Women in Intelligence: The hidden history of two World Wars

REVIEW BY CALUM HENDERSON Mata Hari was the ultimate femme fatale. The Dutch-born exotic dancer and courtesan was famously beautiful and enigmatic, and equally notorious for her many affairs – often with military officers. But Mata Hari led a double life, spying for the French in the early part of the First World War before later being ‘turned’ by the Germans. She was eventually tried for espionage and executed by firing squad in Paris in October 1917, aged just 41, despite questionable evidence for her guilt. In the century since, Mata Hari has been portrayed countless times on stage and in film. And it’s not difficult to understand why: as a tale of glamour and intrigue, her lif