The Dreyfus Affair

A Man in Uniform by Kate Taylor

The Alfred Dreyfus Affair in 1890's France is given an intriguing and enjoyable fictional twist in A Man in Uniform.  Dreyfus, a Jewish Frency Army officer was sent to the Devil's Island penal colony after a questionable 1894 treason trial.  In an appeal, Dreyfus was eventually found innocent and was released.  However the circumstances that led to Dreyfus' arrest and imprisonment should continue to serve as a bracing reminder, according to the Toronto Globe and Mail, that we dare not have blind faith in the willingness of our leaders to defend our most cherished rights and freedoms.

Taylor does a good job of recreating the atmosphere and suspicion permeating Paris at this time.  The main character, Francois Dubon, is a former criminal law barrister, who has abandoned that legal arena to practice the more lucrative personal estate and private will practice.  A mysterious widow suddenly enters his office and turns his world upside down.  The beautiful widow is convinced Captain Dreyfus, an army captain convicted of treason, was framed and is innocent.  She wants Dubon to find out the truth and to mount an appeal for Captain Dreyfus.  Dubon is drawn by the widow's magnetic appeal, and begins to live a double life as he strives to find the information that will exonerate the captain. While certain situations Dubon finds himself in seem somewhat incredulous at times, Taylor succeeds in pulling the reader into the machinations of her plot.

The cover-up and quick resolution, manufactured by the military, to push a spying incident under the rug and off the front pages of the papers, reminds one of the multitude of similar military actions and practices since 9/11 here in the U.S.  Taylor's literate thriller is "disturbing in its implications about the fragility of human rights.” (Elle Magazine).  Whether Taylor has a subliminal message buried in her plot or not, it is still a fun read.