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A tense TV mini-series, this is a two-cassette movie based on a novel by Ken Follette. Sporting an all-star cast, it's the story of the Nazi and British battle in North Africa as the Germans.
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Amazon.com: Ken Follett's the Key to Rebecca Region 4: Anthony Quayle, David Hemmings, Cliff Robertson, David Soul, Season Hubley, Lina Raymond, Robert Culp, Robert Swales, Charlie Condou, Ellis Dale, The Key to Rebecca - 2-DVD Set ( Ken Follett's 'The Key to Rebecca' ), The Key to Rebecca - 2-DVD Set, Ken Follett's 'The Key to Rebecca': Movies & TV. Feb 15, 2018 Ken Follett's historical thrillers are consistently gripping, and The Key to Rebecca is no exception, though I found it a little bit predictable at times. Alex Wolfe is an amazing antagonist, and in the end is more memorable than the story's protagonist, Major Vandam. Apr 29, 1985 Directed by David Hemmings. With Cliff Robertson, David Soul, Season Hubley, Lina Raymond. In Cairo during World War II, a German Agent tries to infiltrate the British command to lay the groundwork for Erwin Rommel's conquest of Egypt. Movie Trailers; News. The Key to Rebecca (1985) An Allied officer (Cliff Robertson) hunts a Nazi spy (David Soul) in Cairo, with the fate of the British in North Africa at stake.
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Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca took readers and critics by storm when first published more than twenty years ago. Today, it remains one of the best espionage novels ever written. Look out for Ken’s newest book, A Column of Fire, available now.
A brilliant and ruthless Nazi master agent is on the loose in Cairo. His mission is to send Rommel’s advancing army the secrets th...more
A brilliant and ruthless Nazi master agent is on the loose in Cairo. His mission is to send Rommel’s advancing army the secrets th...more
Published February 4th 2003 by NAL (first published 1980)
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Sep 20, 2017Maria Espadinha rated it really liked it
Rebecca Comes to War
We all know how WWII invaded literature. The theme has been used and abused inspiring all sorts of stories.
Since what goes around is supposed to come around, it's not by all means shocking to find an example where the opposite works, e.g. knowing about a WWII episode where literature plays some kind of a role...
While researching for the 'Eye of the needle', Ken Follet found a parallel story that involved a german spy, a sexy belly dancer and the famous 'Rebecca' from Daphne d...more
We all know how WWII invaded literature. The theme has been used and abused inspiring all sorts of stories.
Since what goes around is supposed to come around, it's not by all means shocking to find an example where the opposite works, e.g. knowing about a WWII episode where literature plays some kind of a role...
While researching for the 'Eye of the needle', Ken Follet found a parallel story that involved a german spy, a sexy belly dancer and the famous 'Rebecca' from Daphne d...more
Dec 08, 2018Dana Ilie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
If they liked it once, they'll love it twice. That's the wise rationale behind Follett's new WW II thriller, which recycles the same basic scenario--now in 1942 Cairo instead of 1944 England--that made Eye of the Needle such a winner. Again the central figure is a Nazi spy with secrets that could change history.
Like many of Follett’s books, The Key to Rebecca is rich with captivating historical detail that only adds to the flavor of the book and leaves readers with a better understanding about w...more
Like many of Follett’s books, The Key to Rebecca is rich with captivating historical detail that only adds to the flavor of the book and leaves readers with a better understanding about w...more
Mar 02, 2010Andrew Breslin rated it really liked it · review of another edition
What's not to love about a good WWII spy novel? It's so easy to get sucked right in. You've got Nazis: they're the bad guys. No need to develop this. They are the bad guys. They are the ultimate bad guys. They are, in fact, about as bad as guys get. Outside of Sauron's legions of Mordor, you don't really have a better example of a total absence of moral ambiguity. And really: between Joseph Goebbels and the Witch King leader of the nazgul, it's a toss-up for sheer wickedness.
Most of us have a p...more
Sep 25, 2009Apokripos rated it really liked it · review of another editionMost of us have a p...more
Recommends it for: Follett fans and thriller seekers!
Shelves: award-winning-books, fiction-contemporary, historical-fiction, i-spy, romance-love-story, action, from-book-to-film, thriller, suspense
A Spy Novel that Reads Like
a Good Alternate History Fiction
(A Book Review of Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca)
The last camel collapsed at noon.
So begins Ken Follett’s intriguing World War II thriller set in 1942 Cairo, a city holding its breath. The German army is poised for a strike in Egypt, and the British seems powerless to stop it; powerless, too, to catch the master spy with the codename Sphinx who is stealing their military secrets and transmitting them to Field Marshall Rommel. Just who...more
rated it really liked it · review of another edition Shelves: ww2, hf-africa, favorites, africa, 1980s
Original review: 'Enjoyed this just as much in a subsequent reading as first escape with Follett to WWII North Africa.'
