Nancy Wake

by Russell Braddon

This is the incredible true story of the greatest spy you’ve never heard of—as told to the author by the woman herself.

At the outbreak of World War Two, Nancy Wake’s glamorous life in the South of France seemed far removed from the fighting. But when her husband was called up for military service, Nancy felt she had just as much of a duty to fight for freedom. By 1943, her fearless undercover work even in the face of personal tragedy had earned her a place on the Gestapo’s ‘most wanted’ list.

Mixing armed combat with a taste for high living, Nancy frustrated the Nazis at every turn—whether she was smuggling food and messages as part of the underground Resistance or being parachuted into the heart of the war to lead a 7,000-strong band of Resistance fighters.

The extraordinary courage of this unequalled woman changed the course of the war, and Russell Braddon’s vividly realised biography brings her incredible story to life.

Revised edition: This edition of Nancy Wake includes editorial revisions.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, World War II, War, Biography Memoir, Historical

281 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1956

About the author

Russell Reading Braddon was an Australian writer of novels, biographies and TV scripts. His chronicle of his four years as a prisoner of war, The Naked Island, sold more than a million copies.

Braddon was born in Sydney, Australia, the son of a barrister. He served in the Malayan campaign during World War II. He was held as a prisoner of war by the Japanese in Pudu and Changi prisons and on the Thailand-Burma Railway between 1942 and 1945.

In 1949, Braddon moved to England. He described his writing career as "beginning by chance". The Naked Island, published in 1952, was one of the first accounts of a Japanese prisoner of war's experience.

Braddon went on to produce a wide range of works, including novels, biographies, histories, TV scripts and newspaper articles. He was also a broadcaster on radio and television.

Proud Australian Boy: A Biography of Russell Braddon by Nigel Starck was published in Australia in 2011.

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Wake's story is one of the most incredible of WW2. Born in New Zealand in 1912 and brought up in Australia, she ran away from home at the age of 16 to work as a nurse. Still in her teens she left to travel to New York and then on to London where she trained as a journalist. Working in Paris she met and married the wealthy French Industrialist Henri Fiocca in 1937 and settled into life in Marseilles as a wealthy socialite, improving her French and picking up the local dialect in the markets, including some extremely coarse language. Her journey from there to become one of the most successful members of the French Resistance is the subject of this biography written by Russell Bradden's after he recorded hundreds of hours of interviews with her and the people she worked with in Britain and France.

First published in 1958, this new release has been editorially revised but is still fresh and written with an enthusiasm and delight in telling Nancy's story. After the early days of the German occupation of France when Nancy earned the nickname 'White Mouse' due to fearless carrying of messages by train all over the south the France, it follows her escape through Spain to London and her enrolment and training with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and then her deployment to France to liase with Britain over parachute drops of personnel and arms in readiness for D-Day.

The book is not dense with military details of the war or occupation but instead focuses mainly on the Auvergne Marquis and its 7,500 members who relied on Nancy for arms and finance as well as for her organizational skills in helping to make them into a well coordinated and resourced force. She faced many dangers bravely and fiercely and her antics became legendary amongst the Maquis. After a narrow escape from the Germans, where her radio operator had to hide his radio and destroy his codes, she famously cycled 500 km in 72h over rough terrain to find another radio operator who could contact London to ask for a replacement radio and codes to be sent.

It's a remarkable account of a woman who gave so much to help her beloved France, and lost so much including all her wealth and her husband Henri who was tortured by the Gestapo for refusing to reveal where she was. If this was fiction you would never believe that one woman could have so much courage and accomplish so much. Highly recommended if you want to learn more about this incredible woman and the vital role the Maquis played in resisting the German occupation of France.

With many thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a digital ARC to read

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book. A fun book about the resistance in France during WW2? Unbelievably, yes. And very funny at times. I read it quickly in less than a day, unable to put it down. Not everything was rosy for Nancy Wake during the war but her attitude was relentlessly positive. At least that's the tone of this book. She ran an army of 7,000 devoted men, had incredible success and was honored after the war by France, England and the U.S..

