Virginia Hall was born to a semi-aristocratic family in Baltimore in 1906. Virginia's mother would love to have Virginia learn to embroider, hold garden parties, and marry an eligible man of her own or higher social status. Virginia has other plans. She convinces a doting father to let her go to college in Europe, where she studies international relations and learns several European Languages. She eventually gets a desk job with the US State Department, but when WWII breaks out in Europe, and the Germans invade France, she desperately wants to take a more active role in fighting Hitler. Her chance comes to join a new covert organization in the British Government, SOE, and the rest, as they say, is history. She becomes one of their most effective secret agents and plays an essential role in France's final victory.
This is an amazing account of a relatively unknown super-woman of history. Purnell tells the story with lively and vivid prose that shows a wealth of research and an ear for language. She is unflinching in her accounts of the atrocities committeed by the Nazi's during the war, but balances the stories out with accounts of human compassion and breathtaking heroism. I also appreciated the fact that she didn't end the story with the end of the war. She goes on to tell how Virginia continued to fight for world freedom until the end of her life. This is a great choice for lovers of meaty historical nonfiction and true "stong girl" stories. (352 p. 2019)
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