The Crook Factory
Encyclopedia
The Crook Factory is a thriller novel by American author Dan Simmons
. It tells a fictionalized version of the real life counter-espionage and spy ring, known as the Crook Factory, that was set up by Ernest Hemingway
in Cuba
during World War II
. The novel is narrated by Joe Lucas, an FBI agent who is sent to Cuba by J. Edgar Hoover
to monitor Hemingway's activities. Lucas is at first bewildered why the director of the FBI has taken a personal interest in Hemingway and his spy network, which Lucas considers amateurish and almost silly. As the novel unfolds it becomes clear that Hemingway's ragtag organization is at the center of a complicated game of war-time counter-intelligence involving the FBI, the OSS
, British intelligence, and the two German intelligence organizations operating at that time, the Sicherheitsdienst
(SD) and the Abwehr
. Lucas goes from a reluctant monitor of Hemingway to an active participant in the Crook Factory's operations.
While the novel is fictional, it incorporates multiple real events and almost all real people as characters. An author's note at the end of the novel reveals that many of the novel's events are based in fact, most notably the existence and organization of the Crook Factory, along with Hoover's interest in Hemingway, the support Hemingway received from the US Ambassador to Cuba, the activities of German intelligence agents in Cuba and South America, and the various historical and celebrity figures who frequented the finca where Hemingway lived outside Havana.
Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
. It tells a fictionalized version of the real life counter-espionage and spy ring, known as the Crook Factory, that was set up by Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The novel is narrated by Joe Lucas, an FBI agent who is sent to Cuba by J. Edgar Hoover
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover was the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States. Appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation—predecessor to the FBI—in 1924, he was instrumental in founding the FBI in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972...
to monitor Hemingway's activities. Lucas is at first bewildered why the director of the FBI has taken a personal interest in Hemingway and his spy network, which Lucas considers amateurish and almost silly. As the novel unfolds it becomes clear that Hemingway's ragtag organization is at the center of a complicated game of war-time counter-intelligence involving the FBI, the OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
, British intelligence, and the two German intelligence organizations operating at that time, the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
(SD) and the Abwehr
Abwehr
The Abwehr was a German military intelligence organisation from 1921 to 1944. The term Abwehr was used as a concession to Allied demands that Germany's post-World War I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only...
. Lucas goes from a reluctant monitor of Hemingway to an active participant in the Crook Factory's operations.
While the novel is fictional, it incorporates multiple real events and almost all real people as characters. An author's note at the end of the novel reveals that many of the novel's events are based in fact, most notably the existence and organization of the Crook Factory, along with Hoover's interest in Hemingway, the support Hemingway received from the US Ambassador to Cuba, the activities of German intelligence agents in Cuba and South America, and the various historical and celebrity figures who frequented the finca where Hemingway lived outside Havana.