Spies (novel)
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First edition
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| Author | Michael Frayn |
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| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
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Publication date
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1 April 2002 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 302 pp (hardback edition) & 272 pp (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | (hardback edition) & (paperback edition) |
| OCLC | 48236279 |
Spies (2002) is a psychological novel by English author and dramatist Michael Frayn. It is currently studied by A-Level, and some GCSE, literature students in various schools. It is also studied by some Year 12 VCE English students in Australia.
Narrating in the form of a bildungsroman, an elderly man, Stephen Wheatley, reminisces about his life during the Second World War as he wanders down the now modernised London cul-de-sac that he once called home.
Now a young boy, Stephen, regularly bullied at school and bored with his home life, is informed by his best friend Keith Hayward, a snobbish and domineering neighbour, that Keith's mother is an undercover operative working for the Germans. As the two boys spy on Mrs. Hayward from a hiding place in the hedges, they notice her unusual daily routine: leaving Keith's house with a picnic basket full of food, tapping on Auntie Dee's (Mrs. Hayward's sister, next-door-neighbour and best friend, whose husband, Uncle Peter, is away in the RAF) window, and walking through to the end of the cul-de-sac where she disappears into the nearby town. When the boys follow her, they cannot find her in any of the shops; and when they get back to their hiding place, Mrs. Hayward is already ahead of them, walking back into Keith's house.
When snooping in Keith's mother's room, they find her diary which contains a small 'x' marked on a day of every month (however this is in reference to her menstrual cycle). The boys' naïveté leads them to believe that 'x' is another secret agent that Mrs. Hayward has meetings with each month. One day, the boys realize that Keith's mother does not turn right into the town every day, but instead turns left into a grimy tunnel that leads to a disused field. Later that night, Stephen goes through the tunnel and finds a box in the field that contains pack of cigarettes. When Keith opens the packet, a slip of paper pops out with a single letter written on it:X. One night Stephen sneaks out to the tunnel and goes to the box once again. Inside this time were some clean clothes. As he is looking through them, somebody appears behind him. Stephen is too scared to turn around and holds his breath hoping that he isn't noticed. Still holding a sock, Stephen runs away as soon as he cannot hear the sound of breathing behind him. His family are outside looking for him and are furious.
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