4/16/18 -
Have likely read, or at least started maybe two dozen by Follett. Several featured topics that interested me. Hornets Flight and Jackdaws, along with Rebecca. Cathedral building's first volume. Three Ken's remain in my GRCat. Suggest Pargeter if you like the cathedral era. Brother Cadfael time.
In Key ... Ken mixed his ingredients most compatible to my wavelength ... enj...more
4/16/18 -
Have likely read, or at least started maybe two dozen by Follett. Several featured topics that interested me. Hornets Flight and Jackdaws, along with Rebecca. Cathedral building's first volume. Three Ken's remain in my GRCat. Suggest Pargeter if you like the cathedral era. Brother Cadfael time.
In Key ... Ken mixed his ingredients most compatible to my wavelength ... enj...more
Follett is excellent with his character development. This book is a complete shift from Pillars of the Earth. Follett is so talented in his different writing styles.
Fun things I learned from reading this book:
1) don't become a spy
2) if I do become a spy, don't use my real name
3) don't go back to my home town where they can track down my real identity
4) it's always better to be on the good team
Fun things I learned from reading this book:
1) don't become a spy
2) if I do become a spy, don't use my real name
3) don't go back to my home town where they can track down my real identity
4) it's always better to be on the good team
Feb 18, 2009Kelly rated it it was ok
This book was very easy to put down until the last 80 pages when the action finally took place. I can handle some racy stuff in books, but there are a couple sentences I really wish I hadn't read that are in this book. The sex that is talked about is way too perverted for me. There wasn't a lot of it and I did my best to skim over it while not missing out on the plot, but I really couldn't see the point of most of it. I read another goodreads' member's review of this book before I started it tha...more
A clever WWII story during a time when victory held in the balance between Axis and Allies.
Rommel is ready to push east towards the Suez Canal, but he desperately needs fuel. A German undercover agent is the key to helping him acquire the necessary supplies, but a young woman stands in his way.
Filled with romance, historical accuracy, and intrigue, Follett manages to write a story of when victory for the Allies was uncertain. If you're a fan of WWII thrillers, put this on your list.
Rommel is ready to push east towards the Suez Canal, but he desperately needs fuel. A German undercover agent is the key to helping him acquire the necessary supplies, but a young woman stands in his way.
Filled with romance, historical accuracy, and intrigue, Follett manages to write a story of when victory for the Allies was uncertain. If you're a fan of WWII thrillers, put this on your list.
Oct 07, 2018ChopinFC rated it really liked it · review of another edition
'The Key to Rebecca' is another unyielding, page-turner thriller set in the backdrop of WW2, involving the Axis-Allied struggle to control Egypt. Much like 'Eye of the Needle', Follet brilliantly creates a narrative surrounding 'real life' historical events and characters that are absolutely brilliant! The story revolves around a 'love triangle' between 'Wolff', a German spy and his lover, a famous 'Egyptian belly dancer'. Wolff has no boundaries in trying to capture 'British' secrets to aid the...more
Jan 31, 2019Ângela rated it liked it · review of another edition
“Ishmael was looking at him through narrowed eyes. “This is very important to you, this box.”
“It’s important to the world.”
Ishmael said: “The sun rises, and the sun sets. Sometimes it rains. We live, then we die.” He shrugged.
He would never understand, Wolff thought; but others would.”
“It’s important to the world.”
Ishmael said: “The sun rises, and the sun sets. Sometimes it rains. We live, then we die.” He shrugged.
He would never understand, Wolff thought; but others would.”
Aug 04, 2015Thomas rated it it was ok · review of another edition
Two-thirds of the way through this book I was prepared to give it a rave review. The book has all the elements of a good action thriller: Compelling, well-drawn villain, sympathetic hero, interesting supporting characters (including one who's a bisexual, Nazi-collaborating seductress by day, night club belly dancer by night!), a decent amount of sex, and an exotic setting. I especially liked Follett's technique of shifting points of view, so that we get to see what characters who we've already b...more
Feb 16, 2011Linda McHardy rated it liked it
I love Cold War spy stories. I've read a lot of them, and this is one of the good ones. Having said that, I'm afraid it would be hard for me to recommend The Key to Rebecca to anyone I actually KNOW because of the insanely graphic sex scenes Follett felt the need to include. Are they well written? Well, yes they are--if you're looking for porn in novel form. Were they necessary in furthering the storyline or fleshing out the characters (no pun intended)? Certainly not to their graphic degree. I'...more
Apr 18, 2019Philip rated it really liked it · review of another edition Shelves: 4-stars, historical-fiction, world-war-ll, africa-north, 1980s, desert, fiction, spy-fiction, filmed
(#2 in a stack of 'read and throw away' paperbacks while back in Taiwan)
Didn't remember having read this before, but I had a strong sense of déjà lu as I got into it, so apparently I did at some back in the 80's.
