerk and the travelling merchant all seem to be watching Britain’s next move?
In Spies of the Kaiser, William Le Queux presents Britain as a country under hidden watch. German agents, he claims, study ports, railways and coastal towns in preparation for war. Ordinary jobs become possible disguises, and familiar places take on a threatening edge. The stakes are nothing less than Britain’s safety.
Published in 1909, the book draws on British fears of Germany during a naval race. Le Queux mixes claims of secret sources with dramatic scenes and urgent warnings. His account invites you into the mood of a frightened nation—and leaves you to judge where evidence ends and showmanship begins.
What you’ll discover
- Suspicion in ordinary places Waiters, barbers and teachers become suspected agents in Le Queux’s picture of hidden danger.
- A country on edge Explore a Britain where naval rivalry and talk of war feed fears of invasion.
- Secrets and urgent warnings Follow an author who builds his case through claimed contacts, secret information and dramatic scenes.
- Fear as political fuel Consider how stories of hidden enemies help shape public opinion and the demand for security.
- Room for your judgment Weigh the book’s claims for yourself rather than taking its warnings as established fact.
Who will love it
Readers who enjoy period spy adventures, night chases, secret maps and daring amateurs, and anyone curious about the invasion fears of Edwardian Britain and the way popular fiction gave them a voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Spies steal the plans of Rosyth
- A silent submarine draws a German to Portsmouth
- The back door of England lies in Norfolk
- A murdered pilot leads to a waterside inn
- Two secret inventions tempt the enemy
- Traitors, a poisoned cup and a drugged brandy
- The danger spreads to London, Poland and the wires
- What the stories are really about
- How the book is told
Who’s who
- Jack JacoxA young barrister and the narrator, loyal and brave, who follows his friend Ray and often does the watching and the dangerous night work.
- Ray RaymondA barrister and chosen candidate for Parliament who sets out to prove that German spies are at work and to force the Government to act.
- Vera VallanceThe admiral's daughter engaged to Ray, quick and fearless, who gathers secrets in Germany and disguises herself to help catch the spies.
- Hermann HartmannThe stout, smooth chief of German secret agents in England, who runs his network from a house in Pont Street and pays for every service.
- Leon KarffA German spy who works as a greengrocer's helper at Portsmouth and slips into the Dockyard to sketch a new submarine.
- Colonel von RauschA charming German officer, popular in country houses, who controls spies in the eastern counties and seeks a battleship plan.
- Suzette DarbourA young Parisian decoy who once tricked Jack and now holds the key to a secret diplomatic file, in return for her freedom.
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- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 6 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Los espías del káiser in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Los espías del káiser
by William Le Queux · 1909
Two young barristers and an admiral's daughter hunt the Kaiser's spies across Britain.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
In 1909, Britain is gripped by fear of a German invasion, and William Le Queux sets out to warn his readers. Spies of the Kaiser is a thriller told in linked cases.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Spies steal the plans of Rosyth
The book opens on a November night beside the Forth Bridge. Jack Jacox and Ray Raymond are staying at North Queensferry. Ray's father has asked questions in Parliament about German spies, and the Government has brushed them aside. Ray wants proof.
The plans of the new naval base at Rosyth have leaked. Ray reads the landscape like a detective. He spots small holes in a telegraph pole and iron staples driven into the bridge. Jack follows without understanding any of it.
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What is Spies of the Kaiser about?
It follows two young barristers, Jack Jacox and Ray Raymond, and Ray's fiancée Vera, as they track German spies in Britain. Each chapter is a separate case, from naval plans and a submarine to arms depots and a secret wireless station.
Who is Hermann Hartmann in Spies of the Kaiser?
Hartmann is the stout, clever chief of German secret agents in England. He lives in Pont Street, London, runs a network of fixed and travelling spies, pays them for their work, and appears again and again behind the cases.
When was Spies of the Kaiser written and is it a true story?
William Le Queux published it in 1909, in the period of the invasion scare. It is fiction, but Le Queux presented it as a warning that real German espionage threatened Britain, and he printed reports and proclamations to give it weight.
The author
William Le Queux
1864–1927 · Anglo-French novelist
William Le Queux (1864–1927) was an Anglo-French writer born in London. He died in Knokke, Belgium. He wrote novels about espionage, crime and war. His books include The Great War in England in 1897, published in 1894, and The Czar’s Spy, published in 1905. He also worked with radio.
More by William Le Queux
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