Aline, Countess of Romanones (1923–2017)
Author of The Spy Wore Red
About the Author
Aline, Countess of Romanones was born Mary Aline Griffith in Pearl River, New York on May 23, 1923. She received a degree in literature, history and journalism from the College of Mount Saint Vincent. After graduating, she became a model. During World War II, she worked as a code clerk deciphering show more messages in the United States Embassy in Madrid for the Office of Strategic Services. She posed as a socialite employed by American oil companies. In 1947, she married Luis de Figueroa y Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, the count of Quintanilla and later of Romanones. Her first memoir, The Spy Wore Red: My Adventures as an Undercover Agent in World War II, was published in 1987. Her other memoirs included The Spy Went Dancing, The Spy Wore Silk, The End of an Epoch, and the novel The Well-Mannered Assassin. She died on December 11, 2017 at the age of 94. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: wikimedia.org /baidelan
Series
Works by Aline, Countess of Romanones
The Spy Went Dancing 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Countess of Romanones, Aline,
- Other names
- Griffith, Aline
Countess of Quintanilla
Romanones, María Aline Griffith Dexter, Countess of - Birthdate
- 1923-05-22
- Date of death
- 2017-12-11
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Pearl River, New York, USA
- Place of death
- Madrid, Spain
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Madrid, Spain
Caceres, Spain - Education
- College of Mount Saint Vincent
- Occupations
- countess
spy - Organizations
- Office of Strategic Services
Central Intelligence Agency - Short biography
- Aline, Countess of Romanones (born Mary Aline Griffith) published a memoir of her work during World War II for the U.S. Office of Strategic Services -- forerunner of the CIA -- called The Spy Wore Red. The foreword states that the book is somewhat fictionalized. She also wrote several spy novels.
Members
Reviews
Born in New York in 1923, Aline Griffith worked for the OSS in Spain during World War II deep undercover as an American agent placed in upper class Spanish society. Her story is confirmed by William J. Casey, OSS agent 1942-45 and CIA director 1981-1987.
Twenty one year old Aline Griffith finds herself in Spain as a deep-cover OSS agent, infiltrating the highest levels of Spanish society; or that five years later still, she would marry a Spanish grandee, and become one of the most fascinating women of international history. A memoir
A WWII spy thriller, billed as a memoir of a socialite who played a silent but instrumental role in the Allied victory.
Absolutely delectable, though with some pacing flaws that I was willing to chalk up to real life not always having the perfect pacing of fiction -- until I saw most people believe that this book is a highly embroidered version of fact that emerged from years of retellings at parties and an awareness that no one is in a position to fact check any of it. Now I'm a bit more disappointed, though the tale is still a fantastic and enjoyable one that portrays a wonderful sense of classy 1940s Spain.
The audiobook narrator Grace Conlin is particularly impressive -- this is a highly professional audiobook produced in the mid-1990s heyday of production quality.… (more)
Absolutely delectable, though with some pacing flaws that I was willing to chalk up to real life not always having the perfect pacing of fiction -- until I saw most people believe that this book is a highly embroidered version of fact that emerged from years of retellings at parties and an awareness that no one is in a position to fact check any of it. Now I'm a bit more disappointed, though the tale is still a fantastic and enjoyable one that portrays a wonderful sense of classy 1940s Spain.
The audiobook narrator Grace Conlin is particularly impressive -- this is a highly professional audiobook produced in the mid-1990s heyday of production quality.… (more)
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Statistics
- Works
- 9
- Members
- 673
- Popularity
- #37,521
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 17
- ISBNs
- 51
- Languages
- 3
- Favorited
- 2
The chronicle of Aline's wartime in Spain was a frothy, lightweight excursion into the world of intrigue, which is fun, if that's all one wants to see. However, my new perspective led to my feeling that the adventure was embellished, especially for someone employed as a code clerk. Though the 'reveal' towards the end was anticipated, I liked the double blind twist and enjoyed that aspect. I wasn't impressed with the epilogue (1984) however. Though I personally know nothing of spies and espionage, all that chatter throughout seemed unprofessional. Had events occurred as reported, the agents seemingly absolutely fraught with danger from traitorous double agents, her risks of exposure were very high.… (more)