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Madame Fourcade's Secret War: The Daring Young Woman Who Led France's Largest Spy Network Against Hitler

by Lynne Olson

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4641352,998 (4.23)30
Biography & Autobiography. History. Politics. Nonfiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? The little-known true story of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the woman who headed the largest spy network in occupied France during World War II, from the bestselling author of Citizens of London and Last Hope Island
??Brava to Lynne Olson for a biography that should challenge any outdated assumptions about who deserves to be called a hero.???The Washington Post
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE WASHINGTON POST 

In 1941 a thirty-one-year-old Frenchwoman, a young mother born to privilege and known for her beauty and glamour, became the leader of a vast intelligence organization??the only woman to serve as a chef de résistance during the war. Strong-willed, independent, and a lifelong rebel against her country??s conservative, patriarchal society, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was temperamentally made for the job. Her group??s name was Alliance, but the Gestapo dubbed it Noah??s Ark because its agents used the names of animals as their aliases. The name Marie-Madeleine chose for herself was Hedgehog: a tough little animal, unthreatening in appearance, that, as a colleague of hers put it, ??even a lion would hesitate to bite.?
No other French spy network lasted as long or supplied as much crucial intelligence??including providing American and British military commanders with a 55-foot-long map of the beaches and roads on which the Allies would land on D-Day??as Alliance. The Gestapo pursued them relentlessly, capturing, torturing, and executing hundreds of its three thousand agents, including Fourcade??s own lover and many of her key spies. Although Fourcade, the mother of two young children, moved her headquarters every few weeks, constantly changing her hair color, clothing, and identity, she was captured twice by the Nazis. Both times she managed to escape??once by slipping naked through the bars of her jail cell??and continued to hold her network together even as it repeatedly threatened to crumble around her.
Now, in this dramatic account of the war that split France in two and forced its people to live side by side with their hated German occupiers, Lynne Olson tells the fascinating story of a woman who stood up for her nation, her fellow citizens, and herself.

??Fast-paced and impressively researched . . . Olson writes with verve and a historian??s authority. . . . With this gripping tale, Lynne Olson pays [Marie-Madeleine Fourcade] what history has so far denied her. France, slow to confront the stain of Vichy, would do well to finally honor a fighter most of us would want in our fox
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“How could one not be fascinated by the story of this cultured young woman from a well-connected family who had dreams of becoming a concert pianist but ended up as arguably the greatest wartime spymaster in Europe?”

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was the leader of an espionage network across occupied France in WWII at a time when it was rare for a woman to be in charge. The book describes how she handled many challenges and narrow escapes. The title implies it is about Madame Fourcade, but it is written about many, many people in her spy network and it is often difficult to keep track of them all. Names are mentioned once or twice, sometimes never to be mentioned again. There are many digressions. It is almost as if the author decided to include all her research rather than only that which supports the main thesis. I applaud the author for calling attention to an unsung heroine of WWII. I wish it had been a little more focused.
( )
  Castlelass | Oct 30, 2022 |
Another engrossing book by Lynne Olson, a talented historian and gifted writer. She tells the amazing story of
Marie-Madeleine Fourcade who ran the largest spy network in occupied France during WW II. It becomes a white-knuckle read early in the book and remains so until the end. ( )
1 vote spec1963 | May 16, 2022 |
Well written for facts but I had to abandon this one as the people got lost among all the factual details to me. May try it another time when not reading so many books simultaneously ( )
  SESchend | Nov 2, 2021 |
5 Brilliant stars and if I could add 5 more I would!

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was the brains, the spirit and soul of one of the largest French Resistance networks in France during WWII. No other Resistance group aided the Allied intelligence with constant reports of German movements, on land and on sea. No other group lasted through-out the entire war. The network, known as Alliance, encompassed all of France and Fourcade commanded over 3000 agents. They were Aristocrats Farmers, Secretaries, French Military. A large group of them only in their early 20's. It stunned me how young some of them were.

Now that I have put a picture of her in your mind-wipe it away. because I am sure you are not picturing a 31 year old beautiful petite Paris socialite, mother of 2 small children.

In 1936, Marie-Madeleine attended a cocktail party at her sisters. There she flirted and talked with a group of men. Her beauty drew them in, but her intelligence captured them. A discussion on Hitler's invasion led to Marie-Madeleine's induction into the Resistance. When her boss was captured in 1941, Marie took the reins and charged head-first into the fight to free France.

This was an amazing story. It reads like an espionage thriller. The cast of characters is large and would have become confusing, but the author provides an index of all the main players. Author Lynne Olson brings these brave men and woman to life, and leaves no story untold. By the time you reach the prologue, you know pretty much who survived. Unfortunately the losses were great.


This is a history, romance, WWII, espionage, feminist story. If any of those genre's appeal to you I can pretty much guarantee you will be as engrossed in this tale as I was. It will definitely make my top ten list.
( )
  JBroda | Sep 24, 2021 |
This is the story of a little known French woman who led the largest anti German spy group in occupied France during World War 2. They were known as the Alliance and were responsible for supplying detailed maps of German fortifications and logistical data essential to the D-Day invasion. They also tipped off the Allies about the German rocket program and where to strike to damage it severely. There was tremendous risk involved and many including Madame Fourcade's closest friends would die or were captured at some point. A well researched harrowing tale of bravery. ( )
  muddyboy | Mar 1, 2021 |
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They appeared from out of the shadows, and suddenly you felt that you had always known them. The connection formed by a threat to one’s country is the strongest connection of all. People adopt one another, march together. Only capture or death can tear them apart. —Marie-Madeleine Fourcade
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Biography & Autobiography. History. Politics. Nonfiction. HTML:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ? The little-known true story of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the woman who headed the largest spy network in occupied France during World War II, from the bestselling author of Citizens of London and Last Hope Island
??Brava to Lynne Olson for a biography that should challenge any outdated assumptions about who deserves to be called a hero.???The Washington Post
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR AND THE WASHINGTON POST 

In 1941 a thirty-one-year-old Frenchwoman, a young mother born to privilege and known for her beauty and glamour, became the leader of a vast intelligence organization??the only woman to serve as a chef de résistance during the war. Strong-willed, independent, and a lifelong rebel against her country??s conservative, patriarchal society, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was temperamentally made for the job. Her group??s name was Alliance, but the Gestapo dubbed it Noah??s Ark because its agents used the names of animals as their aliases. The name Marie-Madeleine chose for herself was Hedgehog: a tough little animal, unthreatening in appearance, that, as a colleague of hers put it, ??even a lion would hesitate to bite.?
No other French spy network lasted as long or supplied as much crucial intelligence??including providing American and British military commanders with a 55-foot-long map of the beaches and roads on which the Allies would land on D-Day??as Alliance. The Gestapo pursued them relentlessly, capturing, torturing, and executing hundreds of its three thousand agents, including Fourcade??s own lover and many of her key spies. Although Fourcade, the mother of two young children, moved her headquarters every few weeks, constantly changing her hair color, clothing, and identity, she was captured twice by the Nazis. Both times she managed to escape??once by slipping naked through the bars of her jail cell??and continued to hold her network together even as it repeatedly threatened to crumble around her.
Now, in this dramatic account of the war that split France in two and forced its people to live side by side with their hated German occupiers, Lynne Olson tells the fascinating story of a woman who stood up for her nation, her fellow citizens, and herself.

??Fast-paced and impressively researched . . . Olson writes with verve and a historian??s authority. . . . With this gripping tale, Lynne Olson pays [Marie-Madeleine Fourcade] what history has so far denied her. France, slow to confront the stain of Vichy, would do well to finally honor a fighter most of us would want in our fox

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