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

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Lawhon's "Author's Note" relays the immense amount of research she made regarding this memorable wo

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon: 9780525565499

This was such an engaging book from beginning to end. It is difficult to say much more without getting into spoiler territory and this book is developed so beautifully with divergent timelines that I don't want to give anything away. It is best discovered as it is read. A few of my favorite passages: Crikey! I am so glad Ariel Lawhon wrote this little-known story of one of WWII's greatest military leaders, Australian war heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, who not only led successful missions with the French Resistance, but who also killed a Nazi with her bare hands! 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. BASED ON THE THRILLING REAL-LIFE STORY OF SOCIALITE SPY NANCY WAKE, comes the newest feat of historical fiction from the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia, featuring the astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII.This book has it all – suspense, intrigue, romance, so much more! I absolutely love Hélène AKA Nancy. She is honest, brazen, gutsy, and persuasive. She speaks first and thinks later. This book is intense and addicting, I was so enthralled I could hardly bear to pull myself away from it. I have read many stories of the famous Australian, Nancy Wake; I even have her biography autographed by Nancy herself. I found Code Name Helene to be refreshing and heartwarmingly real. Nancy Wake went through several years of pure hell during WWII but it was when she met her husband-to-be, Henri Fiocca in 1936 that she found, for the first time in her life, true love. Nancy and Henri hadn’t been married long when war was declared and Henri was called up to fight, leaving Nancy home alone. It didn’t take her long to start working for the French Resistance and she eventually became the White Mouse, named because the Germans were unable to find and capture her. 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.

Code Name Hélène - Pursuit Magazine Book Review: Code Name Hélène - Pursuit Magazine

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she–and the people she loves–become. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.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 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. 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.

Code Name Helene (Lawhon) Summary Guide - LitLovers Code Name Helene (Lawhon) Summary Guide - LitLovers

This was an okay read, and I would rate this 2.5 stars. I am rounding up because I did enjoy reading the Author's Note at the end which caused me to look up the real Nancy Wake. There is nothing strange about the men in my flat. And I am certain that my husband will be delighted to hear that my cousins have come to visit me. He’s rather fond of them.”“Cousins?” 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. A lot of the past, 1936, is about how Nancy met her husband, Henri. The development of their relationship takes the limelight for the first half of the book.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. It made the reader once again realize that women, along with men, fought for freedom, for justice for all, and for the ability to throw off oppression and totalitarianism For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. About the author: Are we really going to stand here and argue about the tangled nature of my family tree while my guests are left unattended?” (c) Nancy Wake was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised nurse and journalist who joined the French Resistance and later the British SOE – Special Operations Executive – during World War II. Her exploits during the war earned her the George Medal from the UK, the Medal of Freedom from the US, the Légion d’honneur from France and medals from Australia and New Zealand – she became Australia’s most decorated heroine in World War II. Her exploits also earned her the title ‘The White Mouse’ from the Gestapo because she was so difficult to catch. Author, Ariel Lawhon has penned her historical fiction novel, "Code Name Hélène" using facts gleaned from Nancy’s autobiography, "The White Mouse" as well as from the works of other biographers to paint as accurate a picture as possible of this extremely brave and unique person. The story covers Nancy’s life from the early 1930s when she was a journalist based in Paris (at one time she interviewed one Adolph Hitler) through her time with the French Resistance and finally, the SOE. It is an extraordinary journey by a remarkable woman.

Code Name Helene - Discussion Questions - Ariel Lawhon Code Name Helene - Discussion Questions - Ariel Lawhon

She helped whom ever she could to escape from the clutches of the Gestapo, she organised weapon drops for the resistance fighters, she ran and commanded freedom fighter and every man in her company new who the boss was. When she said jump the response was always “how high”But, Lawhon writes, “some of the dialogue and many of the descriptions of people and events” are taken directly from Wake’s autobiography, The White Mouse. And the most notable and important aspects of Wake’s life are mostly unembellished in Code Name Hélène, which is as much an epic love story as an engrossing narrative of an unlikely anti-Nazi combatant. 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 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.