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The Untold Story of Sister Spies in Occupied France
by Susan Ottaway
When elderly recluse Eileen Nearne died, few suspected that the quiet little old lady was a decorated WWII war hero. Volunteering to serve for British intelligence at age 21, Eileen was posted to Nazi-occupied France to send encoded messages of crucial importance for the Allies, until her capture by the Gestapo.
Eileen was not the only agent in her family - her sister Jacqueline was a courier for the French resistance. While Jacqueline narrowly avoided arrest, Eileen was tortured by the Nazis, then sent to the infamous Ravensbrück women's concentration camp. Astonishingly, this resourceful young woman eventually escaped her captors and found her way to the advancing American army.
In this amazing true story of triumph and tragedy, Susan Ottaway unveils the secret lives of two sisters who sacrificed themselves to defend their country.
"Both sisters were decorated for their wartime service, and Ottaway's riveting account details the risks they took, the friends and colleagues they lost, and their family's fate during the war." - Publishers Weekly
"The author does not provide much background on the war, leaving some readers out of the loop on certain points, but even this snag won't lessen enjoyment of the book. A compelling story sure to please history buffs and novices alike." - Kirkus
This information about A Cool and Lonely Courage was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan Ottaway is the author of several books, including Violette Szabo: The Life That I Have, a biography of SOE agent Violette Szabo for which she personally interviewed Eileen Nearne. She has appeared on BBC television to be interviewed about her work, and she took part in the four-part television series for the Discovery History Channel entitled George Cross Heroes.
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