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Mona Parsons: From Priviledge to Prison, from Nova Scotia to Nazi Germany
Book by Hill, Andria
192 pages, Hardcover
First published April 30, 2002
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111 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
May 13, 2019
Mona Louise Parsons was 2018 Honouree on Nova Scotia Heritage Day, February 19, 2018. I had never heard of her before, and was keen to know her story.
Andria Hill-Lehr has included pictures, a map, copies of certificates and letters, and several pages of Sources in her book MONA PARSONS : From Privilege to Prison, from Nova Scotia to Nazi Europe.
"Andria Hill-Lehr has done a fine job of reconstructing the life of this remarkable Canadian....The book reads like a novel at times."
- (Canadian Military History, Book Review Supplement)
"Perhaps there are reasons for the silence [about Mona Parsons' life]. But...that silence was finally broken by historian Andria Hill-Lehr, in her warm and gripping biography of this extraordinary woman."
- (Patrick Watson, The National Post)
Even as a young girl growing up in Nova Scotia, Mona Louise Parsons stood out for her elegance and theatrical flair. But the life of this Middleton-born, Wolfville-raised woman has always overshadowed her stage roles. From a Nova Scotian childhood, she became a 1920s New York chorus girl, a Depression-era nurse, a prisoner of the Nazis, and an escaped, emanciated fugitive who walked across Nazi Germany in the dying months of World War II.
The process of uncovering the story of Mona Parsons took almost as many twists and turns as the life it was piecing together. This book traces the author's own journey as she follows clues from Wolfville to New York to Europe and back, leaping across oceans and decades with imagination and grace.
I thoroughly enjoyed this biography by Andria Hill-Lehr and give it 5 elegant stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Andria Hill-Lehr has included pictures, a map, copies of certificates and letters, and several pages of Sources in her book MONA PARSONS : From Privilege to Prison, from Nova Scotia to Nazi Europe.
"Andria Hill-Lehr has done a fine job of reconstructing the life of this remarkable Canadian....The book reads like a novel at times."
- (Canadian Military History, Book Review Supplement)
"Perhaps there are reasons for the silence [about Mona Parsons' life]. But...that silence was finally broken by historian Andria Hill-Lehr, in her warm and gripping biography of this extraordinary woman."
- (Patrick Watson, The National Post)
Even as a young girl growing up in Nova Scotia, Mona Louise Parsons stood out for her elegance and theatrical flair. But the life of this Middleton-born, Wolfville-raised woman has always overshadowed her stage roles. From a Nova Scotian childhood, she became a 1920s New York chorus girl, a Depression-era nurse, a prisoner of the Nazis, and an escaped, emanciated fugitive who walked across Nazi Germany in the dying months of World War II.
The process of uncovering the story of Mona Parsons took almost as many twists and turns as the life it was piecing together. This book traces the author's own journey as she follows clues from Wolfville to New York to Europe and back, leaping across oceans and decades with imagination and grace.
I thoroughly enjoyed this biography by Andria Hill-Lehr and give it 5 elegant stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
July 17, 2021
Fascinating story, and the writer has promise, but the book would have benefited from better editing. There were some interesting images included, but often printed so small that it wasn't easy to see the details. Kudos to the author for capturing a Nova Scotian story that as far as I know hasn't gotten much coverage elsewhere.
March 21, 2017
Very good book that tells the story of a brave and resiliant woman and also the story of how the author tracked down elusive details about Mona Parsons.
March 21, 2018
Amazing biography of a Canadian WWII hero. well researched and touching tribute
May 17, 2020
Excellent local history blended with world events. Very well written. The author brought Mona's unique personality to life.
April 16, 2018
I don’t read non-fiction all that often, but couldn’t resist a book about this intriguing woman from the town I grew up in. This book was incredibly well researched, and it is evident in the writing and the details.
My grandmother read this book, then my dad read it within 2 days (and he isn’t one to read for pleasure but he couldn’t put it down!) and they passed it along to me. It was interesting seeing old pictures of places I know, including the last house in which Mona lived; only a few houses down from the house I grew up in. It was quite a journey through time.
My grandmother read this book, then my dad read it within 2 days (and he isn’t one to read for pleasure but he couldn’t put it down!) and they passed it along to me. It was interesting seeing old pictures of places I know, including the last house in which Mona lived; only a few houses down from the house I grew up in. It was quite a journey through time.
April 27, 2019
I found the story of Mona Parsons to be gripping. I would like to see it turned into a novel, exploring more of her experiences during WWII.
March 6, 2022
I’m not sure what I found more interesting, Mona Parson’s life or the author’s own journey to discover it. Both stories are interwoven in alternating chapters in this book which is also generously interspersed with photos of Mona’s life as well as various documents and maps that add a visual interest. Like Mona I am a Maritimer yet I had never heard of her so thank you to Andria Hill for her tenacity in ferreting out the many details that had remained hidden for so many years. I learned of Mona from listening to Canadian author Heather Marshall talk about her debut novel and then about what she has being published in 2023 which will be an historical fiction book based on Mona Parsons. I love reading about little known women who kicked ass in history!!
