Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Illusionist

  • The True Story of the Man Who Fooled Hitler
  • By: Robert Hutton
  • Narrated by: Al Murray
  • Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

$0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
The Illusionist cover art

The Illusionist

By: Robert Hutton
Narrated by: Al Murray
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT

Listeners also enjoyed...

Sky Warriors cover art
Normandy cover art
2SAS cover art
The Situation Room cover art
Cinderella Boys cover art
Four Chancellors and a Funeral cover art
SAS Great Escapes cover art
D-Day: The Unheard Tapes cover art
Nefarious cover art
Agents of Influence cover art
Downfall cover art
The Convoy cover art
Hercules cover art

Summary

Cairo, 1942: If you had asked a British officer who Colonel Clarke was, they would have been able to point him out: always ready with a drink and a story, he was a well-known figure in the local bars. If you then asked what he did, you would have less success. Those who knew didn't tell, and almost no one really knew at all.

Clarke thought of himself as developing a new kind of weapon. Its components? Rumour, stagecraft, a sense of fun. Its target? The mind of Erwin Rommel, Hitler's greatest general. Throughout history, military commanders have sought to mislead their opponents. Dudley Clarke set out to do it on a scale no one had imagined before. Even afterwards, almost no one understood the magnitude of his achievement.

Drawing on recently released documents and hugely expanding on the louche portrait of Clarke as seen in SAS: Rogue Heroes, journalist and historian Robert Hutton reveals the amazing story of Clarke's A Force, the invention of the SAS and the Commandos, and the masterful hoodwinking of the Desert Fox at the battle of El Alamein. The Illusionist tells for the first time the dazzling tale of how, at a pivotal moment in the war, British eccentricity and imagination combined to thwart the Nazis and save innumerable lives - on both sides.
©2024 Robert Hutton (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited

Critic reviews

A cracking tale. With admiration and pacy prose, Robert Hutton tracks one of the great British characters of WW2. Expect ingenuity and eccentricity by the barrow-load (Sonia Purnell)
Hutton has revealed the brilliance of the 'master of deception', Dudley Clarke. It took a true creative eccentric like Clarke to become the brains behind the success of the SAS and commandos in North Africa. Meticulously researched, The Illusionist is simply superb (Helen Fry)

What listeners say about The Illusionist

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    0
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    11
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

a fantastic book well read

al Murray reads this book very well. the book is interesting and very entertaining as is Dudly Clarke

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating storyline

Very well-written and the use of the magician conceit helped rather than hindered the narrative. The voicing was also good

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story well told

This is a story that touches on many familiar stories of WW2. It brings insight to these and stands as its own story well told. Performance let down by poor editing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magic Listen

Great listen made all the better by the Al Murray narration. Gripping from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

He had a bad week

Great story going into some of .the more obscure bits of World War Two. Wonderfully written, and Al Murray is superb as the narrator.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!