E. Phillips Oppenheim's World War I-set novel The Devil's Paw, written in 1920, is rife with international espionage and intrigue. After being given access to extremely private documents, Miss Katherine Abbeway is quickly detained on suspicion of being a spy. She gives the confidential papers to a friend, but are they really secure? Will they fall into the wrong hands? The Devil's Paw is a perfect illustration of both Oppenheim's qualities and flaws. The plot, which centers on an attempted Bolshevik-style revolution in England during World War I, starts off as both an exciting thriller and a masterful representation of the political premise that battles on the subject that overthrow rulers are frequently required to safeguard a free society. Peace is not the greatest virtue. The backdrop of World War I provides the readers an insight into the hardships of people during that time. This is a compelling book because of the combination of suspicion, conspiracies, and the general threat of war which is present throughout the course of the novel.
