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The Secret War
1936. As Mussolini's troops invade Abyssinia the international situation deteriorates - and the armaments kings look forward greedily to even fatter profits. No one, it seems, can halt the carnage. Except perhaps the Millers of God, a group of wealthy individuals dedicated to the systematic execution of all those who feed off human suffering. Sir Anthony Lovelace doesn't approve of the organisation's methods. But when Christopher Penn and his beautiful fiancee call on his friendship, he too finds himself involved in a desperate gamble for the cause of peace.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1937
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About the author
Dennis Wheatley
382 books250 followersDennis Yates Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) [Born: Dennis Yeats Wheatley] was an English author. His prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors in the 1950s and 1960s.
His first book, Three Inquisitive People, was not immediately published; but his first published novel, The Forbidden Territory, was an immediate success when published in 1933, being reprinted seven times in seven weeks.
He wrote adventure stories, with many books in a series of linked works. His plots covered the French Revolution (Roger Brook Series), Satanism (Duc de Richleau), World War II (Gregory Sallust) and espionage (Julian Day).
In the thirties, he conceived a series of whodunit mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to go through the evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues.
In the 1960s his publishers were selling a million copies of his books per year. A small number of his books were made into films by Hammer, of which the best known is The Devil Rides Out (book 1934, film 1968). His writing is very descriptive and in many works he manages to introduce his characters into real events while meeting real people. For example, in the Roger Brook series the main character involves himself with Napoleon, and Joséphine whilst being a spy for the Prime Minister William Pitt. Similarly, in the Gregory Sallust series, Sallust shares an evening meal with Hermann Göring.
He also wrote non-fiction works, including accounts of the Russian Revolution and King Charles II, and his autobiography. He was considered an authority on the supernatural, satanism, the practice of exorcism, and black magic, to all of which he was hostile. During his study of the paranormal, though, he joined the Ghost Club.
From 1974 through 1977 he edited a series of 45 paperback reprints for the British publisher Sphere under the heading "The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult", selecting the titles and writing short introductions for each book. This series included both occult-themed novels by the likes of Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley and non-fiction works on magic, occultism, and divination by authors such as the Theosophist H. P. Blavatsky, the historian Maurice Magre, the magician Isaac Bonewits, and the palm-reader Cheiro.
Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril ‘Bobby’ Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough.
His estate library was sold in a catalogue sale by Basil Blackwell's in the 1970s, indicating a thoroughly well-read individual with wide-ranging interests particularly in historical fiction and Europe. His influence has declined, partly due to difficulties in reprinting his works owing to copyright problems.
Fifty-two of Wheatley's novels were published posthumously in a set by Heron Books UK. More recently, in April 2008 Dennis Wheatley's literary estate was acquired by media company Chorion.
He invented a number of board games including Invasion.
-Wikipedia
His first book, Three Inquisitive People, was not immediately published; but his first published novel, The Forbidden Territory, was an immediate success when published in 1933, being reprinted seven times in seven weeks.
He wrote adventure stories, with many books in a series of linked works. His plots covered the French Revolution (Roger Brook Series), Satanism (Duc de Richleau), World War II (Gregory Sallust) and espionage (Julian Day).
In the thirties, he conceived a series of whodunit mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to go through the evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues.
In the 1960s his publishers were selling a million copies of his books per year. A small number of his books were made into films by Hammer, of which the best known is The Devil Rides Out (book 1934, film 1968). His writing is very descriptive and in many works he manages to introduce his characters into real events while meeting real people. For example, in the Roger Brook series the main character involves himself with Napoleon, and Joséphine whilst being a spy for the Prime Minister William Pitt. Similarly, in the Gregory Sallust series, Sallust shares an evening meal with Hermann Göring.
He also wrote non-fiction works, including accounts of the Russian Revolution and King Charles II, and his autobiography. He was considered an authority on the supernatural, satanism, the practice of exorcism, and black magic, to all of which he was hostile. During his study of the paranormal, though, he joined the Ghost Club.
From 1974 through 1977 he edited a series of 45 paperback reprints for the British publisher Sphere under the heading "The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult", selecting the titles and writing short introductions for each book. This series included both occult-themed novels by the likes of Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley and non-fiction works on magic, occultism, and divination by authors such as the Theosophist H. P. Blavatsky, the historian Maurice Magre, the magician Isaac Bonewits, and the palm-reader Cheiro.
Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril ‘Bobby’ Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough.
His estate library was sold in a catalogue sale by Basil Blackwell's in the 1970s, indicating a thoroughly well-read individual with wide-ranging interests particularly in historical fiction and Europe. His influence has declined, partly due to difficulties in reprinting his works owing to copyright problems.
Fifty-two of Wheatley's novels were published posthumously in a set by Heron Books UK. More recently, in April 2008 Dennis Wheatley's literary estate was acquired by media company Chorion.
He invented a number of board games including Invasion.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 1, 2020
The Secret War by Dennis Wheatley is the third or fourth book by Wheatley that I've read. He was a prolific writer of gothic horror (some of his books made it to Hammer Horror movies) and thrillers and adventures. The Secret War would probably be classified in his thriller / adventure genre.
