Nancy Wake (1912–2011)

Australian Nancy Wake was part of the French Resistance in World War II. After being forced to leave her Marseilles home due to the attention she had attracted from the Gestapo, Wake made her way to England where she received special operations training and returned to a different part of France and served under British direction.

Wake isn’t a particularly good writer, and if her memoir were published today, the publisher would likely have her work with a ghostwriter. However, the lack of show more polish does give her writing an air of authenticity.

Wake unashamedly reveals herself to have been something of a “party girl” in her youth. She didn’t lose some of those characteristics as she aged, and she continued to have a reputation as a heavy drinker into her senior years. She comes across as a potentially unreliable narrator, so readers would do well to seek out works written by her contemporaries and more objective biographers to assess her achievements. show less

After helping people flee France from the Nazi's Nancy found herself fleeing to England. Determined to do more, she joined the military and parachuted back into France to coordinate drops of weapons and supplies with the resistance. Overall, I thought Nancy was an intriguing and brave person. At times the book did go into more details about partying and drinking than her missions, but I guess that was just her personality. Overall, an interesting book, one worth picking up.

Fascinating story about the French Resistance and the daring exploits of Nancy Wake. Born in New Zealand, raised in Australia, Nancy survived the war, was much decorated, and showed great courage in very dangerous situations.

My new favorite British lady.