[ilds] spies and spying in Justine

[william godshalk]

Recently Michael Haag pointed out the many spies /intrigues in the 
novel. Here's what he wrote:


>'Obscure political ends' is in the first edition, first impression 
>(p. 35).  But offhand I don't know if it was in the MS submitted to 
>Faber.  I could check; it's in the British Library; but I would 
>guess that it is.  In any case I do not think it matters.  Durrell 
>was always playing with the idea of intrigues in Justine.  There is 
>Balthazar and his cabal, of which Nessim was a part.  Scobie is 
>working for intelligence.  And there was Cohen, who turns out to be 
>a French agent, and the French are up to something in Syria (p 139 
>omnibus 1962 edition); in the MS Cohen is a German agent; but it has 
>not yet occurred to Durrell to make him a Zionist agent.  In his 
>earliest letters to Miller, Durrell describes Justine as a book 
>about sex and the secret service; intrigue was always meant as part 
>of the atmosphere, and 'obscure ends' works well as atmosphere.


Any comments?

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W. L. Godshalk		*
Department of English         *
University of Cincinnati            Stellar disorder  *
Cincinnati OH 45221-0069      *
513-281-5927
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