The Plot

by Irving Wallace

If you were in a position of authority and these five came to you at the life-and-death Summit Conference in Paris with the incredible details of The Plot would you believe any one of them?

Matt Brennan—once a trusted member of the State Department until his life was shattered by accusations of treason …

Medora Hart—young, ravishing, beautiful, whose involvement in a Profumo-like scandal had all but toppled an English government …

Jay Thomas Doyle—once a renowned and respected columnist, now struggling desperately to recapture his lost fame by a most dangerous expos? …

Hazel Smith—an embittered American foreign correspondent and the mistress of a man high up in the inner circles of the Kremlin …

Emmett A. Earnshaw—an ex-President of the United States, fighting an all but hopeless battle against a ruthless German munitions tycoon to retain an honorable place in history …

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Espionage, France, Suspense, Novels

1150 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 3, 1967

About the author

Irving Wallace was an American bestselling author and screenwriter. His extensively researched books included such page-turners as The Chapman Report (1960), about human sexuality; The Prize (1962), a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the Nobel Prizes; The Man, about a black man becoming president of the U.S. in the 1960s; and The Word (1972), about the discovery of a new gospel.

Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois. Wallace grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was the father of Olympic historian David Wallechinsky and author Amy Wallace.

Wallace began selling stories to magazines when he was a teenager. In World War II Wallace served in the Frank Capra unit in Fort Fox along with Theodor Seuss Geisel - more popularly known as Dr Seuss - and continued to write for magazines. He also served in the First Motion Picture Unit of the Army Air Force. In the years immediately following World war II Wallace became a Hollywood screenwriter. He collaborated on such films as The West Point Story (1950), Split Second (1953),and Meet Me at the Fair (1953).

After several years in Hollywood, he devoted himself full-time to writing books. Wallace published 33 books during his lifetime.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually it's been a long time since I've read this book but I remember how much I liked it. It was one of the first spy books I read and got really involved in "The Plot" which was exciting.

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this book years ago around 1980's. I have enjoyed all Irving Wallace books but The Plot has been well researched but was slow at beginning and later got very interesting. It was balanced, had suspense and very good characters. He was one of the best writers compared so many new writers now. I would recommend to readers even though it seems to have very many pages it is a great read. If you enjoy politics and suspense this it. I had borrowed this book from the Toronto Library to read

[Serge]

A page-turner this book certainly is not. The first section alone, the introduction to the characters, could be a separate novel. This book is to be enjoyed in the evenings, in a quiet and comfortable space, a few short sections at a time, as relaxation from online activities. The plot, of course, is totally preposterous, but the characters are interesting, since a lot of internal dialogue is presented. Related to the time of writing, the action takes place in the near future, hence the absence of Mao, Brezhnev and the presence of a fictitious former US president is plausible. For characters supposedly down on their luck, they all stay and eat at the most luxurious establishments in Vienna, Venice and Paris, but it all adds a lot of authenticity to the story. No need to read this novel quickly, but for those who take the time, the complicated plot and excellent style should be quite enjoyable.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in paperback in the early 1970s when it was released in paperback.
In a lot of ways, I still consider this to be the first adult book I read. I had read several Ellery Queen and Earle Stanly Gardner novels before that, but this was over 900 pages. I think I ripped through it in about a week. I grabbed every Irving Wallace book I could lay my hands on over the next several years. I still don't think that I enjoyed any as much as I liked this one.
Over the last few years, I have been going back through some of the books that I really liked when I was in Junior High School and Senior High School. Some have held up really well and some not so well. I added it to my cart on Amazon and we shall have to see if this holds up as well as those have.

[Louise Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterly build up in suspense. A Byzantine political plot uncovered by several strangers meeting in Paris, all wishing to rebuild their shattered lives.
The ex call girl, the failed journalist, the disgraced exile and a former President of the USA. Each character has a personal reason for attending the peace summit.
Medora Hart wishes to regain entry to Britain.
Jay Doyle desperately wants to revover his status as a political writer.
Matt Brennan wants to clear his tarnished name.
Emmett Earnshaw is afraid of personal disgrace.
Meeting in Paris pulls them together as allies against a bigger plot which if successful could see nuclear war.
Chilling build up with a twist.

[Lori Trotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting

Like all if his books fantastic story surprise ending. Feel like i know all the characters....would love to meet hazel!

[L. · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a chore! What an absolute chore it was to get through this novel. I've read Wallace before and while I can't say he's a thrill-a-minute kind of author, he's not usually this butt numbingly boring. I don't know what went wrong here. The first quarter of the book is nothing but set-up for the four main characters. (And this is a pretty long book, so the first 1/4 could have been a book in itself.) Jay Thomas Doyle is a washed up reporter looking to regain his prestige and the woman he threw away. Emmett A. Earnshaw is a former American president worried his legacy is about to be tainted by a tell-all book. Medora Hart is a low class woman who has been screwed over (literally and figuratively) by the rich and powerful and now she's living in exile. Also in exile is Matthew Brennan, a former politician seeking to clear his name from accusations of treason. See, that didn't take long to set up. I didn't need hundreds of pages to establish these characters.

Eventually these four all arrive in Paris and end up helping each other. Almost at the very end of the story does Wallace realize these people and their problems don't amount to a hill of beans and he tacks on a world-shaking crisis. That is exactly how it felt: tacked on. Before then nothing much was really happening. What action did happen, happened off screen (so to speak), making these characters more reactive than proactive.

This is a tour guide book trying to pass itself off as a thriller. The protagonists spend most of their time seeing the sights and eating the local cuisine. I can't believe I'm going to say this but I kind of got tired of Paris. I've never been to the City of Light and now I don't have to as Wallace is described every nook and cranny to me.

[Derek Beaugarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Plot by Irving Wallace probably rates as the best novel that I have ever read. Initially, the reader is drawn into a journalist's investigation which reveals a plot into the killing of JFK in 1963 in Dallas, Texas. But as the story develops 7 people are drawn into the plot culminating in an explosive climax at a global summit in Paris. This book provided the inspiration for some of the plotlines for my book 2084 The End of Days.

[ERIK SALINAS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lamentablemente mi edición tiene errores de traducción y una de esas alteraciones fue un pleonasmo que por poco me hace aventar el libro. Resisti hasta saber la conclusión, porque no podía dejar la vida de los personajes inconclusa y descubrir el complot. Muy bueno este señor Wallace.

[Julie Gelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book during the late 70's. I thought how good it was at the time, so decided to read it again on my e-reader. Still a really good read, and amazing when you realise how close to real life it has become over almost 5 decades. Superb.

[Carey Mundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book many years ago and decided I wanted to re-read it. It’s the story of 5 individuals who all have something g they need to change in their lives. They come together in Paris in the 1960s for a Peace summit amongst the world’s top leaders and the “plot” is revealed. I enjoyed it again

[Bob Box · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read in 1973. Wallace wrote big bestsellers with charged story lines. I became a fan.

[Sandra Pennington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story and dynamic character development but PAINFULLY long. Found myself skimming at times.

[Divya Pal · Rating 4 out of 5]

1980s

[Gary]

Sorry, I just couldn't finish this 917 page novel when I read it several years ago, despite the jacket's promise of sexual activity inside! Now I am having a clear out, and this one's going.

[Natalie Clauson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took foreeeevvvver to get over

[Babbdawg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Doesn’t hold up well.

[Ümit Sevgi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Zıbın bezlerine kadar anlatılan dört ana karakter, eski SSCB ajanları, Kennedy, suikast ve 1960 Paris Barış Zirvesi etrafında dönüp duran bir 800 sayfa.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the story takes place in various parts of Europe. The descriptions of the locations are wonderful and authentic. The characters are well developed. I found myself cheering for them through most of the book, and holding my breath when they were in danger.

This was one of those wonderful suspense books in which you think you know what is to come, but the author fools you and keeps changing directions. The bad guys aren't always bad, and the good guys aren't always good, and the ending through me for a loop. All in all a very satisfying read.

[Sarajevo Ramsler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta novela fue mi reto de este año.
Y no me arrepiento.

La narrativa de Wallace, el detalle a cada locación es bellísimo.
Así como el sentido que tiene todo al final, como el complot que creían era mucho más grande de lo que pensaban.
Esa angustia y dolor de los personajes, ese final tan esperanzador y a la vez abierto.

Es impresionante como se entrelazan a los 5 personajes que en un principio no se conocían del todo, una metáfora en cierto modo a las 5 potencias de la Cumbre.


Es bastante largo, pero vale la pena leerlo.

[Amy]

"...no man dared depend wholly on other men, for all men were vulnerable and flawed."

"He bought, on the basis of the wrappings, sex and love. He opened the package, and to his amazement, sex was the smallest part of the contents, love was not quite the right size, and the rest of the contents had not been bargained for and could not be disposed of."

"... you give up half your present life to understand the other half long gone."

[Jo Butler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This oldie starts out slow, with long accounts of several near-exiles in Europe trying to rehabilitate themselves and their failing lives, and I nearly gave up. However, curiosity overcame me - how was Wallace going to pull these wildly disparate people together? All in all, an interesting ending after a slow start.

[Felix Gyasi]

yet to read

[Dennys Feijoo Mora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extenso, pero súper recomendado.

[Aldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extenso pero bueno. Muy descriptivo con los paisajes y lugares, te transporta a la escena y a la época y te atrapa en muchos momentos.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little slow at the start but became a page-turner as the story progressed.