The Machiavellian English Intelligence Officer/John Balliol Character Analysis in Code Name Verity

The intelligence officer is a man whom Maddie and Julie meet first while part of the WAAF working in radar. He works in intelligence for the Special Operations Executive. He’s a handsome man with striking eyes, though he wears extremely thick glasses. Julie writes that she doesn’t know the man’s name, and she calls him Machiavellian (meaning devious) because she believes he “played God” and selected both her and Maddie for dangerous work, knowing Julie wouldn’t be able to say no. While Maddie doesn’t disagree with Julie’s assessment (she’s terrified of the officer and of his power over her future), Maddie notes that both she and Julie knew the man’s real name. But to continue the charade, Maddie decides to call him John Balliol in her account, after the Scottish king that William Wallace died defending.

The Machiavellian English Intelligence Officer/John Balliol Character Timeline in Code Name Verity

The timeline below shows where the character The Machiavellian English Intelligence Officer/John Balliol appears in Code Name Verity. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The narrator curses the “bloody Machiavellian English Intelligence Officer playing God.” She never learned his name; he used an alias. The narrator admits she... (full context)

...told Jamie to ask about Special Duties flying and gave him the name of the intelligence officer . Though the narrator would love to write more about her bedroom, her home, and... (full context)

...Maddie being court-martialed? It seemed unlikely, but The Cottage was extremely foreboding and intimidating—and the intelligence officer was there. (full context)

The intelligence officer assured Maddie she wasn’t in trouble and said he had a job for her. Maddie... (full context)

...(Secret). At first, not much changed for Maddie. Six weeks after her meeting with the intelligence officer , she started getting assignments twice per week. The only way these runs differed was... (full context)

...presumably to make Maddie understand that they were being groomed for war (by the Bloody Machiavellian Intelligence Officer , whose real name Julie also knew). (full context)

...die, it’ll be a fast, humane death, and Granddad will know what happened. The Bloody Machiavellian Intelligence Officer is coming to interview Maddie (presumably without burning Maddie or sticking her with pins). Maddie... (full context)

...not going to give the Machiavellian Intelligence Officer’s name. She’s going to call him John Balliol, after the king William Wallace died defending. (full context)

Maddie’s interview with Balliol was in the debriefing room. She realized as she walked in that she was such... (full context)

Balliol told Maddie to tell him the whole story, starting when she arrived in France. Maddie... (full context)

When Maddie finished, Balliol assured Maddie she wouldn’t hang. Verity was “killed in action,” just as the first report... (full context)

Then, Balliol grilled Maddie on all sorts of names and coordinates until Maddie snapped and asked why... (full context)

Maddie is exhausted, but she has one more thing to write. Balliol gave her a copy of a message from the Damask Circuit, which says that Isolde’s... (full context)