Code Name Hélène
Based on the thrilling true story of Nancy Wake, 'The White Mouse'
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4.6 • 125 Ratings
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
From the bestselling author of The Frozen River, a thrilling story of danger, intrigue and enduring love, based on the extraordinary true story of Nancy Wake, the Australian nurse and journalist who became a heroine of the French Resistance in World War II.
Paris, 1936: Intrepid young Australian journalist Nancy Wake has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper when she meets wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she decides to join the resistance. Now she must take another name – a code name.
As Lucienne Carlier, Nancy smuggles people across the border, and her remarkable ability to evade capture earns her the nickname The White Mouse. With a five-million-franc bounty on her head, she is forced to escape France, so she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, where her new comrades know her as Hélène. Eventually, Nancy is airdropped back into France as the deadly Madam Andrée, where she claims her place as one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance.
All the while, Nancy is armed with a ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and the backing of the Allied Forces. But no one can protect Nancy or the people she loves if the enemy finds out that these four women are one and the same…
‘will fascinate readers of World War II history and thrill fans of fierce, brash, independent women.’ Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours
‘Fascinating.’New York Post, ‘Required Reading’
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
During World War II, Australian journalist Nancy Wake delves into espionage to help combat the Nazis. Based on a true story, this novel is being developed into a TV series starring Elizabeth Debicki.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Lawhon, who masterfully combined fact and fiction in I Was Anastasia, does so again with this gripping thriller based on the life of Nancy Wake, an Australian expat who worked as a reporter for Hearst in Paris just before WWII and later as a spy for the British. Lawhon throws readers into the middle of the action, as Nancy, under the alias H l ne, prepares to parachute from an RAF plane into France to help the Resistance in 1944, carrying in her head memorized lists of vital data, including bridges targeted for destruction and safe house addresses. After she lands, the story flashes back eight years, as Nancy struggles for respect and recognition as a journalist; despite her firsthand observations of Nazi brutality in 1930s Vienna, her editor is reluctant to publish a story about what she's seen. Frequent jumps in time draw out the arc of Wake's remarkable life; despite her statement early on that women's weapons of warfare were limited to "silk stockings and red lipstick," by the end she's proven herself skillful at physical combat as well. Lawhon's vivid, fast-paced narrative will keep readers turning the pages, and a detailed afterword makes plain how much of the account is factual. This entertaining tale does justice to Lawhon's larger-than-life subject.
Customer Reviews
Great Book
I loved this book. A great story about an amazing Australian woman. I found Nancy Wake inspiring. One of the best books I have read.