January 15, 2019
The story of Mona Parsons is an intriguing and amazing one. She was a Nova Scotian who lived in Holland during WWII and who helped hide Allied airmen, but was betrayed by someone in their network. She spent four years in a Nazi prison as a result. It is her brave and hazardous escape that shows how great her strength and abilities, despite her frail health. Mona's life was not without tragedy even after the war. This story is well worth a read.
A personal note: I learned that a young doctor who attended her after her return to Nova Scotia was my doctor years later!
A personal note: I learned that a young doctor who attended her after her return to Nova Scotia was my doctor years later!
February 4, 2016
Such an intriguing heroine who has largely remained absent from Canada's identity. Parsons was a true marvel and deserving to be upheld as a heroine of the second world war.
December 3, 2023
In the days prior to Remembrance Day 2023 I heard a story on the radio about the Canada Post commemorative stamp honouring Mona Parsons and wanted to learn more. I recalled the highlights of her story as Mona Parsons was the honoured for Heritage Day 2018. I did not recall the Heritage Minute about her, but have watched it since reading the book. I also watched a CBC News profile about the book, and interviewing the author.
I enjoyed the book, the story of how Mona became an unlikely hero, and the effort the author made to obtain information to tell Mona Parson's story. It is no small feat to have survived in a Nazi prison, and to escape from it. Rebuilding a life after that horrid experience is a challenge to.
Mona Parsons, as far as the author knows, never wrote a memoir. The author had to do a lot of research and digging to get the story. That is in the book too. As the author said: "The first lesson Mona taught me was that the way to immerse myself in history was through a person."
I enjoyed the book, the story of how Mona became an unlikely hero, and the effort the author made to obtain information to tell Mona Parson's story. It is no small feat to have survived in a Nazi prison, and to escape from it. Rebuilding a life after that horrid experience is a challenge to.
Mona Parsons, as far as the author knows, never wrote a memoir. The author had to do a lot of research and digging to get the story. That is in the book too. As the author said: "The first lesson Mona taught me was that the way to immerse myself in history was through a person."
April 13, 2025
*** Review copied from Goodreads ***
"Mona Parsons was the only female Canadian civilian to be imprisoned by the Nazis in Occupied Holland. The story describes how Parsons, raised in rural Nova Scotia and trained as an actor, then a nurse, came to be involved in the nascent Dutch resistance in World War Two. Interrogated by the Gestapo, then sentenced to death by a Nazi military court, Parsons ultimately served three years at hard labour. An intense air attack by the Allies in March 1945 was the backdrop for her dramatic escape, aided by a young Dutch baroness. But freedom wasn't the end of her life's challenges."
******
I found the book to be quite interesting but didn't care for the author's narrative of her own feelings and experiences as they detracted from Mona's remarkable life story. Mona Parsons biography was the March read for my book club and I thought it was a good choice. It especially garnered interest because my club is in Nova Scotia and we could relate to the tale of a local legend. An overall good book.
"Mona Parsons was the only female Canadian civilian to be imprisoned by the Nazis in Occupied Holland. The story describes how Parsons, raised in rural Nova Scotia and trained as an actor, then a nurse, came to be involved in the nascent Dutch resistance in World War Two. Interrogated by the Gestapo, then sentenced to death by a Nazi military court, Parsons ultimately served three years at hard labour. An intense air attack by the Allies in March 1945 was the backdrop for her dramatic escape, aided by a young Dutch baroness. But freedom wasn't the end of her life's challenges."
******
I found the book to be quite interesting but didn't care for the author's narrative of her own feelings and experiences as they detracted from Mona's remarkable life story. Mona Parsons biography was the March read for my book club and I thought it was a good choice. It especially garnered interest because my club is in Nova Scotia and we could relate to the tale of a local legend. An overall good book.
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February 13, 2022Mona Parsons was a brave woman whose story begged to be told. The author certainly did her justice in this tale of amazing resilience and bravery and I look forward to future tales by this author.
July 17, 2024
Great book.
February 13, 2018
Mona Parsons was a woman of privilege but at a great cost. She had the 'moxie' to survive a terrible, horrific ordeal during WWII. Her husband completely deserted her emotionally and financially after the war. She had wonderful moments in her life that sustained her throughout the years.
The author did a wonderful job researching and writing about this remarkable woman.
The author did a wonderful job researching and writing about this remarkable woman.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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December 30, 2016This biography - of a brave Canadian woman who paid a grave price for assisting allied airmen shot down over occupied Holland during WWII - was mostly interesting. I could have done with fewer of the author's trials and tribulations about finding information on Mona Parsons, including some melodramatic accounts of feeling Mona's presence in the garden, wafts of perfume in the air, yada, yada, yada. That said, the research into who this person was, how she lived her life, what she did in becoming a person to earn citations from both the Supreme Allied Commander as well as the Chief Air Marshall, seemed thorough and presented a compelling portrait of this Maritimer.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews