The Imitator by Rebecca Starford

 

This is the story of Evelyn, a young woman who became a spy working for MI 5 in London in the early years of World War 2. It is also the story of Evelyn’s life leading up to that time. Having been a scholarship student at an exclusive school Evelyn developed a chameleon-like ability to fit in with different people and situations. As an Oxford graduate with Firsts in German and Literature she was looking forward to having a career in London in 1939.

Rebecca Starford brings war-time London vividly to life. In 1939 people were having to learn things which we, all these years later, have been aware of all our lives. With hindsight we have learned that Hitler was a monster, Chamberlain was wrong to want appeasement, Churchill was a great war-time leader; but a lot of people in the time leading up to the war had different points of view on what should be done. It is frightening to think of a world where Mosley and others, for instance, had not been brought down. Rebecca Starford has created an atmosphere reminiscent of Kate Atkinson’s Life After Life, and both writers have done this brilliantly.

Evelyn is a many-dimensional character. She is very clever yet vulnerable in a world where she is trying to find her place. Her relationships with her parents and friends are real and authentic. She has self-awareness and she is honest with herself about the incredibly stressful tasks she has to undertake. The women in real life who did this kind of work in World War 2, and women like the Bletchley Circle and others, must have had extraordinary strength of character. They had to keep their work secret and they received no recognition, mostly, for what they had contributed to the War effort.

It is a thought-provoking book which I would recommend to readers of character-driven stories, spy novels, and thrillers alike. I will look for more of Rebecca Starford’s books. 5 out of 5.

Published by Allen & Unwin