Product Description

Sir Alfred Dreyfus, beloved headmaster of one of the greatest schools in England, is found guilty of the murder of a child. Sam Temple, literary agent and fellow Jew, visits Dreyfus in his prison cell and, hearing the appalling narrative of his betrayal, must face his own denial of his faith.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #586437 in Books
• Published on: 2000-01-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Bernice Rubens is one of England's elder stateswomen of literature, and I,Dreyfus upholds her reputation for producing stately and polished fiction with a serious moral intent. For Rubens, the anti-semitism which rocked France at the turn of the last century has not gone away. This time it crops up in 1990s England. Sir Alfred Dreyfus is the headmaster of a Church of England school. His only sin has been one of omission--he has concealed his Jewish origins to further his career. However, the novel opens with Sir Alfred imprisoned for a crime far more heinous. Literary agent and fellow Jew Sam Temple (names are emblematic for Rubens, and Temple does indeed prove to be an emotional haven for Dreyfus) visits the prisoner in his cell and persuades him to write a memoir of his downfall. The resulting narrative reveals a man coming to terms with his religious identity, and reclaiming his family's past. It is a deeply felt account of spiritual renewal, and should be read as an expertly crafted parable. Fans of psychological realism may balk at the evil anti-Semites she pits against her hero, but will rally at the sly humour of her ending. --Lilian Pizzichini

SCOTSMAN
'A book of soaring righteousness, a masterful book, one that must be read'

DAILY MAIL
'This is an immensely powerful novel to stir the blood of even the most detached readers'

Customer Reviews

An exceptionally moving story.
Apart from quality, one never knows what to expect from a book by Bernice Rubens. In I, Dreyfus there is the poignancy of the title character Alfred Dreyfus experiencing the consequences of racial prejudice as did the real Captain Alfred Dreyfus before him.

Like his namesake, Dreyfus is fortunate to have a champion in Sam Temple who persuades him to write a book about the experiences that led to his incarceration. We learn of his family's denial of their Jewish faith. The family attends church but none can take the final step of uttering the name of Jesus! They only wish to save their sons from the suffering they experienced but the deception leads to tragedy when by default Dreyfus, now Sir Alfred, blatantly makes the point that he is a gentile so that he will be appointed headmaster of a top Church of England public school. Eventually his whole family must share in his disgrace. When he is found guilty of a terrible crime, Sir Alfred's wife and his brother never doubt him but even his sister-in-law believes that justice has been done and changes her name to Smith. A few people still think he must be innocent and that is where hope lies. Even the prison governor has secret doubts and shows him small kindnesses.

We are cleverly kept waiting to find out what this crime is and how it relates to the events which we follow as Dreyfus writes his book. He experiences emotions ranging from relief that he can finally unburden hiself to anguish as he relives the most terrible moments of his life. Sam Temple becomes the receptacle who must wait for the next instalment and we see how trust and friendship develop between them and then extends to the whole family.

I was moved by the wholly believable main characters and empathised with their recognisable strengths and weaknesses. It was therefore easy to forgive the slightly contrived denouement which was necessary to bring things to their proper conclusion.

Perhaps a little personal genealogical identifcation with the title name made me enjoy it even more but, as said at the start of this review, Bernice Rubens has never written a bad book and this one is one of the best so far.

I can't believe this novel won a Booker prize
I had understood Bernice Rubens to be a well-crafted author and yet this novel is one of complete mediocrity. The story is overly simplistic and far-fetched. The characters are equally two-dimensional: Goodies, Baddies and Children Who Should Know Better. This includes the central protagonist whose flowering appreciation of his Jewish roots is unfortunately so unbelievable. The only redeeming feature of the novel is that despite all these faults it is still very readable, though only in the manner of a diverting forties thriller rather than the moral pillar it deems itself to be.

A riveting tale, but delusional, and misleading, fantasy
This novel is written great skill and craft. As a piece of written English it is a sheer joy to read. But, but, but .... as fiction, I think it must go in the fantasy section. And, it's a dangerous and misleading fantasy. Anyone reading this book might conclude that the lapsed-Christian white Britons include many latent and active anti-semites. I do not think this is true, despite the virulent anti-Israel propaganda peddled by the BBC. This Dreyfus is, like the famous French Jew, the victim of a conspiracy. This is perpetrated by a right-wing neo-Nazi group. Now, an important fact: there has been no remotely similar case in post-war Britain. Many of my Gentile friends share my own admiration for the achievements of Jews in Britain. There is anti-semitism in Britain, but its source, as in Europe, is from the deep (and dangerous) hostility coming from the rapidly growing muslim population. Top marks for readability; bottom marks for credibility.