[Karren Sandercock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Wake moved to Sydney as a young child from New Zealand, she was a brilliant student at school and hated having to help at home. Once she was an adult, Nancy decided to go on a world tour and she worked as a freelance journalist.

France 1930’s, she met steel industrialist Henri Fiocca, and despite the threat of another war, the couple marry on the 30th of November 1939. Henri wanted Nancy to be a lady of leisure, they owned a beautiful house in Marseilles, Nancy wanted to learn to drive and a skill she used during the war.

Nancy worked as an ambulance driver, she took special train journeys from Marseilles to Cannes and back again. This was the start of Nancy living a double life, when Henri was called up to fight and she wanted to do more. Nancy made her way to England, here she was trained and became a Special Operations Executive. Nancy was dropped in to France, she used the name Madame Andree Joubert and her code name was Helene. Nancy soon gained a reputation for being fearless, she remained cool under pressure, was a natural leader, she liked to have fun, had a wicked sense of humor and she was only twenty seven.

Despite the bounty on her head, Nancy managed to invade being captured, and towards the end of the war, she and over seven thousand resistance fighters made life extremely difficult for the Germans. In the Auvergne area of France, they planned their successful raids, blew up railway lines and buildings, attacked convoys, and their job was to keep the Germans busy and as the allies slowly advanced towards Paris.

Nancy Wake’s biography by Russell Braddon was originally written in 1956, with her permission and input. Nancy was an extremely brave, courageous and selfless woman and she received many accolades and medals after the war. Looking back at what she'd achieved, Nancy was proud of feeding hundreds of hungry people during the war, the lifelong friends that she made with her fellow resistance fighters, the lady they called Gert and she did what she felt she had to do!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK in exchange for an honest review, the most inspiring and interesting biography I have the pleasure of reading and five stars from me.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KarrenReadsH...

[John]

Did not finish. Not the best read.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Wake was an amazing woman, one whose courage and tenacity is legendary. I have previously read The Autobiography Of The Woman The Gestapo Called The White Mouse, of which I have an autographed copy; Nancy Wake by Russell Braddon is much the same with perhaps more clinical details, as Russell’s book was originally published in 1985, and told to him by Nancy herself.

Nancy’s early years – born in New Zealand, brought up in Australia – culminated in her meeting her to be husband, Henri Fiocca, in Paris. Loving her adopted country, Nancy and Henri lived happily, spending Henri’s wealth with reckless abandon, until the event of the second World War when Henri was called up for military service. So began Nancy’s life as the most wanted woman on the German’s lists. Trained in London, her fearless undercover work was soon well known. Nancy led over seven thousand Resistance fighters – the Maquis – as they stalled the Germans, frustrating them wherever Nancy and her fighters went…

Nancy Wake by Aussie author Russell Braddon is a well written biography of one of the most talented and formidable women who worked silently and unassumingly during the war. Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

[Bev Walkling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Wake was an incredible woman. Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, traveling to various international spots in young adulthood, she ended up in Paris as a European news correspondent. She married a wealthy Frenchman, Henri Fiocca,in November 1939 and settled in Marseilles where she improved her French language skills learning to speak idiomatic French (including lots of swear words!).

At the onset of the war,Nancy learned to drive (badly) and had her husband buy her an ambulance so she could be of use driving those in need to medical care.She had a flair for dealing with people and used her husband's wealth to stock up on supplies gained from various black market contacts she had developed.She met a British officer interned in Marseilles who was out for dinner on parole, invited him to her home for dinner and thus began her incredibly active service in aid of the Allies.She befriended many servicemen and brought them into her home and eventually bought a second flat where those she was trying to hide could stay.She became a vital member of the O'Leary line. By 1943 she was on the Gestapo's most wanted list with a high price on her head and after several tries she finally managed to make her way to London. Once there, she joined with S.O.E. ( as a member of F.A.N.Y.), received training and ultimately returned to France where she had a pivotal role in various different Maquis groups - most particularly the Maquis d'Auvergne to whom she asked the book be dedicated.

