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Zusatztext Praise for Paulo Coelho and The Spy “[ The Spy is a] masterful new novel.” --Bookpage “Coelho! whose books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide! has taken the Mata Hara story and fashioned it into a short dynamo of a novel.” -- Los Angeles Times “A striking novel. . . . By the end! readers will believe they’ve read [Mata Hari’s] actual letters.” -- Publisher’s Weekly “Coelho has created a portrait of an anachronistic woman! who was destroyed by her times and became a legend.” -- Paste Magazine “A novelist who writes in a universal language.” -- The New York Times “Spiritualists and wanderlusts will eagerly devour . . . [Coelho’s] search for all things meaningful.” -- The Washington Post Informationen zum Autor PAULO COELHO ’s life remains the primary source of inspiration for his books. He has flirted with death! escaped madness! dallied with drugs! withstood torture! experimented with magic and alchemy! studied philosophy and religion! read voraciously! lost and recovered his faith! and experienced the pain and pleasure of love. In searching for his own place in the world! he has discovered answers for the challenges that everyone faces. He believes that! within ourselves! we have the necessary strength to find our own destiny. His most recent novel Adultery was a worldwide bestseller. His 1988 novel The Alchemist has sold more than 65 million copies and has been cited as an inspiration by people as diverse as Malala Yousafzai and Pharrell Williams. Paulo Coelho has sold more than 200 million books worldwide. His work is published in 81 languages! and he is the most translated living author in the world. Part I Dear Mr. Clunet, I do not know what will happen at the end of this week. I have always been an optimistic woman, but time has left me bitter, alone, and sad. If things turn out as I hope, you will never receive this letter. I’ll have been pardoned. After all, I spent my life cultivating influential friends. I will hold on to the letter so that, one day, my only daughter might read it to find out who her mother was. But if I am wrong, I have little hope that these pages, which have consumed my last week of life on Earth, will be kept. I have always been a realistic woman and I know that, once a case is settled, a lawyer will move on to the next one without a backward glance. I can imagine what will happen after. You will be a very busy man, having gained notoriety defending a war criminal. You will have many people knocking at your door, begging for your services, for, even defeated, you attracted huge publicity. You will meet journalists interested to hear your version of events, you will dine in the city’s most expensive restaurants, and you will be looked upon with respect and envy by your peers. You will know there was never any concrete evidence against me—only documents that had been tampered with—but you will never publicly admit that you allowed an innocent woman to die. Innocent? Perhaps that is not the right word. I was never innocent, not since I first set foot in this city I love so dearly. I thought I could manipulate those who wanted state secrets. I thought the Germans, French, English, Spanish would never be able to resist me—and yet, in the end, I was the one manipulated. The crimes I did commit, I escaped, the greatest of which was being an emancipated and independent woman in a world ruled by men. I was convicted of espionage even though the only thing concrete I traded was the gossip from high-society salons. Yes, I turned this gossip into “secrets,” because I wanted money and power. But all those who accuse me now know I never revealed anything new. It’s a shame no one will know this. These envelopes will inevitably find their way...
