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.
E. Phillips Oppenheim was born on October 22, 1866, in Tohhenham, London, England, to Henrietta Susannah Temperley Budd and Edward John Oppenheim, a leather retailer. After leaving school at age 17, he helped his father in his leather business and used to write in his extra time. His first novel, Expiration (1886), and subsequent thrillers piqued the interest of a wealthy New York businessman who eventually bought out the leather business and made Oppenheim a high-paid director.He is more focused on dedicating most of his time to writing. The novels, volumes of short stories, and plays that followed, numbering more than 150, were about humans with modern heroes, fearless spies, and stylish noblemen. The Long Arm of Mannister (1910), The Moving Finger (1911), and The Great Impersonation (1920) are three of his most famous essays.