Her accomplishments are too numerous to list in a simple review and after the war she received multiple awards from multiple countries for all her efforts, including among others, the George Medal from Britain, three Croix de Guerre and the Resistance Medal from France and the Medal of Freedom from the U.S.

Nancy was in charge of money and also arranging contact with London which was crucial to arranging arms for the Maquis. To quote from the book (page 170), " Nancy herself, as chef du parachutage,had almost insurmountable difficulties to overcome. Every single day there were engagements of some kind or another with the Germans: most of the time she was too busy to join in them: but always she had to replenish the ammunition used by them, replace any weapons lost in them, pay out the subsistence allowances for her 7490 men, make allowances for their dependents, wait in the dew-drenched fields for parachutages that occurred four times or more a week and inspect the various groups to see that they both needed the weapons for which they asked and correctly maintained those she had already procured for them."

The book begins almost like a novel with a brief look at her early life and with what some reviewer's have called "purple prose". The author does an excellent job of letting the reader know what Nancy was like, both as a woman and as a soldier and yet it is done in such a way that her sense of humour and the ridiculous shows through clearly throughout the book. Some of her escapades are so incredible that it is hard to believe them, yet believe them I do. There are no footnotes in the book, but in the final chapter where the author chose to "Tie up loose ends" he made it clear just how much research had gone into writing the book and how many of Nancy's friends and contacts he had spent time with to try and get as full a picture as possible of her war. He also spent much time with Nancy herself who turned out to be a tough interview.She apparently spent hundreds of hours with the author answering all of his "silly" questions. I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the resistance or the role that women played in the resistance and S.O.E. 4.5 stars She apparently also wrote her own autobiography called "The White Mouse" (what the Gestapo called her) which I would be very interested in reading.

[Jennifer (not getting notifications) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My book is copyright 1956. Nancy Wake was incredibly brave and had a wonderful sense of humor. To think she played such a huge role to the French Resistance and was only in her 20’s! I love this quote from her “Don’t you dare write me one of those miserable war books full of horror. My war was full of laughter and people I loved.” She lost so much and still said “if I had to choose now whether I’d have my wealth, or the four years that caused me to lose it, all over again, … I’d want the four years all over again.” Incredible!

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Wake could have been a descendant of Hereward for all I knew. Thankfully I've read Russell Braddon's biography from 1956, and I've learned that she was one of those amazing heroines of the Second World War.
Not only is this a fantastic true life story, Braddon's lively narrative reads like a fictional bestseller. Nancy Wake was born in 1912 in Wellington, New Zealand and suffered a broken home after the family moved to Australia. She left home at 16 and traveled to London, New York and Paris where she settled as a freelance journalist. In 1936 she met and later married a rich Industrialist, Henri Fiocca, and she lived the high life in Marseilles. When Germany invaded France her wealth and social position allowed her to assist local Resistance groups, she became a courier and escort for Allied soldiers and refugees. The bad cats of the Gestapo called her 'la souris blanche', the white mouse that they just couldn't catch. In 1943 with authorities closing in she fled France, her husband Henri stayed behind and was later arrested and executed. In London she joined S.O.E. and trained with Violette Szabo (Carve her name with pride) and was dropped back into France to prepare resistance groups for D.Day in early 1944. Mme Fiocca then became leader of over 7,000 fighters of the Anciens des Maquis D'Auvergne through to the end of the war.
Her story is littered with quite extraordinary and brave exploits. "I was never afraid", she said, "I was too busy to be afraid." I can only think that there was something in the water that this generation were drinking. The idea of jumping out of a plane simply freaks me out!
Wiki informs me that this amazing woman died in London on the 7th August 2011, aged 98, she requested her ashes scattered in Montlucon, central France.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another amazing woman. Nancy Wake was an Australian who married a wealthy French businessman and lived in Marseilles when the war broke out. Immediately she got involved in the Resistance, almost recklessly you might say. Soon the Gestapo were onto her and she had to escape to England where she was trained as an SOE agent and flown back into France. Eventually she was leading 3,000 maquis in the fight against the Nazis.