Exciting story, very well-written, and with a strong sense of time and place - Follett obviously did his homework. While the ending was never in doubt, Follett did a good job balancing mystery and history, and now I'll do some Wiki-work to find out just how close to the facts he stayed...more
Didn't remember having read this before, but I had a strong sense of déjà lu as I got into it, so apparently I did at some back in the 80's.
Exciting story, very well-written, and with a strong sense of time and place - Follett obviously did his homework. While the ending was never in doubt, Follett did a good job balancing mystery and history, and now I'll do some Wiki-work to find out just how close to the facts he stayed...more
May 09, 2010Anne Pinckard rated it did not like it
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Aug 23, 2016Maria Carmo rated it really liked it · review of another edition Shelves: travel-adventures, thrillers-suspence-adventure, novel-romance-revealing-historica
Another excellent book, making the reader spin through all the action and strategy that evolves side by side with passion, sensuousness and a lot of historical background!
Maria Carmo,
Lisbon 23 August 2016.
Maria Carmo,
Lisbon 23 August 2016.
Oct 03, 2008Kim rated it did not like it · review of another edition
Clearly not written with someone like me in mind as an audience.
May 17, 2019Sam rated it liked it · review of another edition
This was my first Ken Follett book and I had high expectations from him. It was a good book. Not too captivating as to stay with me nor too boring to make me stop reading it halfway.
The book really caught on fire in the last 100 pages or so. Before that, it was touch and go for me. It was very difficult to read at times because Follett went pretty heavy-handed (not to mention graphic ) on the sex scenes. Definitely, do not recommend to children.
The end of the book had me racing alongside to cat...more
The book really caught on fire in the last 100 pages or so. Before that, it was touch and go for me. It was very difficult to read at times because Follett went pretty heavy-handed (not to mention graphic ) on the sex scenes. Definitely, do not recommend to children.
The end of the book had me racing alongside to cat...more
Mar 29, 2018محمد على عطية rated it liked it
My second read for ken Follet. This time the novel takes place in my country during WW2. The incidents are based on some true events though the majority are fictional for thriller purpose. It's based on the failed German operation Condor. Alex Wolff is the Abwehr spy Eppler, Sonja is the famous belly dancer Hekmat Fahmy. Rommel and Sadat appear here, though their appearance here is not historically precise.
Follet is fond of details and that's why i am interested in reading as much as i can of h...more
Follet is fond of details and that's why i am interested in reading as much as i can of h...more
This is a fairly good book and I wish I'd read it years (and years) ago when I perhaps could have appreciated it more.
However, I found the actual writing a little tedious, repetitious, and dull. Lots of short, noun-verb, noun-verb sentences. (Yeah, I require a little more variation.) I knew the story from seeing the movie, but I still wanted to read the book. There was also a lot of 'he saw...blah blah blah,' or 'she looked at...blah, blah blah.' I wanted to reach out and hit the author on the...more
However, I found the actual writing a little tedious, repetitious, and dull. Lots of short, noun-verb, noun-verb sentences. (Yeah, I require a little more variation.) I knew the story from seeing the movie, but I still wanted to read the book. There was also a lot of 'he saw...blah blah blah,' or 'she looked at...blah, blah blah.' I wanted to reach out and hit the author on the...more
I'm willing to say I enjoyed this book, though I wouldn't be quick to recommend it to anyone. Follett seemed to be moderately researched in the World War Two Middle East, and overall the story was interesting. It was an easy read, and was sufficiently entertaining.
However, there were a few problems I had with this book, which kept me from truly enjoying it. For one thing, the story was extremely predictable. Not just the overall outcome, but every plot twist and event followed a typical path. T...more
However, there were a few problems I had with this book, which kept me from truly enjoying it. For one thing, the story was extremely predictable. Not just the overall outcome, but every plot twist and event followed a typical path. T...more
Sep 05, 2017Judy Higgins rated it really liked it
Sometimes you need to go back and see which 'oldies' you missed. Actually, my reason for reading 'The Key to Rebecca' was more pedestrian: the bookstore aisles were blocked due to some activity in the bookstore; The 'F' shelf in the mystery section was the only place I could get to. And I'm glad! I bought the book, went home, and curled up in bed. The first line sucked me in: 'The last camel collapsed at noon.' I wish I could write like that: six words and I know that the setting is the middle e...more
Sep 30, 2010Roger rated it it was ok Shelves: historical-fiction, historical-thrillers, spies-and-thrillers
I thought the Key to Rebecca was a disappointment. I had heard good things of it and I think well of Ken follett. But the scenario I found surprisingly similar to Eye of the Needle, just set in Egypt.
The story just did not seem to get going until the last 50 pages. It was also unnecessarily graphic at times, which almost caused me to stop reading. Skimming portions made it possible to finish. But in the end, I found that I did not really care abot the characters enough to find satisfaction in t...more
The story just did not seem to get going until the last 50 pages. It was also unnecessarily graphic at times, which almost caused me to stop reading. Skimming portions made it possible to finish. But in the end, I found that I did not really care abot the characters enough to find satisfaction in t...more
May 27, 2012Lemar rated it really liked it
Ken Follet delivers another page turner. Excellent thriller, highly recommended. The story is set is in WWII Egypt with a cast of intriguing characters true to their time. The villain is particularly well drawn in that he embodies the arrogance of the nazi, the feeling that morality is passe and the strong will take what they will. Follet makes a case for true strength belonging to those with compassion and who are fighting for freedom rather than glory and debauchery. This is the essence of WWI...more
Nov 12, 2007Mike rated it liked it Shelves: military, mid-east, ww2, fiction, xcharity-2017
Thought I read it before but turns out I didn't. At least I don't remember it and I think I would. Interesting German spy in Egypt giving Rommel the good poop on British dispositions. British major on his tail and the beautiful girls involved make for a fun and slightly sexy tale. The ending was pretty shlockey but most of the book was decent. I will leave it a 3 Stars, just barely.
May 08, 2009Laura rated it really liked it Shelves: espionage, hf-world-war-ii, british-literature, book-and-movie, fiction-20th-century
The Key to Rebecca is a novel by the British author Ken Follett. Published in 1980, it was a best-seller that achieved popularity in the United Kingdom and worldwide. The code mentioned in the title is an intended throwback from Follett to Daphne du Maurier's famed suspense novel Rebecca.
An interesting story, makes me want to go look and see if I can find out the true story of why Rommel didn't take Cairo.
This is a typical Pot-boiler Thriller. Good Twists and Turns but sometimes predictable and contrived. Nevertheless interesting narrative. Keeps you wanting to know, what will happen next. Alex Wolfe, a Arab German Spy vs Vandam, the British Army Officer keep playing cat and mouse game. While Wolfs successfully entraps a British Officer to get to the Army Secrets, which he passes on the German Army causing losses to the British in Egypt. But Finally Vandam gets the better of Wolfe and traps the G...more
review of another edition Shelves: 2019-books-read-english, 2019-audiobooks
A good and solid WW2-spy-novel with a bit of romance thrown in. And although I would not say that this is THE best Ken Follett it is very good and fast paced entertainment. The bad guys are bad, the good guys good and the final showdown very suspenseful. Okay, I must admit that I found the sex-scenes surprisingly daring and uncommon considering that the book came out in the 80s. ;-)
Aug 27, 2018Carol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Key To Rebecca Movie Download Full
Another terrific spy thriller from the wonderful Follett. I learned a lot about the WWII battles in Egypt and how close the Allies came to losing territory there. Great complex characters and nonstop action. This was a delight to read.
Rebecca Movie Youtube
Jul 19, 2018John Anthamatten rated it it was amazing
I have read most of FOLLET. Not his best but almost the best. Actually all his books are the best.
| topics | posts | views | last activity |
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| Madison Mega-Mara...:The Key to Rebecca | 1 | 7 | Nov 15, 2012 10:47AM |
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Ken Follett is one of the world’s most successful authors. Over 165 million copies of the 31 books he has written have been sold in over 80 countries and in 33 languages.
Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of...more
Born on June 5th, 1949 in Cardiff, Wales, the son of a tax inspector, Ken was educated at state schools and went on to graduate from University College, London, with an Honours degree in Philosophy – later to be made a Fellow of...more
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“Rommel could smell the sea. At Torbruk the heat and the dust and flies were as bad as they had been in the desert, but it was all made bearable by that occasional whiff of salty dampness in the faint breeze.” — 4 likes
“Ishmael was looking at him through narrowed eyes. “This is very important to you, this box.”
“It’s important to the world.”
Ishmael said: “The sun rises, and the sun sets. Sometimes it rains. We live, then we die.” He shrugged.
He would never understand, Wolff thought; but others would.” — 3 likes
More quotes…
“It’s important to the world.”
Ishmael said: “The sun rises, and the sun sets. Sometimes it rains. We live, then we die.” He shrugged.
He would never understand, Wolff thought; but others would.”