Signed, Mata Hari

A beautifully written biographical novel about one of the most notorious and fascinating women of the twentieth century In the cold October of 1917 Margaretha Zelle, alias Mata Hari, the infamous exotic dancer, sits in a prison cell in Paris awaiting trial on charges of espionage; the penalty, death by firing squad. As she waits, Mata Hari tells stories - much like Scheherazade in The 1001 Nights - to buy back her life from her interrogators. From a bleak childhood on the shores of the North Sea, through a loveless marriage to a Dutch naval officer, Margaretha is transported to the sensual pleasures of the south seas. She spins tales of native lovers and fragrant Javanese jungles; she tells of the ugly disintegration of her family. Then, in flight from her brutal husband, Margaretha reinvents herself: she becomes the temple dancer Mata Hari - dressed in veils, admired by Diaghilev, performing for the crowned heads of Europe. Tender, subtle and intensely erotic, Murphy's retelling of an iconic story is a haunting portrait of love and treachery.