This though is a strange biography, almost flippant and anecdotal in tone. Apparently the author spent lots of time with the self-effacing and reticent Nancy and was clearly very charmed by her which perhaps meant he went a bit over the top in singing her praises, to the point where she almost becomes a comic book gun-ho action heroine. The second half of the book especially is rife with anecdotes about her laissez-faire heroics but often rather thin on detail. Though this was a very enjoyable read I’d have preferred to read a more dispassionate and thoroughly researched biography. Sometimes exaggeration has the opposite effect of what's intended and by all accounts there was no need whatsoever to exaggerate Nancy Wade's courage, just as there was no need to do the same with Violette Szabo which the film of her life did when it has her mowing down an entire division of German soldiers when, in reality, she shot at most one.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great, true, story of a young woman who worked with the French Resistance and S.O.E. It is well written, easy to read, and keeps you perched on the edge of your seat.

Born in New Zealand and rebellious from an early age: in travelling the world, circumstance put her in France at the outbreak of the war.

As with all such accounts, we can only be humbled by the bravery of those that chose to resist the Nazi regime. The exploits described here are incredulous and evoke thoughts of 'who dares wins' and 'fortune favours the brave'.

On page 1, Nancy Wake states: "I dedicate this book to everyone in France who helped us, even if it was only by refraining from helping the enemy, for that in itself required courage..."

A most enjoyable and informative read.

[Suzannah Rowntree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for the second time 28 January 2016.

Utterly thrilling, incredible, gripping tale of the Allies' most highly-decorated servicewoman, Australian Resistance heroine Nancy Wake. If you think Agent Carter is awesome, think again.

Full review now available on Vintage Novels!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another well read and falling apart favourite - this book sparked an ongoing love of history and the stories behind the headlines

[John Uit de Flesch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Interesting and nice. The writing was not skillful or engaging. I would’ve liked more details at times. Deep respect for Ms Wake.

[John Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell Braddon has put together a compelling biography of Nancy Wake that focuses on her massive contributions to the French Resistance in World War II. The title of the book is not inaccurate, but it seems that Nancy Wake was more strong-willed than rebellious and more of a resistance fighter than a spy. In any case, Miss Wake used her attitude, her resourcefulness, and her management skills to complement her passion for freedom and make a significant difference in the effort to remove the German occupiers from France. Her primary responsibility as an officer in the SOE (British Special Operations Executive) was to coordinate the parachuting of weapons and supplies to the French resistance fighters, but she did a lot more than that.

One example occurred in 1944 not long after D-Day. Her wireless operator had burned his codes when he was in danger of being captured by Germans, so Nancy needed to contact SOE in London to transmit information requesting supplies and to receive orders. The next nearest known Resistance wireless operator was located approximately 300 kilometers away and the mountainous distance had to be travelled by bicycle, not automobile, because Germans were stopping automobiles. Nancy overcame many obstacles to do this bicycle trip, find the wireless operator, convince him without codes or a password to communicate with London, and then return to her Resistance team.

The only issue that I have with Mr. Braddon’s biography is his explanation of the Japanese reason for bombing Pearl Harbor: “[December, 1941] had seen the Japanese, encouraged by Germany’s resounding victories over the Soviets, bomb Pearl Harbor, and the United States come into the War in Europe.” I would argue that the Japanese were more "encouraged" by FDR's oil embargo and other manipulations than by Germany's victories.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Wake is a larger than life young woman of immense resilience and fortitude. Her life is a story of unbelievable heroism and derring-do set against the brutal horror of a savage military conflict. If a writer had tried to invent Nancy Wake then the bounds of incredulity would have been stretched to breaking point. Every page carries yet eye witness accounts of her impulsive acts of defiance and bravery, dramatic episodes that are indelibly etched in the memory. A woman in a man’s world but a woman blessed with ravishing natural beauty and boundless energy, not to mention limitless ambition, and the cheek of the Devil, that helps her survive against impossible odds.

