The New York Times Bestseller by the Author of A Man Called Intrepid
Ideal for fans of Nancy Wake, Virginia Hall, The Last Goodnight by Howard Blum, The Woman Who Smashed Codes, The Wolves at the Door by Judith Pearson, and similar works
Shares the story of Vera Atkins, legendary spy and holder of the Legion of Honor
Written by William Stevenson, the only person whom she trusted to write her … Honor
She was stunning. She was ruthless. She was brilliant and had a will of iron. Born Vera Maria Rosenberg in Bucharest, she became Vera Atkins. William Stphenson, the spymaster who would later be known as “Intrepid”, recruited her when she was twenty-three. Vera spent most of the 1930s running too many dangerous espionage missions to count. When war was declared in 1939, her many skills made her one of the leaders of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert intelligence agency formed by, and reporting to, Winston Churchill. She trained and recruited hundreds of agents, including dozens of women. Their job was to seamlessly penetrate deep behind the enemy lines.
As General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, the fantastic exploits and extraordinary courage of the SOE agents and the French Resistance fighters “shortened the war by many months.”They are celebrated, as they should be. But Vera Atkins’s central role has been hidden until after she died; William Stevenson promised to wait and publish her story posthumously. Now, Vera Atkins can be celebrated and known for the hero she was: the woman whose beauty, intelligence, and unwavering dedication proved key in turning the tide of World War II.more
The book was very informative regarding the English appeasers and sympathizers of Nazi Germany. Kinda makes one sick knowing how Englishmen of Noble rank and birth were literally selling their souls to the Nazis and the communists. It was the commoners who saved England during WWII, and this book was about those folks. Too jumbled up with names …
What a woman
Inspirational
Amazing story of another inspirational woman who never got recognition for what she did.
A very realistic book on the world of spies and resistance groups in Europe in WWII. It makes you wonder how we ever won! Competing groups, infiltration by the Germans and Russians, and competition for arms and supplies among the British groups could have doomed the British Isles. The Germans were not much better….
historical and tutorial.
The sense of creativity and bravery in spying is phenomenal in this book. Also the real pro hitler element in English government before the war is shocking.
Biography of a woman who contributed greatly to the victory over Germany in WWII. As frequently happens, she was never really acknowledged, nor given credit for her accomplishments due primarily to interservice jealousy and perhaps the fact she was a woman.
I’m interested in the subject matter but, I didn’t think that it was especially well written. It jumped around and, in doing so, repeated itself in places.
It couldn’t keep my interest. It is an extremely detailed account of her life and all the persons in it during that period. There were just too many characters to keep track of to follow the story.
Poignant story told with grace and style. It must have been difficult to avoid judging those who were in a position to assist resistance fighters and those incarcerated in Germany’s death camps more than they did.
I firmly believe that many books like these are promoted and released by Zionists to expose, normalize and socialize readers to the Zionist movement. These attempts to make Zionism look “healthy” and “wholesome” may work with many readers, but some know them for who they are.
who knew-women in WW11 spies! Very informative for history buffs
Spymistress by William Stevenson tells the true story of Vera Atkins, the woman who was the secret mastermind behind the British SOE – Special Operations Executive – during World War II (spies, saboteurs and assassins). It is an extraordinary story of Atkins, the people she worked with and the desperate times they lived in. The book is full of …
Was interested in the subject but feel information was presented in an unorganized fashion
This book written by a spymaster illustrates some unknown and unsung heroes and heroines of WW II
I it was very interesting to read about Vera Atkins, a person I was not familiar with. However, I found the authors writingstyle somewhat confusing as there was never any Segway from one topic to the next. He also tried to include so many details it was easy to loose the main thoughts. The unbelievable stubbornness of some British officials and …
Poorly written, difficult to follow.
I should have read the reviews on Amazon before I bought this book. If I had, I would have known that, while the subject matter – the life and times of World War II spy Vera Atkins – has tremendous potential, but that William Stevenson jumps around too much, focuses too much time and attention and surface-level details, and ultimately attempts to …
Well worth reading.
It was difficult to follow the action as the author jumped all over the place. But there were great stories which took place behind the scenes during WWII.