The European embassies in Constantinople employed dragomans (from the Turkish tercüman, meaning interpreter) of various levels to assist not only with the mundane tasks of translating documents and attending sessions of the consular courts, but also to negotiate and communicate with high-ranking diplomats of the Ottoman and other governments. Andrew Ryan, in his book, The Last of the Dragomans (London, 1951), stated, “The Chief Dragoman had always been in some sense the alter ego of the Ambassador in relation to the Turks”. According to Sir Edwin Pears in his book, Forty Years in Constantinople (London, 1916), “Next to the Ambassador, the First Dragoman is the Englishman of most influence in Turkey”. Professor Berridge of the University of Leicester in his book about Gerald Fitzmaurice offers a well-presented and well-documented story confirming these statements and that the chief dragoman was more than just a translator.

Fitzmaurice was raised a Catholic in Ireland, in a middle class family, and excelled at languages, especially Latin, Italian, French, and Greek. He abandoned his plans to become a priest and entered the Levant Service where he studied Turkish, Arabic, Russian, and Law at the school in Ortakeui, a village near the Bosphorus. He excelled at the school and in 1890 effectively became the fifth dragoman at the embassy in Constantinople. Thus began his illustrious career with the Foreign Office.

Professor Berridge describes in absorbing detail Fitzmaurice's investigations of the Armenian massacres and forced conversions to Islam that began in the early autumn of 1894. He joined the Birejik Commission, and through his efforts, assisted the Armenians in reconverting to Christianity. His endeavours in 1896 proved to the world that the local and central authorities were responsible for the crimes against the Armenians. He distinguished himself with his superiors and was elevated to third dragoman at the embassy.

Fitzmaurice was embittered, as he felt he was not rewarded commensurately with his accomplishments on the Birejik Commission. He was then sent to Yemen to be part of the Aden Frontier Delimitation Commission, which was assigned the task of establishing the borders and ultimately to ease the tensions between Britain and Turkey. He continued using his adept diplomatic skills at controlling the political situation with not only the Turks, but also with other British officers on the commission. He spent about three years in Yemen, which left him physically and mentally exhausted. He was awarded the Companion of the Order of the Bath by the British government for his successes on the commission.

He finally became first dragoman in October 1907, not only to his own delight, but to the delight of Ambassador O'Conor, another Irishman. The admiration felt by O'Conor for Fitzmaurice was not always mutual. Throughout the book, the reader feels the tension between Fitzmaurice and some of the other dragomans, especially when he was ‘climbing the ladder’ within the embassy. This tension also existed between him and the ambassadors and one can sense his frustration about various plenipotentiaries, whom he felt were intellectually incapable of handling their roles and he had no hesitation in describing Ambassador O'Conor as fatuous regarding the latter's role in a replacement for the Ottoman ambassador in London.

The remainder of the book describes Fitzmaurice's complex relationship with the Turkish old guard and the Young Turks; his relationship with the Ottoman Jews and Zionists; his being sent to Tripoli to sort out the diplomatic situation within the British consulate-general and the belligerence between Italy and the Ottoman Empire; and, his desire to bolster the British image with the Turks vis-à-vis the Germans. With war looming over Europe and Fitzmaurice in ill-health, he left Constantinople in February 1914 never to return again. He continued to serve the British government throughout the war years and was even dispatched to Bulgaria to have them join the Entente. He finally retired from the Foreign Office in 1921.

The book's success comes not only from Berridge's access to primary sources found in various archives, but also his adept story telling and analysis. The book also contains four maps, thirteen illustrations, an epilogue, a list of published works cited, and an index. Berridge has done an outstanding job bringing to life the ‘Wizard of Stamboul’, who interacted with multiple personages and influenced British policy from the sidelines, usually without the fame and glory of his superiors. However, this was the life of a dragoman – a minister of the second-order. There are only a handful of books about dragomans and this one is highly recommended to anyone interested in Anglo-Ottoman diplomatic history.