The irrepressible Nancy Wake trying her hand at journalism storms onto the social scene in first London and then, Paris. Within the blink of an eye the Kiwi girl from humble beginnings had charmed Henri Fiocca, a French millionaire, and married him and moved into opulent luxury in Marseilles. The outbreak of War in 1939 saw her offering hospitality to the interned English officers in Marseille and from these auspicious beginnings she soon cultivated a taste for adventure and joined the French Resistance.

The book defies categorisation. It is an exciting page turner and the reader is swept along in the eye of a storm that is Nancy Wake, SOE agent and leader of the Maquis. After the war, Wake was decorated with medals from the United States, Britain, and France. It was sixty years before she would be granted medals from her native Australia and New Zealand because she hadn’t served with the Australian forces during the war.

Incredible stuff. Absolutely mesmerising.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Wake was a fascinating woman. She was living in France when the Germans invaded and quickly got involved in the resistance movement. Ostensibly a respectable woman, married to a wealthy French business man, she used this as a cover to travel around France delivering messages, sheltering escaped prisoners and refugees and forming escape routes for them. The Gestapo called her 'The White Mouse' due to her elusiveness.

Her story is very engaging, however the writing is not. It's told in a very clunky style and as a result, I never felt emotionally attached to the story, which is a shame. It is easy to read despite this, and I did enjoy learning about her life.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read in exchange for and honest opinion*

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book about a very courageous woman during WW11. I had never heard of Nancy Wake before and became so interested in her life, that i read more about her on the internet. So pleased to have had the opportunity to read this book.

My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy. This is my honest review, which i have voluntarily given.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Wake: World War Two's Most Rebellious Spy
by
Russell Braddon

4 Stars

Nancy Wake is a biography/war memoir that reads like a thriller. Highly recommended!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the most compelling real life story I have read since The Devil in the White City. What Nancy Wake did over the course of WW2 doesn’t seem like it could be true. All her escapades, escapes, and skirmishes would make James Bond jealous. But hers were real. In fact, I had to remind myself several times when reading, that it was real, not fiction.

I was awed by Wake’s humble beginnings in the resistance. She was a young, moderately wealthy woman who wanted to stop the Germans, and step by step became the leader of over 7500 men in the French resistance. Her bravado and courage are incredible. Again and again she put herself in danger to try and help others. She bluffs her way past the Germans so many times I lost track.
In the midst of all the Hollywood action sequences, Braddon does a great job of coming back to the mundane part of Wake’s contribution again and again. More days than not, she was arranging parachute drops for supplies, a complicated but vital task. She continually had to make sure all the echelons were well supplied and well trained, checking regularly on them. She also planned raids and kept track of information. She seemed to be the glue that held competing elements together.

Wake boldly acted in the way she thought was right. If she thought someone was wrong, she told them. She did not get suckered into military politics. When a situation necessitated it, she was brutal. But she also was extremely compassionate and humanitarian. Wake seemed amazingly human with bouts of tears and stoic strength.

My complaint against the book was that it was not detailed enough. Over and over again I wanted to know more. But, based on the author’s closing comments, Wake was slow to talk about the events, and details had to be slowly teased out. Also, written in 1956, its writing style seems dated. Although factually sound, a little more attention could have been given to the flow of events. Written slightly differently, this could have been a page turner impossible to put down. Still, I strongly recommend this book.

I hope someday to find a copy of her later published autobiography.

A 4.5

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Wake was a true heroine of WWII, an SOE operative who survived when very few did. Born in New Zealand, Wake was working as a journalist in France in the 1930's. She met the very wealthy Henri Fiocca in 1937; they married in 1939.

Her marriage to one of the leading French industrialists provided Nancy with a life of leisure and luxury. When the Germans occupied France, however, Wake abandoned the pampered life and became a courier for the French Resistance. Known as the White Mouse, Wake was active in Ian Garrow's escape network and by 1943, she was "the" most wanted person by the Gestapo with a 5 million franc reward on offer.


Eventually arrested in Toulouse, the Germans failed to realize that she was the White Mouse, and a friend was able to get her released after four days. Her attempts to leave France were aborted time after time until on her sixth attempt, she was able to cross the Pyrenees and escape to England.

