Code Name Hélène : Inspired by the gripping true story of World War 2 spy Nancy Wake

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Australian expat, Nancy Wake, lives in Paris and works as a freelancer. She has paved her way onto the roster at Hearst. 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. The story was too long. The first half was dull and boring. For me the story only caught on in the second half of the book

Code Name Helene - Ariel Lawhon - LitLovers Code Name Helene - Ariel Lawhon - LitLovers

I highly recommend this story about sacrifice, betrayal, friendship, loyalty and love for historical fiction and/or WWII fans alike! A compulsively readable account of a little-known yet extraordinary historical figure—Lawhon’s best book to date.” — KIRKUS REVIEW, *STARRED* The real Nancy was larger than life; bold, bawdy, and brazen—a woman who, as the only female among thousands of First and foremost was the sexual descriptions and the fact that the author felt that including these made Nancy perhaps more palpable. Could this woman not stand on her own without the references to her beauty, her sexual prowess, and her ability to attract any man? I felt it cheapened the story for once again a woman became "something" because of her looks. 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.

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. Lawhon breathes new life into Nancy Wake’s extraordinary story. Rich and thoroughly researched, an exciting, well-written account of wartime valour and the protagonist’s qualities shine through’ The Times Readers will be transfixed by the story of a woman who should be a household name.” — LIBRARY JOURNAL *STARRED* The organization trained her extensively, and Wake’s accomplishments in the pursuit of Nazi defeat were astonishing: She once biked 500 kilometers over the course of 24 hours to deliver a message; she killed a Nazi soldier with her bare hands; she presided over the firing-squad execution of Resistance fighters who kidnapped and raped women. And as Lawhon notes, there were many female spies during World War II, but Wake represented one of a very small number of female military leaders.

IMDb Elizabeth Debicki To Play A Spy In The Upcoming WWII - IMDb

Code Name Helene was a riveting historical fiction account of the life of Nancy Grace Augusta Wake by Ariel Lawhon. Originally from Australia, Wake worked as a freelance journalist for three years for the Hearst Corporation in London and Paris. Later joining the French Resistance during World War II in France, she had many identities including the notorious "White Mouse" as she was known to the Nazis. While Ariel Lawhon states that she wanted to concentrate on what made Nancy Wake one of the most decorated women of the war, not only the fact that she was a spy but a respected military leader during her time with the Maquis. A historical novel explores the intersection of love and war in the life of Australian-born World War II heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake. Rousselet, who is producing “Code Name Hélène,” said, “Ariel Lawhon’s novel vividly brings to life the incredible true story of Nancy Wake, whose wit and style were matched only by her bravery, courage and passionate leadership.”

Code Name Hélène

If you like historical fiction, I think this one you would enjoy! It doesn’t earn the full 5 stars because I think it could have been edited down a bit. This is a two part story the other part concerns the love of her life ‘Henri Fiocca’ a Frenchman she fell in love with and married. Let's face it, I'm not a historical fiction fan and so it takes a lot for me to be impressed by most historical fiction. This is a good book, just not a great one for me.

Code Name Hélène : Inspired by the gripping true story of

It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper. She is fighting to cover the disturbing reports of violence coming out of Vienna and Berlin when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name. I love a good historical fiction story and Code Name Hélène did not disappoint. This powerful and thrilling WWII story is fictional but it’s based on the remarkable young socialite Nancy Wake who went off to war while her French husband stayed behind. Philippe Rousselet’s Vendôme Group and Anonymous Content, the company behind “True Detective” and “The Revenant,” have acquired TV rights to the novel, which was published in March 2020 by Doubleday Books.

Hélène is just one of four code names used by Nancy Wake. A relentless, unapologetic, feminine, brave woman who stood toe-to-toe with her male counterparts in the French Resistance during WWII. Beyond her work in the resistance is a deep, all abiding love to a husband who not only supports her efforts financially, but as a true partner as well. Her story is fascinating and kept me utterly riveted. A compulsively readable account of a little-known yet extraordinary historical figure—Lawhon’s best book to date.

Code Name Hélène Summary and Reviews - BookBrowse

Genre/Categories/Setting: Biographical Historical Fiction, World War 11, French Resistance Movement, France Lawhon has proven herself a master at her craft, and she does readers a great service with Code Name Hélène, which she penned after a friend suggested a few years ago that she write about Nancy Wake. Like many of us, the author had not heard of the Aussie legend before 2015. “In all my years researching and writing historical fiction, I have never come across such a bold, bawdy, brazen woman,” she writes. 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. Nancy became one of the most decorated women of World War II, she was a strong and respected military leader.

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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 is a historical fiction based on the true story of Nancy Wake (the white mouse)(Helene) and many other aliases. An Australian woman who at one time was on the most wanted list of the Nazi regime in occupied France during WW2. Masterful. . . Exhaustively researched and vividly woven. . . As much an epic love story as an engrossing narrative of an unlikely anti-Nazi combatant. . . Lawhon has proven herself a master at her craft, and she does readers a great service with Code Name Hélène.” — CHAPTER16 Wake got her start as an operative after her courtship and 1939 marriage to the French industrialist Henri Fiocca, with whom she lived briefly and happily in Marseille. When the war began and her husband was called to fight, she drove an ambulance to ferry the wounded. And once France fell to Nazi occupation, she aided the escape network of British officer Ian Garrow, whose release she arranged from a concentration camp by bribing a guard. Ultimately, her husband returned from the war, but the Gestapo discovered her Allied loyalties, forcing Wake to flee the country into Britain and leave her beloved husband behind.