The Bomb-Makers by William Le Queux AUDIOBOOK

William Le Queux’s "The Bomb-Makers" explores the ambiguous boundaries of loyalty, identity, and subterfuge in wartime London. Set amid the labyrinthine backstreets of the city during the First World War, the narrative opens in an obscure Soho restaurant—an enclave for émigrés, spies, and those living under layers of assumed identity. Le Queux, a prolific and stylish chronicler of espionage and intrigue, brings to life a world hazed by suspicion and the constant presence of the enemy "in our midst."

At its heart is Ella Drost, a dazzling revue artiste known to the public as Stella Steele. On stage, she is the embodiment of British charm, beloved by audiences and officers alike. Yet her private life is shadowed by secrets: her father, the enigmatic Theodore Drost, hides a perilous double existence, his genteel clerical persona masking a significant role in German intelligence. Ella’s own identity is fractured, torn between her filial devotion and her clandestine efforts, alongside her aviator lover Kennedy, to resist a network of treason operating in plain sight.

Le Queux masterfully evokes the period’s atmospheric anxieties—foggy city nights, clandestine meetings, and the uneasy interplay between public persona and hidden allegiance. Rich in period details, the novel dwells on the theatre world’s dazzling façade, the drabness of secretive immigrant haunts, and the charged atmosphere of war where every social interaction is tinged with paranoia and potential betrayal.

Listeners attuned to tales of espionage, morally complex characters, and the tensions of a city under siege will find "The Bomb-Makers" compelling. Le Queux’s lucid prose and talent for suspense create a literary window into a time when trust is fragile and the lines between friend and foe are dangerously blurred.

Audiobook time & format : 3h7m5s, OPUS, 146 Mo
Audiobook free extract time & format : 5m (see below to listen), WAV
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