7 h 22 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 22 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the real struggle takes place far from the battlefield, behind a face you cannot trust?
In Allen Upward’s The International Spy, the Russo-Japanese War becomes a stage for rumor, disguise and double dealing. Russia and Japan struggle for influence in Manchuria and Korea, while the great powers watch. Away from the front, quiet bargains carry their own weight. This is a spy’s view of conflict, where the newspaper account is never the whole story.
Published in 1905, this early espionage tale explores deception as a craft and a way of life. An agent must wear a false face and keep it in place. Britain’s alliance with Japan forms part of the political backdrop. The tension lies not only in open conflict, but in the hidden interests and uncertain loyalties that surround it.
What you’ll discover
- A war behind the war Look beyond the battlefield to the quiet bargains made far from the front.
- The discipline of disguise Follow the strain of an agent’s life when a false face must stay in place.
- Great powers in the shadows Explore a political world where rival interests reach beyond Russia and Japan.
- News and hidden motives Enter a story where public reports leave room for rumor, concealment and doubt.
- Early espionage atmosphere Discover a spy tale from before the modern spy novel takes its familiar shape.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who enjoy disguises, ciphers and dinner tables laced with danger. It also rewards anyone curious about the Russo-Japanese War and the old tradition of the gentleman spy.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A secret word carries imperial hopes
- A peace disguise leads toward danger
- Peace has enemies on every side
- Improvisation keeps the pursuit alive
- An emperor's wishes cannot guarantee peace
- A new allegiance rests on trust
- The Czar's trust becomes another battlefield
- Hidden choices give war its momentum
Who’s who
- Monsieur VA master spy of many disguises who serves Britain and later Japan, and who tries to keep the war from spreading to Europe.
- Princess Sophia YA gold-haired lady-in-waiting bound to the Russian secret police, who plots against the spy and yet seems to care for him.
- M. PetrovitchA perfumed financier who runs the Manchurian Syndicate and wants the war for profit, with strange influence over the Czar.
- Nicholas IIThe young Czar, torn between peace and the advisers who lead him toward war, who trusts spirits more than his ministers.
- Colonel MenkenA vain young officer sent with the Czar's peace letter to Tokyo, who believes the woman he plans to marry.
- KatahashiA Japanese Privy Councillor who runs his nation's secret service from a bank, and who wants the spy's help against Berlin.
- M. AugusteA French medium who raps out messages from spirits at the Czar's table, and who has his price.
- Captain VassileffskyA hard-drinking naval officer and aide to the Czar who shares the war party's plans.
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The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War 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.
The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War
by Allen Upward · 1905
A spy swallows a secret word, hides a Czar's letter in a cigarette, and races a pilot engine across Russia.
Medium level2–5 hours to read16 languages
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“It is money that decides between peace and war.”
In short
What if one whispered word could stop a war? In the prologue of this novel, two empresses walk arm in arm along a marble terrace above a Danish strait.
The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War at a glance
- Reading time
- About 3 h 55 min3 h 5 min fast, 4 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 56,100 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1905by Allen Upward
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Two empresses and a sealed word
The two imperial sisters watch the submarine glide past and disappear. The widowed Empress of Russia says she shudders whenever she sees such a vessel. She believes men close to her son's ear secretly yearn for a great war. If Russia is caught unprepared, she fears a revolution that could cost the Czar his throne.
So the sisters make a pact. If the war party strikes before the Czar can stop it, the Russian Empress will send one word to her sister. That word will mean that Russia wishes to make things right. The Western Empress names a man in her secret service who is said to be incorruptible and fearless. His name is Monsieur V.
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Details
- First published
- 1905
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Upward, Allen. The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-international-spy-being-the-secret-history-of-the-russo-japanese-war.
Upward, A. (2026). The international spy: Being the secret history of the Russo-Japanese War. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-international-spy-being-the-secret-history-of-the-russo-japanese-war (Original work published 1905)
Upward, Allen. The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-international-spy-being-the-secret-history-of-the-russo-japanese-war.
@book{upward2026international,
author = {Upward, Allen},
title = {The International Spy: Being the Secret History of the Russo-Japanese War},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-international-spy-being-the-secret-history-of-the-russo-japanese-war},
note = {First published 1905}
}
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What is The International Spy about?
It is a spy novel set in 1904. A master agent known as Monsieur V works to prevent the Russo-Japanese War from spreading to Europe, while a Russian princess and a financier plot against him.
Who is Monsieur V in The International Spy?
He is the narrator, a secret agent who changes disguises and serves several rulers. He claims to be partly Polish, an American citizen, and trusted by monarchs from Russia to Japan.
Is The International Spy a true story?
No, it is fiction, though it uses real rulers and events from the Russo-Japanese War. The author describes it as a romance and an allegory, and he leaves many names as initials.
The author
Allen Upward
1863–1926 · British novelist and poet
British poet, lawyer, politician and teacher.
“It is money that decides between peace and war.”
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