When a British intelligence division was struggling to find people “able to pursue a noble cause with piratical daring,” no one considered women for the work, much less a secretary such as Hall. Hall’s flouting of womanly expectations was a path to her success, but also provoked a continuing challenge to her authority. In “A Woman of No Importance,” London journalist Sonia Purnell has written a riveting account of Hall’s work as a ferociously courageous American spy, yet whose mother never quite forgave her for failing to marry a rich man. Still, it’s surprising when the unknown heroes include someone the Gestapo considered “the most dangerous of all Allied spies.” Or, maybe not so surprising: Her name was Virginia Hall. Even in a subject as exhaustively covered as World War II, there is always more to tell.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |