A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WWII’s Most Dangerous Spy - Softcover

Purnell, Sonia

4.15

48,767 ratings by Goodreads

9780349010175: A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WWII’s Most Dangerous Spy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 034901017X ISBN 13: 9780349010175

Publisher: Virago, 2019

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***A New York Times bestseller***

'A rousing tale of derring-do' The Times Book of the Week

'A cracking story about an extraordinarily brave woman' Telegraph Best Holiday Beach Reads

'As riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down' Mick Herron, New York Times

'Gripping ... superb ... a rounded portrait of a complicated, resourceful, determined and above all brave woman' Irish Times

In 1942, the Gestapo would stop at nothing to track down a mysterious 'limping lady' who was fighting for the freedom of France. The Nazi chiefs issued a simple but urgent command: 'She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her.'

The Gestapo's target was Virginia Hall, a glamorous American with a wooden leg who broke through the barriers against her gender and disability to be the first woman to infiltrate Vichy France for the SOE. In so doing she helped turn the course of the intelligence war.

This is the epic tale of an heiress who determined that a hunting accident would not define her existence; a young woman who gambled her life to fight for the freedoms she believed in; an espionage novice who helped to light the flame of French Resistance.

Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall, an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance and personal triumph over shocking adversity.

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Review:

Purnell's account of Hall's hectic, amphetamine-fuelled exploits never falters. It recalls Caroline Moorehead's wonderful book, Village of Secrets, but has an added touch of Ben Macintyre's brio ... A rousing tale of derring-do' (Richard Davenport-Hines The Times, Book of the Week)

Soon to be a film starring Daisy Ridley, Purnell's life of the SOE agent Virginia Hall is a cracking story about an extraordinarily brave woman (Telegraph Best Holiday Beach Reads)

As gripping as any thriller ... a superb biography ... Purnell nimbly takes the reader through Hall's complicated manoeuvres all over central France and beyond. And in doing so, she paints a rounded portrait of a complicated, resourceful, determined and above all brave woman (Irish Times)

Brimming with moving tales of courage in the face of tyranny, this is a worthy tribute to an incredible figure (Deirdre O'Brien Sunday Mirror)

A cracking story of an extraordinarily brave woman . . . extraordinarily well-researched . . . thrilling (Anne de Courcy Telegraph)

Excellent . . . Purnell's meticulous research into Hall's life and work has taken her not only through British SOE papers and resistance files in France, but also through nine levels of security at the CIA in Langley (Spectator)

Purnell mixes telling detail with narrative verve to convey both the excitements of Hall's precarious existence and the force of her indomitable spirit (Mail on Sunday)

Riveting ... one of the most breath-taking stories yet told of female courage behind enemy lines ... An intimate and moving portrayal (Sarah Helm, author of If This Is A Woman and A Life In Secrets)

A gripping, relevant and timely read about a remarkable woman from a talented writer (Deborah Frances-White, author of The Guilty Feminist)

Purnell's extensive research brings the facts of Virginia's life into brilliant focus (Jane Shilling Evening Standard)

Book Description:

The incredible untold story of Virginia Hall, an American woman with a wooden leg who infiltrated Occupied France for the SOE and became the Gestapo's most wanted Allied spy, written by acclaimed biographer Sonia Purnell.

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