The true story of the greatest double agent in history, MI5's 'Garbo' – the man who saved D-Day and helped to defeat the Nazis.
Barcelona-born Juan Pujol fought on both sides in the Spanish Civil War. He was awarded the Iron Cross by Hitler and an MBE by Prince Philip. He was courted by J. Edgar Hoover in Washington. To MI5 he was known as 'Garbo'. To the German secret service, he was 'Alaric'. He also went by 'Rags' the Indian Poet, 'Mrs Gerbers', 'Stanley' the Welsh Aryan Nationalist – and dozens of other names. And most importantly, he deceived Hitler over the Normandy landings.
But who was he?
Using his skills as a long-established novelist and historian, Jason Webster tells Juan's full story, digging up long-buried family secrets, and fleshing out for the first time the life-or-death consequences of his great deception operation for ordinary soldiers on the Normandy battle front.
Meticulously researched and told with the pace and verve of a thriller, The Great Garbo Deception is ultimately a heart-warming tale about hope, about the power of the imagination – and how story-telling helped to defeat one of the most evil regimes in human history... and changed the world for the better.
‘Webster resurrects a quirky figure of fantastical duplicity, a juggler of multiple fictional identities... and brilliantly fleshes out his character as the enigmatic Agent Garbo.’
The Times
‘Webster is an ideal teller of this story... pacy and enthralling… has all the hallmarks of a classic espionage movie’
The Observer
‘Fascinating, unputdownable’
Daily Mail
‘Gripping and stylish… reads like a thrilling work of fiction’
The Spectator
‘A riveting story’
TheIndependent
‘A wonderfully intriguing and evocative tale, stuffed with extraordinary and exotic characters and a real edition to the wartime espionage canon.’
Patrick Bishop, author of Bomber Boys
‘A fabulous story, elegantly told’
Roger Moorhouse, author of Berlin at War
‘Better than spy fiction’
Peter Lewis
Barcelona-born Juan Pujol fought on both sides in the Spanish Civil War. He was awarded the Iron Cross by Hitler and an MBE by Prince Philip. He was courted by J. Edgar Hoover in Washington. To MI5 he was known as 'Garbo'. To the German secret service, he was 'Alaric'. He also went by 'Rags' the Indian Poet, 'Mrs Gerbers', 'Stanley' the Welsh Aryan Nationalist – and dozens of other names. And most importantly, he deceived Hitler over the Normandy landings.
But who was he?
Using his skills as a long-established novelist and historian, Jason Webster tells Juan's full story, digging up long-buried family secrets, and fleshing out for the first time the life-or-death consequences of his great deception operation for ordinary soldiers on the Normandy battle front.
Meticulously researched and told with the pace and verve of a thriller, The Great Garbo Deception is ultimately a heart-warming tale about hope, about the power of the imagination – and how story-telling helped to defeat one of the most evil regimes in human history... and changed the world for the better.
‘Webster resurrects a quirky figure of fantastical duplicity, a juggler of multiple fictional identities... and brilliantly fleshes out his character as the enigmatic Agent Garbo.’
The Times
‘Webster is an ideal teller of this story... pacy and enthralling… has all the hallmarks of a classic espionage movie’
The Observer
‘Fascinating, unputdownable’
Daily Mail
‘Gripping and stylish… reads like a thrilling work of fiction’
The Spectator
‘A riveting story’
TheIndependent
‘A wonderfully intriguing and evocative tale, stuffed with extraordinary and exotic characters and a real edition to the wartime espionage canon.’
Patrick Bishop, author of Bomber Boys
‘A fabulous story, elegantly told’
Roger Moorhouse, author of Berlin at War
‘Better than spy fiction’
Peter Lewis
Used availability for Jason Webster's The Great Garbo Deception