Code Name Hélène

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I finished this a few weeks ago and I'm still thinking about Helene . . . exceptional' 5 stars (Goodreads reviewer) A compulsively readable account of a little-known yet extraordinary historical figure—Lawhon’s best book to date.” — KIRKUS REVIEW, *STARRED* There is something for everyone here. There’s the tension and thrills as the resistance fighters pit themselves against the German war machine and that’s countered by the touching love story of Nancy and Henri. Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name. What are your thoughts regarding the shift of perspective from first person to third person? Did it result in a more multi-dimensional portrait of Nancy?

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. In the 1930s, Wake was an Australian expat living in Paris and had brilliantly bluffed her way into a journalism gig stringing for the European branch of the Hearst Newspaper Group. Well before the start of the war, Wake documented the depravity and revolting cruelty of Adolf Hitler’s private militia known as the Brownshirts. On assignment in 1934 in Vienna’s Old Square, she and her photographer witnessed the paramilitary group publicly and viciously torturing an old Jewish shopkeeper, something the Brownshirts apparently liked to do on Fridays before the beginning of Shabbat. Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name. There are tense scenes through the book with harrowing escapes, torture, details on how the British helped the French patriots, training to become a British agent – all of it was highly researched by the author. Near the end of her life, she became highly decorated and recognized for her strong contributions to the war. told in interweaving timelines, the riveting plot is full of descriptive intrigue. I would look forward to listening to this audiobook whenever life called me away;

READERS GUIDE

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. And I thought you were about to say you’d taken a lover. By comparison, espionage seems saintly.” (c) Based on the thrilling real-life story of a socialite spy and astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII —from the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia. For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. About the author:

Men don’t know what to do with a woman who can clip her own cigar.” What are the implications of Stephanie’s statement? Anddoes it still hold true today? Leading the Resistance, Nancy was a formidable force. Strength of character, her determination to never give up, her loyalty to the men she worked with, and her hatred of the brutality of the Bosch gave her the respect that kept her men by her side. The memorable push bike ride over rough terrain through France, avoiding German patrols, pedalling for 250kms to her destination, then discovering she had to return immediately to notify her men in the camp of a drop – almost 500kms in 72 hours; the admiration of her men, but the exhaustion and pain for Nancy was just one of the many feats by this astonishing 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." —Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours The consequences of Marceline’s betrayal are staggering. Do you think her obsession with Henri is the only reason for her choices? Or is her decision deeper and more complex? It's no secret that I love books with strong women. Women with gumption. They inspire me. To loosely paraphrase Lawhon "Women like Nancy have always existed. But when men write the history books we don't hear about them." In my opinion- it's time we hear her story because it s so.darn.good!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.

This was an okay read, and I would rate this 2.5 stars. I am rounding up because I did enjoy reading the Author's Note at the end which caused me to look up the real Nancy Wake. 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. In Part One, Hélène arrives in France with her partner Hubert on a mission to help the Maquis drive the Germans out of France. They meet with Gaspard, one of the Maquis leaders, who is hostile towards them. The second leader they meet with, Fournier, welcomes them to his camp. With the help of her friend Denis, Hélène arranges for a shipment of supplies to arrive from London. Based on the thrilling real-life story of socialite spy Nancy Wake, comes the newest feat of historical fiction from the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia, featuring the astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII.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.” Did the dynamic of Nancy and Henri’s relationship surprise you? In what ways does it differ from other stories of love in wartime that you have read before? She helped whom ever she could to escape from the clutches of the Gestapo, she organised weapon drops for the resistance fighters, she ran and commanded freedom fighter and every man in her company new who the boss was. When she said jump the response was always “how high”

Code Name Hélène is a story about wartime heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, she was born in New Zealand in 1912 and moved to Sydney, Australia when she was a toddler. Nancy left Australia at sixteen, America was her first stop, and then she traveled to France to work as a freelance journalist. Here, Nancy meets Henri Fiocca, he owns a ship building company in Marseilles and has a reputation for being a rich playboy. A compulsively readable account of a little-known yet extraordinary historical figure—Lawhon’s best book to date.

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Readers will be transfixed by this story of a woman who should be a household name’ Library Journal I am sitting here, hands hovering over the keyboard, trying to figure out how in the world I am going to put into words how much I enjoyed this book! Will fascinate readers of World War II history and thrill fans of fierce, brash, independent women.”—Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours