This was a discard from the library on a 'giveaway' shelf. I took and read it because of MacInnes's positive reputation as a spy novelist. Written during WWII, it is a classic in the espionage genre. It is perhaps dated now, but still fairly enjoyable. It was a good, solid story, and MacInnes kept up the level of excitement.A Cornish Military Intelligence agent, Martin Hearne, parachutes into occupied WWII Brittany, with a mission to find out as much as he can about Nazi installations and plans of a possible invasion of England to be launched from Northern Brittany. The plot device of Hearne impersonating a Breton farmer because of similar appearance might have been new then, but it has become clichéd over time. The farmer's family accept him at face value, but the farmer's mother finally realizes he's not who he seems to be because of certain changes in his personality. Hearne, in fulfilling his mission, tries to outwit the Nazis. The Breton had misrepresented himself to the English. He had held back vital pieces of information from Military Intelligence or from Hearne himself. Hearne's cover is blown. There is much adventure, betrayal, double-crossing and heroism in this novel, with a fillip of romance, before a satisfying conclusion.Whatever I found out about the Breton language, customs, and history was interesting. Recommended for lovers of the espionage genre.
Talk about disconnect - the blurb on the back and the cover tempte me to think that this book was some gothic story about a girl, a mysterious man, and a brooding castle. I was more than two-thirds into it before I realized that whoever was responsible for the covers was a complete moron (trying for a different audience may sell books but is rather deceitful - apparently "truth in advertising" was lost on someone). Not that I'm disappointed; I probably enjoyed the pure espionage angle of the actual story better than what I had imagined it would be. Though it ran a bit long in parts, the overall story was interesting - I did have to suspend some disbelief that Hearne was identical to Corlay - and I was intrigued by the glimpses of the Bretons portrayed. Not a bad spy novel, unless of course you're looking for a gothic romance.
What do You think about Assignment In Brittany (1969)?
With the Nazi occupation of northern France, the underground resistance is forced to sneak about in the dark. Hearne, British soldier whose French is excellent, is sent to spy as part of that resistance, and he finds help in hiding with the beautiful Anne. Danger abounds. Action, adventure, suspense -- a gripping story here, memorable in itself and for the skill with which it is told. Helen MacInnes seems to have passed from the scene, but her spy novels are well worth looking up, and this one could be best of all in my view.
—A.D. Morel
Even though my 1967 DELL paperback copy calls this book a "haunting novel of romance and suspense" on its front cover, it is most definitely a dyed-in-the-wool spy novel. Because the copy was given to me in a box of books, I persevered and read the entire 336 pages. With the book written in 1942, I thought it was interesting that Ms. Macinnes pointed out in her introduction in the reprint of the book that after WWII, she personally met veterans who tried to track down the places described in the book. I did further research while reading the book, and found claims that the U.S. military actually used the novel to train Allied personnel who would be working covertly in German-occupied France. Ms. Macinnes' talents must have been abundant to pen a novel that was apparently so true to life for the times. However, here's fair warning, to pick the novel up as an expected romance, it's misleading. DELL must have been trying to sell more copies of the novel to claim it as a romance on the front and back covers.
—F
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.
—David B