Recruited by the SOE, Wake trained briefly and then parachuted back into France in April 1944. As a liaison between the French Maquis group led by Captain Henri Tardivat, Wake proceeded to work on tightening security, planning and organizing the drops of arms and equipment, allocating them to various groups, helping recruit and organize, and in many instances leading attacks against the Gestapo or installations targeted by London.

When one of her wireless operators had to destroy his codes to keep them out of Gestapo hands--I've just finished Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks, who discusses the problem and ramification of lost codes--, Nancy rode a bicycle 500 miles through occupied areas to get replacements.

Although I was not totally satisfied with the style of the book, it did improve after the author got around to the war years. Nancy Wake's story is a remarkable one, and I intend to read more on this subject.

Fiction works concerning the SOE that I've recently read have fueled my interest.
The Lavender Garden and Betrayal in Burgundy reviews.

Nonfiction/Biographical. The History Press. Republication 2010. 288 pages.
ISBN-10: 0752454854

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A compelling biography of Nancy Wake’s life during WWII. Nancy Wake (with her husband) first provided vital support for the maquis groups of the French Resistance during WWII. Later, she became an important leader within it when she became a British special operations executive agent, after she was forced to flee France.

For me, this book was an interesting account of a fascinating woman (and that author does a wonderful job at both portraying her in a positive light and a negative one—she really feels real, as do all of her friends), but there were some problems I had with the writing itself—mostly the pacing. It could drag occasionally, and sometimes I felt like I wasn’t getting anything out of the drawn-out chronological failed events that occurred before a successful contact with a secret agent. In contrast, the events that were very exciting didn’t feel like they had quite enough detail. The author almost apologizes for this at the end of the book, saying that Nancy was fairly taciturn in their interviews (when asked what happened next when she was stopped at a German checkpoint, she simply said something along the lines of “well, then we shot our way out”—though to be honest, I thought this was a pretty interesting insight into what Nancy was like, anyway!).

There's also some purple prose that might have held up when the book was written (in the fifties), but is pretty cringeworthy now. It's awful on the first page (talking about how Nancy's eyes turn different colors with her emotions, yikes), but to be honest, after the first couple pages I didn't notice it quite as much.

Ultimately, I thought this was a lovely biography, and I liked that Nancy wanted it to focus on the people she’d met during her time in the French Resistance than on the bloodiness of war, which she despised. While I wished there could be more context about the war itself, I really felt like I got to know her and the people she worked with during this time. While I had some issues with the style of writing, Nancy Wake has a very gripping story and I was glad to read it.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Wake, the New Zealand born, Australian bred, French Resistance member. Nancy played a key role in the liberation of France. Still in her early twenties this woman led the Maquis d'Auvergne and was crucial to the numerous secret operatives of sabotage and resistance played out during WWII by the French that refused to be conquered.

When I first picked this book up, knowing nothing about Nancy Wake, I was expecting another typically depressing and horrific war time story. On the contrary, this biography was joyful and lively, just as it was intended to be by Nancy Wake who is quoted:

"Don't you dare," she commanded me [the author], "write me one of those miserable war books full of horror. My war was filled with laughter and people I loved."

And, true enough, even though there were some horrific moments and a couple of moments where I admittedly had tears in my eyes, I found myself laughing repeatedly at the daring, wit and courage of this wonderful woman. Russell Braddon has successfully written a beautiful war time story of friendship, hope and perseverance while emphasising the fun and laughter that Nancy Wake brought to everything she did. Don't let the fact this is a non-fiction book turn you off. Nancy Wake's remarkable story is one to amaze and fascinate all.

[Myriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting and gave a good picture of the Resistance in France during WWII. It had some annoying points though. Like the author commented over and over about her femininity. I don't know if she (Wake) felt that was very important and that's why he did it, or if it was just important to him, or it just felt so different in that time (written in 1956), but it got kind of old. Also, it seemed like it just painted this fun easy picture of the Resistance movement. There were often things like "they ran into a German checkpoint and shot their way out," or lines similar to that, and that didn't seem to ring true. Now, maybe it was that true, but then some more context would have been great. Like was she famous with the Gestapo at the time? Were they trying to find her? Then tell us that!

