Kate Taylor writes on the Dreyfus Affair

A Man in Uniform by Kate Taylor, 2010
This is an interesting book about the famous Alfred Dreyfus affair in Paris, France in the later 19th century. Apparently, a Jewish officer in the French military has been accused of spying for the Germans. He is being held on Devil's Island, a prison. Rumors are that he has tried to escape, and now he is shackled and imprisoned inside a walled shed that gives him no view or light. The protagonist in our story is a bourgeois lawyer who is visited by a beautiful woman who claims to be a friend of the Dreyfus family. She fears that his family is not defending him properly, and she wants the  lawyer François Dubon to find the right spy and have her friend, Dreyfus released. Poor Dubon is in a dilemma, he is not a criminal lawyer, but he is unwilling to give up this case, he is very attracted to this woman. He has a wife and a son whom he loves, but also a mistress that he is entertained by every evening. Now his life is more complicated, and he becomes a spy himself, working his way into the counter intelligence office of the military, wearing his brother-in-law's uniform as a disguise. This historical fiction tale is quite interesting to read, there is some suspense as the lawyer is going between his office and the military unit where he is reviewing the files of the Dreyfus case, unbeknownst by his "superiors" who take him for a mere clerk doing his duty. Kate Taylor has woven a particularily clever novel, adding to the drama of the Dreyfus case, this lawyer, his wife, her miltary family and it's entitlements, and this beautiful mysterious woman who beguiles the lawyer Dubon. I usually want to read more history of famous cases, to understand the events, to place the events in the context of the times. I had Ruth Harris' book, Dreyfus: Politics, Emotion and the Scandal of the Century, 2010, on my to-be-read list and I could never get to it, so this was the next best thing. Read the fiction first, then tackle the accurate account, like see the movie first, then read the book, that's the way I like to do it.