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Code Name Hélène : Inspired by the gripping true story of World War 2 spy Nancy Wake

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I read a lot of WWII fiction and I also can’t help feeling a little protective of Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, who is something of a fellow Australian - although she was born in NZ, she moved here when she was 2 and spent a good part of her adult life here - so it’s full credit to Lawhorn’s depth of research that her portrayal of Nancy’s heroism during the war and of Nancy’s character is just brilliant. I cannot recommend this one highly enough - go read it, now! Inspired by true wartime events, Code Name Hélène is a gripping and moving story of extraordinary courage, unfaltering resolve, remarkable sacrifice – and enduring love.

Code Name Helene | Ariel Lawhon

Code Name Helene was a riveting historical fiction account of the life of Nancy Grace Augusta Wake by Ariel Lawhon. Originally from Australia, Wake worked as a freelance journalist for three years for the Hearst Corporation in London and Paris. Later joining the French Resistance during World War II in France, she had many identities including the notorious "White Mouse" as she was known to the Nazis. While Ariel Lawhon states that she wanted to concentrate on what made Nancy Wake one of the most decorated women of the war, not only the fact that she was a spy but a respected military leader during her time with the Maquis. And I thought you were about to say you’d taken a lover. By comparison, espionage seems saintly.” (c)Henri slowly woes Nancy, they marry in 1939 and the Germans invade France. Henri is called up, Nancy drives her own ambulance at the front and she helps the resistance by smuggling documents and people. The Germans give Nancy the title of, 'The White Mouse', with a bounty on her head, Henri makes her leave France and she crosses the snowy Pyrenees Mountains and travels to England. The organization trained her extensively, and Wake’s accomplishments in the pursuit of Nazi defeat were astonishing: She once biked 500 kilometers over the course of 24 hours to deliver a message; she killed a Nazi soldier with her bare hands; she presided over the firing-squad execution of Resistance fighters who kidnapped and raped women. And as Lawhon notes, there were many female spies during World War II, but Wake represented one of a very small number of female military leaders. There is nothing strange about the men in my flat. And I am certain that my husband will be delighted to hear that my cousins have come to visit me. He’s rather fond of them.”“Cousins?”

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon - Goodreads Editions of Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon - Goodreads

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she–and the people she loves–become.it did allow me to learn about a woman who I had never heard of. As a teacher for thirty plus years, it often amazes and disappoints me that I never knew of these courageous, fearless, and audacious women of the war, and could not extend that knowledge to my students. Code Name Hélène” is the second major TV series to be announced by Vendôme. The company is also developing an ambitious series project based on a New York Times report about the battle to save the Notre-Dame cathedral, with award-winning novelist and screenwriter William Boyd on board. Crikey! I am so glad Ariel Lawhon wrote this little-known story of one of WWII's greatest military leaders, Australian war heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, who not only led successful missions with the French Resistance, but who also killed a Nazi with her bare hands! Scott Shane's outstanding work Flee North tells the little-known tale of an unlikely partnership ... No, before I read this book, I had no idea who Nancy Wake was, or anything about the woman behind the many aliases she had including The White Mouse, Madame André, and of course, Hélène. In fact, Lawhon begins her book with the line “I have gone by many names.” The fact that I wasn’t familiar with any of these names, despite her being one of the Gestapo’s most wanted spies, and the extraordinary number of awards heaped upon her after the war (literally across the globe), makes me ashamed, both for myself (as a lover of historical fiction, particularly biographical, women’s fiction from this era), and for the oversight of history not shouting her story out from the rooftops. Well, thank heavens for Ariel Lawhon, and for her writing her story so beautifully (or should I say, righting history). I will now take this opportunity to reiterate what Lawhon says as introduction to her author’s note at the end of the book: do NOT read those notes before you read the novel! PLEASE!

Code Name Helene (Lawhon) Summary Guide - LitLovers Code Name Helene (Lawhon) Summary Guide - LitLovers

Nancy was raised in Australia, living in Paris and working as a freelance reporter for a London paper. In Paris she meets and finally agrees to marry handsome French industrialist Henri Fiocca just prior to the war breaking out in France. This might sound a bit confusing but it works really well as we learn about the woman and what drive her to do the things she does. Nancy Wake was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised nurse and journalist who joined the French Resistance and later the British SOE – Special Operations Executive – during World War II. Her exploits during the war earned her the George Medal from the UK, the Medal of Freedom from the US, the Légion d’honneur from France and medals from Australia and New Zealand – she became Australia’s most decorated heroine in World War II. Her exploits also earned her the title ‘The White Mouse’ from the Gestapo because she was so difficult to catch. Author, Ariel Lawhon has penned her historical fiction novel, "Code Name Hélène" using facts gleaned from Nancy’s autobiography, "The White Mouse" as well as from the works of other biographers to paint as accurate a picture as possible of this extremely brave and unique person. The story covers Nancy’s life from the early 1930s when she was a journalist based in Paris (at one time she interviewed one Adolph Hitler) through her time with the French Resistance and finally, the SOE. It is an extraordinary journey by a remarkable woman. This fully animated portrait of Nancy Wake . . . will fascinate readers of World War II history and thrill fans of fierce, brash, independent women, alike.”

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Wake had to fight to get the article published, but when it finally appeared in the New York Evening Journal — her stories often were published in American newspapers — it wasn’t bylined. Failure to credit women journalists wasn’t an oversight but instead a purposeful and unfortunate reality for women of the time, one the hard-drinking, foul-mouthed Wake character in the book characterizes as “bullshit.” Readers will be transfixed by this story of a woman who should be a household name’ Library Journal

Code Name Helene [Book Review] - Reading Ladies Code Name Helene [Book Review] - Reading Ladies

Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. I loved this! This WWII novel tells the story of Nancy Wake, the unsung French Resistance leader who was #1 on the Gestapo’s most-wanted list by the end of the war.It made the reader once again realize that women, along with men, fought for freedom, for justice for all, and for the ability to throw off oppression and totalitarianism

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