.jpg.webp) First edition | |
| Author | Brian Garfield (in collaboration with Christopher Creighton (pseudonym)) |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Published | 1979 (Simon & Schuster) |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 381 |
| ISBN | 9780671247041 |
| OCLC | 5412654 |
The Paladin is a 1979 historical novel by Brian Garfield. Supposedly based on a true story, it is about a young boy "Christopher Creighton" who befriends Winston Churchill in the mid 1930s and then goes on to take an active role in a number of World War II operations including: informing Churchill in advance of the surrender of Belgium leading to the Dunkirk evacuation, stopping the Americans from being warned of the Attack on Pearl Harbor by sinking a submarine, and misleading the Germans about the Normandy invasion.
Publication history
- 1979, USA, Simon & Schuster ISBN 9780671247041
- 1980, England, Macmillan ISBN 9780333266366
Reception
A starred review in Kirkus Reviews of The Paladin wrote "Still, veteran Garfield punches it all out with assured panache: larger-than-life Churchill, exploit after exploit, horror upon horror. So, believe it or not, this is a ripping good yarn--with food for all sorts of WW II-history speculation."[1] The International Churchill Society wrote "His novel is splendid entertainment for the highly committed Churchillian, and you should definitely add a copy to your library of tall tales."[2]
The Washington Post, in its review, disproved a major part of the book posited as true, the sinking of a Dutch submarine which had seen the Japanese fleet approaching Pearl Harbor, and concluded "The writing moves along at a lively pace, but the characters are so wooden a Gepetto would drool. In sum, it's no Le Carre. Still, it's a substantial cut above, say, Robert Ludlum, whose own novels are equally improbable, but more clearly designated as pure fiction."[3]
Nigel West, in his book Counterfeit Spies, exposed the story as fiction.[4]
References
- ↑ "The Paladin". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media LLC. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ↑ "Old Titles Revisited: The Paladin". Finest Hour. International Churchill Society (139): 24. 2008. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ↑ Les Whitten (March 2, 1980). "Churchill's Little Assassin". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ↑ Hayden B. Peake (June 2009). "The Intelligence Officer's Bookshelf". Studies in Intelligence. CSI Publications. 51 (2). Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved February 8, 2019.