Signed, Mata HariSigned, Mata Hari
a Novel
Title rated 3.15 out of 5 stars, based on 6 ratings(6 ratings)
Book, 2007
Current format, Book, 2007, 1st ed, No Longer Available.Book, 2007
Current format, Book, 2007, 1st ed, No Longer Available. Offered in 0 more formatsIn the cold October of 1917 Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, sits in a prison cell in Paris awaiting trial. She is accused of spying for Germany during World War I, and her penalty, if convicted, will be death by firing squad. As she waits, burdened by a secret guilt, Mata Hari tells stories, like Scheherazade, to buy back her life from her interrogators.
From a bleak childhood on the shifting, sandy shores of the North Sea, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the forbidden sensual pleasure of the southern oceans. In the chill of her prison cell she spins tales of rosewater baths and native lovers, goddesses and sirens and Javanese jungles hung with frangipani, evoking the magical world that sustained her even as her family crumbled. And then, in flight from her husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes an artist's model, a circus rider, and finally the temple dancer Mata Hari, dressed in veils and hung with bells, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Of all the stories she tells, those about her beloved daughter, Non, are what most sustain her.
Yannick Murphy's doomed Mata Hari, clever, cultural, and an incurable romantic, is both a real woman and a palimpsest on which each may write his dream. Through her many transformations, her life's fatal question - was she a traitor, and if so, why? - burns ever brighter.
In the cold October of 1917 Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, sits in a prison cell in Paris awaiting trial on charges of espionage. The penalty is death by firing squad. As she waits, burdened by a secret guilt, Mata Hari tells stories, Scheherazade-like, to buy back her life from her interrogators.
From a bleak childhood in the Netherlands, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the forbidden sensual pleasures of Indonesia. In the chill of her prison cell she spins tales of rosewater baths, native lovers, and Javanese jungles, evoking the magical world that sustained her even as her family crumbled. And then, in flight from her husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes an artist's model, circus rider, and finally the temple dancer Mata Hari, dressed in veils, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Through all her transformations, her life's fatal questions---was she a traitor, and if so, why?---burns ever brighter.
In the cold October of 1917 Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, sits in a prison cell in Paris awaiting trial on charges of espionage. The penalty is death by firing squad. As she waits, burdened by a secret guilt, Mata Hari tells stories, Scheherazade-like, to buy back her life from her interrogators.
From a bleak childhood in the Netherlands, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the forbidden sensual pleasures of Indonesia. In the chill of her prison cell she spins tales of rosewater baths, native lovers, and Javanese jungles, evoking the magical world that sustained her even as her family crumbled. And then, in flight from her husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes an artist's model, circus rider, and finally the temple dancer Mata Hari, dressed in veils, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Through all her transformations, her life's fatal questions---wasshe a traitor, and if so, why?---burns ever brighter.
A tale inspired by the life of the exotic dancer and infamous spy finds a woman awaiting execution in Paris and attempting to save herself by recounting the story of her Netherlands childhood, self-reinvention after ending a loveless marriage, and performances for the crowned heads of Europe. 20,000 first printing.
A tale inspired by the life of the infamous spy finds a woman awaiting execution in Paris and attempting to save herself by recounting the story of her Netherlands childhood, self-reinvention after ending a loveless marriage, and performances for the crowned heads of Europe.
From a bleak childhood on the shifting, sandy shores of the North Sea, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the forbidden sensual pleasure of the southern oceans. In the chill of her prison cell she spins tales of rosewater baths and native lovers, goddesses and sirens and Javanese jungles hung with frangipani, evoking the magical world that sustained her even as her family crumbled. And then, in flight from her husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes an artist's model, a circus rider, and finally the temple dancer Mata Hari, dressed in veils and hung with bells, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Of all the stories she tells, those about her beloved daughter, Non, are what most sustain her.
Yannick Murphy's doomed Mata Hari, clever, cultural, and an incurable romantic, is both a real woman and a palimpsest on which each may write his dream. Through her many transformations, her life's fatal question - was she a traitor, and if so, why? - burns ever brighter.
In the cold October of 1917 Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, sits in a prison cell in Paris awaiting trial on charges of espionage. The penalty is death by firing squad. As she waits, burdened by a secret guilt, Mata Hari tells stories, Scheherazade-like, to buy back her life from her interrogators.
From a bleak childhood in the Netherlands, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the forbidden sensual pleasures of Indonesia. In the chill of her prison cell she spins tales of rosewater baths, native lovers, and Javanese jungles, evoking the magical world that sustained her even as her family crumbled. And then, in flight from her husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes an artist's model, circus rider, and finally the temple dancer Mata Hari, dressed in veils, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Through all her transformations, her life's fatal questions---was she a traitor, and if so, why?---burns ever brighter.
In the cold October of 1917 Margaretha Zelle, better known as Mata Hari, sits in a prison cell in Paris awaiting trial on charges of espionage. The penalty is death by firing squad. As she waits, burdened by a secret guilt, Mata Hari tells stories, Scheherazade-like, to buy back her life from her interrogators.
From a bleak childhood in the Netherlands, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the forbidden sensual pleasures of Indonesia. In the chill of her prison cell she spins tales of rosewater baths, native lovers, and Javanese jungles, evoking the magical world that sustained her even as her family crumbled. And then, in flight from her husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes an artist's model, circus rider, and finally the temple dancer Mata Hari, dressed in veils, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Through all her transformations, her life's fatal questions---wasshe a traitor, and if so, why?---burns ever brighter.
A tale inspired by the life of the exotic dancer and infamous spy finds a woman awaiting execution in Paris and attempting to save herself by recounting the story of her Netherlands childhood, self-reinvention after ending a loveless marriage, and performances for the crowned heads of Europe. 20,000 first printing.
A tale inspired by the life of the infamous spy finds a woman awaiting execution in Paris and attempting to save herself by recounting the story of her Netherlands childhood, self-reinvention after ending a loveless marriage, and performances for the crowned heads of Europe.
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- New York : Little, Brown, 2007.
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