A Woman of No Importance
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A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELER Chosen as a BEST BOK OF THE YEAR by NPR, the New York Public Library, Amazon, the Seattle Times, the Washington Independent Review of Books, PopSugar, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, BookBrowse, the Spectator, and the Times of London Winner of the Plutarch Award for Best BiographyExcellent.This book is as riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down. -- The New York Times Book Review A compelling biography of a masterful spy, and a reminder of what can be done with a few brave people -- and a little resistance. - NPR A meticiulous history that reads like a thriller. - Ben Macintyre A never-before-told story of Virginia Hall, the American spy who changed the course of World War I, from the author of Clementine. In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her. The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and--despite her prosthetic leg--helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. Virginia established vast spy networks throughout France, called weapons and explosives down from the skies, and became a linchpin for the Resistance. Even as her face covered wanted posters and a bounty was placed on her head, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped through a death-defying hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown. But she plunged back in, adamant that she had more lives to save, and led a victorious guerilla campaign, liberating swathes of France from the Nazis after D-Day. Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall--an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity. A Woman of No Importance is the breathtaking story of how one woman's fierce persistence helped win the war.
Sonia Purnell is a biographer and journalist who has worked at The Economist, The Telegraph, and Sunday Times. Her first book, Just Boris, a candid portrait of London mayor and Brexit champion Boris Johnson, was longlisted for the Orwell prize. Clementine, published as First Lady: The Life and Wars of Clementine Churchill in the UK, was chosen as a Book of the Year by The Telegraph and Independent and was shortlisted for the Plutarch Award. Residence: London, UK Social: Twitter: SoniaPurnell
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780735225312 |
| ISBN 10 | 0735225311 |
| Title | A Woman of No Importance |
| Author | Sonia Purnell |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Penguin Putnam Inc |
| Year published | 2020-03-24 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |