Femme Fatale : Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari

In 1917, the notorious Oriental dancer Mata Hari was arrested on the charge of espionage; less than one year later she was tried and executedcharged with the deaths of at least 50,000 gallant French soldiers. The mistress of many senior Allied officers and government officials, even the French minister of war, she had a sharp intellect and a golden tongue fluent in several languages; she also traveled widely throughout wartorn Europe, with seeming disregard for the political and strategic alliances and borders. But was she actually a spy? In this persuasive new biography, Pat Shipman explores the life and times of the mythic and deeply misunderstood dark-eyed siren to find the truth. Mata Hari's life reads like both an action-packed adventure tale and passionate, poignant romance. Shipman reveals new information about this beautiful, brilliant, and dangerous woman, tracing the web of connections between her professional and personal lives.... “An engrossing biography” of the Dutch exotic dancer accused of being a spy for the Germans during World War I.In 1917, the notorious Oriental dancer Mata Hari was arrested on the charge of espionage; less than one year later, she was tried and executed, charged with the deaths of at least 50,000 gallant French soldiers. The mistress of many senior Allied officers and government officials, even the French minister of war, she had a sharp intellect and a golden tongue fluent in several languages; she also traveled widely throughout war-torn Europe, with seeming disregard for the political and strategic alliances and borders. But was she actually a spy? In this persuasive new biography, Pat Shipman explores the life and times of the mythic and deeply misunderstood dark-eyed siren to find the truth.Praise for Femme Fatale“Her life's story is a humdinger.” —Washington Post Book World“Pat Shipman reasons (and writes) like a born counterintelligence officer. Her gripping and well-developed account of the famed spy... will fascinate you right down to her grim imprisonment and hast execution in a desolate field outside Paris, her last performance faced, as were all of her life's twists and turns, with bravery and grace.” —Peter Earnest, Executive Director, International Spy Museum, Washington, D.C., and former CIA Operations Officer A portrait of the notorious early twentieth-century spy considers the theory that she may have been innocent of the charges for which she was executed, in an account that profiles her as a complicated seducer of men who had an unusual talent for manipulation