A Rebel and a Traitor

‘Deeply researched and fascinating’ The Guardian

‘[Rory Carroll is] an exceptionally gifted storyteller’ Max Hastings

‘A gripping read’ The i Paper

‘A thrilling account of one of the most unpredictable, memorable and poignant figures in our history’ Irish Times

The Irish Times No.1 Bestseller

From the master storyteller behind 2023’s critically acclaimed Killing Thatcher

A Rebel and a Traitor is the story of a rogue imperial consul who sought to forge a new nation in the middle of a war – and the mercurial spy chief who sought to destroy him by any means.

The rogue consul was Sir Roger Casement, a decorated diplomat who turned his back on the British empire and instead joined the rising Irish cause at the turn of the 20th century. At the book’s centre is the manhunt for Casement led by intelligence officer Reginald ‘Blinker’ Hall, the legendary British spy chief who pioneered codebreaking, early mass surveillance and media manipulation.

As he did for the critically acclaimed Killing Thatcher, master storyteller Rory Carroll has combed diaries, letters, police reports, memoirs, court transcripts, secret service archives and declassified government files in the US, Britain, Ireland and Germany to create a page-turning history, and a story that still echoes through Anglo-Irish relations. A Rebel and a Traitor raises profound questions about honour, courage and the price of patriotism.