The Informer
Free public-domain edition — preview in your browser, no account required for the first chapter.
Preview free · sign up to save progress, download to your shelf, and sync with the apps
Already have an account? Sign in
This novel offers a raw, unflinching look at the psychological toll of betrayal and the brutal realities of revolutionary politics, making it a powerful study of guilt, poverty, and human desperation.
Edition details
Book Summary
In Liam O’Flaherty’s grim masterpiece, a destitute revolutionary betrays his comrade for a reward, then spirals through guilt, paranoia, and violent pursuit through Dublin’s slums. The novel explores the brutal consequences of betrayal within a revolutionary organization and the inescapable grip of poverty and fate.
Gypo Nolan, a former member of a Revolutionary Organization, betrays his friend and fellow revolutionary Frankie McPhillip to the police for a monetary reward, leading to McPhillip’s death. Overwhelmed by guilt and paranoia, Gypo squanders the blood money on a night of revelry, while the Organization, led by Commandant Dan Gallagher, investigates the betrayal. Gypo falsely accuses another member, but his lies unravel under interrogation. Condemned to death by a revolutionary court, Gypo escapes custody and flees through Dublin’s slums, haunted by nightmares and pursued by executioners. He seeks refuge with Katie Fox, a prostitute and drug addict, but is found. After a violent struggle, Gypo, wounded, stumbles into a church where he confesses to McPhillip’s mother, receives her forgiveness, and dies in a moment of peace. The novel also follows Mary McPhillip’s grief and her conflicted relationship with Gallagher, who struggles with his own conscience as he enforces the Organization’s brutal code.
Reading guide
Go deeper in The Informer
Character guides, themes, chapter companions — plus Character Web, narrative arc, and theme heatmap teasers that unlock fully beside the text in BetterReads.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
Gypo Nolan
A hulking ex-policeman turned revolutionary, Gypo trades his comrade's life for twenty pounds and then must walk the streets with that betrayal burning in his pocket.
Commandant Dan Gallagher
The hunted commandant of a revolutionary cell, Gallagher runs interrogations by lamplight and decides, with ashen calm, who among his own men must be wiped out.
Katie Fox
Gypo's lover, a dope-maddened woman of the tenements, she sells his hiding place to the men hunting him and then cannot undo what she has done.
Mary McPhillip
Frankie McPhillip's mother, awake past midnight in a cellar inquiry room, she begs Gallagher not to murder the informer and is answered with a stuffed mouth.
Frankie McPhillip
The young Intelligence officer whose job Mulholland covets and whose death, delivered by Gypo's whisper, sets every gun in the city looking for a traitor.
Bartly Mulholland
A workman's face worn like a conspirator's mask, Mulholland whispers Gypo's name through dark streets and races to Gallagher with the news that the informer is found.
Betrayal and Its Consequences
The central plot revolves around Gypo Nolan's betrayal of his former comrade Francis McPhillip for a monetary reward, leading to McPhillip's death and Gypo's subsequent psychological torment, social ostracism, and violent pursuit by the Revolutionary Organization.
Class Struggle and Poverty
The book vividly depicts the squalid conditions of Dublin's slums, the desperation of the working class, and the revolutionary fervor born from economic oppression, with characters like the dockers, laborers, and prostitutes embodying the harsh realities of poverty.
Violence and Revolution
The narrative is steeped in political violence, including murder, executions, and armed conflict, as the Revolutionary Organization enforces its code through brutal means, reflecting the turbulent period of Irish revolutionary struggle.
Guilt and Paranoia
Gypo's internal experience is dominated by intense guilt and paranoia after his betrayal, manifesting in his constant fear of being discovered, his erratic behavior, and his eventual psychological breakdown.