The author also seems to have her on a high pedestal. I wonder if everyone felt that way, and I would love to have seen a conflicting point of view; Maquis who didn't like her or didn't agree with her methods, etc. Also, I wish there had been a note from the author in the beginning explaining where and how he got his information, why he set about on this book, how much was known and how much deduced, etc. He gives about a page worth right at the end.

[Robin Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Russell Braddon has done a good job in telling the story of this amazing woman’s war time experiences. Born in New Zealand and married to a wealthy Frenchman at the start of the war she organized food and messages to resistances groups, started an escape line and ended up on the Gestapo’s most wanted list. After escaping to Britain in 1943 returned to France as a member of Special Operations Executive and became the leader of a 7000 strong branch of the resistance. She was an inspiration Sebastian Faulks book ‘Charlotte Gray’ and the 1980’s television series ‘Wish Me Luck’. By the end of the war Nancy Wake had lost her husband all her money and possessions. Despite this when Russell Braddon interviewed her prior to writing the book, she said to him, ‘Don’t you dare write me one of those miserable war books full of horror. My war was full of laughter and people I loved.’ He kept to her wishes and by doing so was able to put across to the reader something of her spirit. This book is written in a good old fashion plan style which is suited to the subject matter. Like all good biographies you forget about the writer and just focus on the story of this extraordinary woman.

[Susan Arenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting book, no doubt. Nancy Wake was clearly an extraordinary person. I am fascinated by the role women took in the SOE, and this book certainly sheds some light on that.

There were some frustrating things about the book, though. First of all, the author paints the rosiest picture of what was clearly dangerous, frightening, difficult work I've ever read. At the end he says Nancy Wake did not want him to write a sad book, but c'mon. The number of times he says the resistance fighters went "cheerfully" or "happily" into battle is ridiculous. In addition, it sounds as though nothing ever went wrong for these fighters, or if it did, he brushes it off. The book was written in 1956, so one has to forgive some of the hyperbole, but it's too much.

The other part that is hard to swallow is the author's insistence on reassuring the reader that Wake was as feminine as can be. Though this is absolutely a product of the time it was written, it is fairly irritating and also minimizes the seriousness of the story.

[the Kent cryptid · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-stopping true account of the wartime adventures of a woman who went from being a Marseilles socialite to the courageous leader of 7000 Maquis fighters. Nancy Wake was essentially a real life Agent Carter - irrepressible, tough, stylish, hard-drinking and intensely intelligent.

A word on the style: just keep going past the first few pages and you'll be fine. The first page has a description of Wake's eyes changing colour with her emotions that's like the worst, most purple of fanfic, but once the author gets that out of his system it evens out. Plus the author feels the need to emphasise every chapter or so how feminine Wake is in a really irritating way, but I just had to remind myself that it was written in the 1950s.

Finally, I loved the depiction of Wake's friendship with Denis Rake, the gay, brave, forgetful, former-actor radio operator who claims to only be able to shoot Germans when he's drunk, and I was intensely happy to learn that he survived the war.

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read about one tough, intelligent, courageous woman fighting with the Resistance in France during WWII. Although written in the mid-50s without much description and fluff, this was a great read that described Australian-born Nancy who finds herself in France before the war, married to a well-heeled Frenchman. She takes her married-into-money, her name, her wits and her will to London to be trained, parachutes back into southern France and then leads her various groups of French Resistance fighters and Spanish Maquis time and time again against the Germans. Fights along side her soldiers, earns their respect and accomplishes every task, frequently against unbelievable odds.

[Paul Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible true story of one of the most important SOE agents of WW2 and one of the bravest women in history. Very well researched and originally written in 1956 when the author had the advantage of being able to interview many of those involved, including Nancy Wake herself with whom he spent hundreds of hours. We shall not see her like again.

[Grace Reasoner · Rating 4 out of 5]

loving this book! Way different perspective on the war and espionage in WW2. I really like this book and can't wait to see what happens next.

[Barbara Hiebing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book and a truly amazing woman!