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‘If I had to choose between betraying my friend and betraying my country, I hope I should have the courage to betray my country.’ E. M. FORSTER

People have betrayed their country, or their friends, for all kinds of different reasons – conscience, conviction, love, as well as pride, vengeance and greed. The stories in Traitors range from the faith-inspired terrorism of Guy Fawkes to the non-violent White Rose gang of students who defied Hitler; from patriotic rebels such as Roger Casement to ambivalent ideologues such as Lord Haw-Haw and the Cambridge spy Kim Philby; and from femmes fatales such as Mata Hari to unwitting victims such as Lady Jane Grey.

Those found guilty of treason have usually faced the same penalty: death. But as these thoroughly researched and grippingly told tales of treachery show, one man’s traitor may sometimes be another man’s hero . . .

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