THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T TALK

by Quentin Reynolds ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 23, 1953

An undemonstrative narrative of a Canadian born, British agent during the war is grave rather than dashing- and tells of George Dupre, a gentle, quiet, and deeply religious man who spent more than four years along side of the French underground and endured the brutalized inquisition of the Gestapo without betraying his identity. An intensive period of training in England groomed him for the alias of Pierre Touchette, an idiot, and he returned to Touchette's native town- Torigni- as a garage helper. His imbecility of speech and gesture gave him a certain immunity from the Germans as during the years ammunition was stolen as well as cars, installations dynamited, and British pilots rescued. But aged Madame Bouvot, who worked along with him, was to use her own life as a means of taking that of several German officers; and Armand, a boy of 14, was shot by a firing squad before his eyes. During the ordeal of questioning, his nose was broken and ""reset"" twice by the same fist; boiling water was poured down his throat; and hypodermics applied the final torture from which he emerged damaged in body but unbroken in spirit. He then went to Hamburg as forced labor in a plant where they sank ""the subs before they got wet""; returned to Torigni, and finally to England where he experienced a delayed reaction to the experiences endured and witnessed..... A plain clothes, not cloak and sword, version of the foreign agent- whose survival depends on a sober, steady, precise obedience to his superiors and his orders and takes its stamina from an inner faith. The Quentin Reynolds name will help to carry this to a wide audience.

Pub Date: Oct. 23, 1953

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Random House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1953

Categories: NONFICTION