Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II

Stein and Berg function as a single symbolic unit. As immortal creatures visible only to Max, they are the external manifestation of his fractured identity. Stein, a Jewish dybbuk, represents Max’s Jewish heritage, while Berg, a German kobold, embodies his national identity. Their constant, vaudevillian bickering mirrors the internal conflict Max experiences as he navigates his dual identity as incompatible and contested. They provide a running commentary on Max’s situation, often injecting humor into tense moments and voicing the fears and anxieties that Max himself cannot express. Initially, their stated purpose is heckling and annoying, but as the story progresses, they develop a protective fondness for Max. This culminates in Berg providing the crucial information Max needs to pass his final psychological assessment. This act signifies a key moment in Max’s development, suggesting an increasing integration of the conflicting parts of his own identity, as the two spirits finally work in concert to help him.

The two younger brothers of the Montagu family, Ewen and Ivor act as foils to one another, representing different aspects of Max’s experience and of the world in which Max finds himself when he leaves Berlin. Uncle Ewen Montagu functions as a key mentor figure for Max in the practical and strategic side of his endeavors, whereas Uncle Ivor Montagu serves as Max’s primary source of emotional support and acts as a moral compass within the narrative. While Ivor prioritizes broad artistic and idealistic values, Ewen’s is focused on winning the war for Great Britain. The brothers have opposing political views and often argue about their ideas and principles, although they are also a model of how these differences can be tolerated and embraced within families or communities.

As a high-ranking officer in Naval Intelligence, Ewen is representative of the pragmatic, institutional side of the British war effort. The novel presents him as perceptive and strategic, closely observing Max from his arrival from “heavily lidded eyes,” (24) and being the first to recognize Max’s potential after the pigeon prank, declaring, “that child is a genius” (81). Ewen operates within a world where deception is a necessary tool of statecraft. Ewen draws a distinction between destructive lies and the creative “fictions” required for espionage, viewing the latter as a vital and justifiable weapon in the fight against Nazism. This philosophy shapes his recruitment and handling of Max, whom he sees as a valuable asset for the intelligence service. Ewen’s decision to subject Max to the brutal interrogation at Camp 020 illustrates his belief that the mission’s integrity is paramount. Ewen can often be thoughtless of Max’s feelings and experiences in pursuit of his mission aims, such as when he tells Max he will be living with his “Mother” at Tring Park, and when fails to make sure Max has been told in good time that his parents’ whereabouts are unknown.

In contrast, Ivor is an eccentric artist and committed communist, offering Max a worldview that questions the establishment Ewen serves. He is the first person in the Montagu household with whom Max forms a genuine bond, treating him as a friend and intellectual equal. Their table tennis games provide Max with a rare opportunity for carefree fun and genuine camaraderie. This characterization makes Ivor a trustworthy figure, whose warnings and concerns carry moral weight in the narrative, creating tension and jeopardy. He also provides Max—and the young reader—with a critical perspective on the war effort and patriotism. He warns Max that the British establishment, for all its opposition to Nazism, operates on a principle of exploitation. He cautions Max that to the intelligence service, he is a “resource” to be used until he is “all used up. Or dead” (152). This warning plants a seed of doubt in Max’s mind about the true motives of his handlers and encourages him to maintain a degree of skepticism.

Jean Leslie is Max’s mentor and trainer, guiding his development at Tring Park. She is a static, round character whose competence, empathy, and unconventional methods are used by the novel to drive Max’s progress. As a 19-year-old woman in the intelligence service, she is sharp, athletic, and possesses a keen understanding of psychology. When Max is overwhelmed by feelings of failure and worthlessness, she reframes his struggle, telling him that a full life is one filled with a broad range of experiences, including failure. She says, “’Tis better to have lived and lost than never to have lived at all” (243). By validating his pain while simultaneously highlighting the extraordinary nature of his circumstances, she restores his sense of purpose and resolve. Jean provides a model of confident and compassionate mentorship, treating Max as a capable individual who needs to be challenged and understood. Her guidance is instrumental in transforming Max from a clever boy into a resilient and focused operative.

This character draws on a factual historical figure of the same name: Jean Leslie was a MI5 secretary who is known to have assisted with the famous Operation Mincemeat, in which the Germans were fed false information about the D-Day landings in 1943. Jean’s resilient spirit in the novel, often in the face of male chauvinism, highlights the important role of women in the war effort and the relatively little recognition generally awarded them.

Lord Victor Rothschild is a supporting character who acts as a patron and unconventional mentor to Max. Based on a real person, his fictional role is to defy the antisemitic caricatures used in Nazi propaganda and add another Jewish perspective in wartime. As in history, the wealthy Rothschild is portrayed by antisemites as a sinister global manipulator, whereas he is a brilliant, eccentric scientist dedicated to the British war effort. Rothschild did indeed provide the grounds of his estate, Tring Park, for the use of the intelligence services; the novel makes this the location for Max’s training, with Rothschild as a kind and welcoming “host.” Rothschild contributes his expertise in explosives and sabotage directly to Max, most notably through the novel’s comic invention of the swastika-targeted dummy that erupts in streamers when attacked. This characterizes Rothschild as a charming and entertaining mentor for Max.

The character is also serious and poignant. Lord Rothschild’s most significant contribution in the novel is his monologue on the precarious nature of Jewish identity in Europe. He describes his life as “tiptoeing on a borderline” (229), being simultaneously seen as a powerful establishment figure or an outsider, depending on others’ preferences. This speech provides Max with a sophisticated framework for understanding his own experiences of alienation and directly illuminates the theme of The Painful Duality of a German Jewish Identity during WWII, articulating the central conflict from a position of experience and wisdom.

Colonel “Tin Eye” Roberts is a flat, static antagonist who serves as the gatekeeper for Max’s formal training. As the head interrogator at Camp 020, Roberts is a personification of institutional suspicion and prejudice. His methods are purely psychological, designed to break Max down and expose any potential disloyalty. His personal bigotry is overt; he expresses racist and antisemitic views that disturbingly echo the Nazi ideology he is supposedly fighting against. This positions him as a moral foil to characters like Ivor and Sergeant Thompson, demonstrating that prejudice exists on both sides of the war. Max’s ability to withstand his brutal interrogation is the ultimate test of his mental fortitude.

This character draws on the real-life figure of Robin “Tin-Eye” Stephens, the commander of Camp 020, known for his ability to break and turn German spies through interrogation, without resort to physical violence. Roberts’s characterization is an example of Gidwitz’s continual mixing of fact and fiction. A self-confessed “xenophobe,” Stephens is understood to have expressed prejudices—whether real or pretended—to apply pressure to prisoners, just as Roberts does to Max in the novel.