A Woman of No Importance : The Untold Story of Virginia Hall, WWII's Most Dangerous Spy

Author: Purnell, Sonia

Biography: historical, political & military

Published on 2 April 2020 by Little, Brown Book Group (Virago Press Ltd) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 416 pages, 1 eight-page plate section of mainly black and white photographs
127 x 196 x 35 | 338g

'A METICULOUS HISTORY THAT READS LIKE A THRILLER' BEN MACINTYRE, TEN BEST BOOKS TO READ ABOUT WORLD WAR II

An astounding story of heroism, spycraft, resistance and personal triumph over shocking adversity.

'A rousing tale of derring-do' THE TIMES

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'Riveting' MICK HERRON

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'Superb' IRISH TIMES

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERIn September 1941, a young American woman strides up the steps of a hotel in Lyon, Vichy France. Her papers say she is a journalist. Her wooden leg is disguised by a determined gait and a distracting beauty. She is there to spark the resistance.

By 1942 Virginia Hall was the Gestapo's most urgent target, having infiltrated Vichy command, trained civilians in guerrilla warfare and sprung soldiers from Nazi prison camps. The first woman to go undercover for British SOE, her intelligence changed the course of the war - but her fight was still not over. This is a spy history like no other, telling the story of the hunting accident that disabled her, the discrimination she fought and the secret life that helped her triumph over shocking adversity.

'A cracking story about an extraordinarily brave woman' TELEGRAPH'Gripping ... superb ... a rounded portrait of a complicated, resourceful, determined and above all brave woman' IRISH TIMESWINNER of the PLUTARCH AWARD FOR BEST BIOGRAPHY