The story is set in 1936 when Mussolini's troops are invading Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). English adventurer Sir Anthony Lovelace plans to head to Abyssinia to work behind the scenes with the Red Cross. He meets American Christopher Penn who is part of a loose organization of wealthy individuals, the Millers of God, who work to stop wars by executing those who make money off human suffering; arms dealers, newspaper moguls who create fake stories, etc. Christopher is tasked to kill an arms dealer hoping to sell arms to Abyssinia for rights to the country's natural wealth.
While Lovelace doesn't approve of the Millers' methods, he agrees to accompany Penn to the country. Along with them is Penn's fiancé Valerie Lorne, an internationally renowned pilot who continuously breaks flying records. Trying to avoid people who want to stop the Millers, the trio head from the US through France and Greece, making their way to Abyssinia to stop Zarrif, the Armenian arms dealer.
It's an interesting journey although they do at times seem to take meandering side trips through their past lives. It's an interesting concept and I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story. It's not a free flowing story but that's ok. The ending is satisfying enough but it does seem to end somewhat with a whimper, big build up but a surprising low key closing. All in all I liked the characters, especially Percival and Valerie and it held my interest. I will continue to explore Wheatley as he does write varied, interesting stories. (3 stars)
The story is set in 1936 when Mussolini's troops are invading Abyssinia (now Ethiopia). English adventurer Sir Anthony Lovelace plans to head to Abyssinia to work behind the scenes with the Red Cross. He meets American Christopher Penn who is part of a loose organization of wealthy individuals, the Millers of God, who work to stop wars by executing those who make money off human suffering; arms dealers, newspaper moguls who create fake stories, etc. Christopher is tasked to kill an arms dealer hoping to sell arms to Abyssinia for rights to the country's natural wealth.
While Lovelace doesn't approve of the Millers' methods, he agrees to accompany Penn to the country. Along with them is Penn's fiancé Valerie Lorne, an internationally renowned pilot who continuously breaks flying records. Trying to avoid people who want to stop the Millers, the trio head from the US through France and Greece, making their way to Abyssinia to stop Zarrif, the Armenian arms dealer.
It's an interesting journey although they do at times seem to take meandering side trips through their past lives. It's an interesting concept and I enjoyed the historical aspects of the story. It's not a free flowing story but that's ok. The ending is satisfying enough but it does seem to end somewhat with a whimper, big build up but a surprising low key closing. All in all I liked the characters, especially Percival and Valerie and it held my interest. I will continue to explore Wheatley as he does write varied, interesting stories. (3 stars)
June 6, 2015
A vintage Wheatley... the brash, driven American, the more measured and experienced Englishman and a most satisfyingly progressing plot across East Africa. That short baut highly-insightful scene with Haile Selassie is itself worth the price of the book itself...
June 4, 2023
I found this early Wheatley (1936) fascinating, but probably not in the way the author intended. We are all used to reading thrillers with secret global organisations committed to crime and evil - here is an example of a supposed secret organisation (The Millers of God) committed to preventing war for the good of the world. However, it achieves these aims by sending its members to assassinate arms dealers and war mongers. This idea of murders performed by people who decide they are above the law is a tricky moral concept in our age - it must have seemed easier to reconcile when Mussolini had just invaded Abyssinia and preventing the world from slipping into a second global conflict was a worthy aim. An even more problematic contemporary morality occurs when one character opines that the Abyssinians are so chaotic, that they are only lacking the guiding hand of a western, first world (and presumably white) country to organise and guide them. And somehow, this is intended as a backhanded compliment. 1936 was a long time ago.
May 5, 2018
The book is an accurate reflection of the attitudes and language of the late 1930's western society. While not one of best of his works, Mr Wheatley has used a good spy tale to write the clash of opinions concerning the morality of war.
Accepted beliefs from that period are no longer widely held. Some individuals will be challenged by characters whose beliefs and actions are not generally considered acceptable today. The book needs to be read with an understanding of the social and political standards of the 1930's. Plus the English text is more European than American. Some words and expressions have dropped out of everyday usage in the 80 years since the book was written.
This was not the first of his books I read. The books appealed to me because of my interest in the events of time period. They are generally historically accurate and a fair example of fiction writing of the period.
Accepted beliefs from that period are no longer widely held. Some individuals will be challenged by characters whose beliefs and actions are not generally considered acceptable today. The book needs to be read with an understanding of the social and political standards of the 1930's. Plus the English text is more European than American. Some words and expressions have dropped out of everyday usage in the 80 years since the book was written.
This was not the first of his books I read. The books appealed to me because of my interest in the events of time period. They are generally historically accurate and a fair example of fiction writing of the period.
April 23, 2023
Set against the background of the Italian invasion of Abyssinia in 1937, this is the story of three people who are trying to stop war profiteers. A group called "The Millers of God" aims to assassinate war-mongers in an attempt to prevent future wars, and one young man, his fiance and an older friend have their target. But can Christopher Penn bring himself to commit murder, even in a good cause?
There's a lot of the casual racism of the Thirties in this story, which is otherwise exciting and fast-paced - until Wheatley indulges in his long-winded explanations of the world situation that he never seems able to avoid.
There's a lot of the casual racism of the Thirties in this story, which is otherwise exciting and fast-paced - until Wheatley indulges in his long-winded explanations of the world situation that he never seems able to avoid.
June 2, 2014
Excellent thriller with lots of interesting historical detail thrown in. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews