A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II
Sonia Purnell
The never-before-told story of one woman's heroism that changed the course of the Second World War In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her. "This spy was Virginia Hall, a young American woman--rejected from the foreign service because of her gender and her prosthetic leg--who talked her way into the spy organization deemed Churchill's "ministry of ungentlemanly warfare," and, before the United States had even entered the war, became the first woman to deploy to occupied France. more
352 pages, Hardcover
First published Viking
4.15
Rating
47099
Ratings
6167
Reviews
Sonia Purnell
11 books 355 followers
Sonia Purnell is a biographer and journalist who has worked at The Economist, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times. Her book Clementine: The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill (published as First Lady in the UK) was chosen as a book of the year by The Telegraph and The Independent, and was a finalist for the Plutarch Award. Her first book, Just Boris, was longlisted for the Orwell prize.Community reviews
3. 5*The content is 5 stars. This was an absolutely fascinating story, and I would love to go back in time and have dinner with Virginia Hall and just pump her for stories because damn. She would have some good stories. However, the reason I took off stars was the writing. more
I love the fact that in recent years, more and more formidable women are being brought out of shadows of obscurity, by wonderful authors. That their rightful place in history is being applauded and restored, at last recognized for their talents and bravery. Virginia Hall is one such woman, an American who was the first woman sent by the allies to set up cells and send back information, as part of the French Resistance. She worked with a major handicap, one prosthetic leg, which gave her a very recognizable walk. She ended the war being one of the most wanted women by the Germans, but this did not stop her. more
I recently read a novel about a couple who had worked with the French Resistance and it made me want to read a nonfiction account. “A Woman of No Importance” gave me more than I had hoped for. I am almost completely ignorant about the French Resistance but still it’s kind of shocking that I had never heard of the accomplishments of Virginia Hall. Virginia was an American woman who wanted to be a diplomat, rather than marrying well as her mother preferred, at a time when that wasn’t really done. Her hopes were thwarted when she accidentally shot her leg while hunting in Turkey and lost her leg. more
Excellent story, disappointing delivery. How do you take a spy story of a strong female heroine with a prosthetic leg and wild adventures and make it mundane. You suck all the fun out and make it a dry, repetitive slog — aka, this book. It wasn't *that* horrible, it is truly an amazing part of history; it was just the way Purnell wrote it that sapped it. Should have either had a better editor or been 100-150 pages shorter. more
A vivid history of an extremely courageous wartime hero and a woman who helped to win WW II. I really enjoyed this audio book by Sonia Purnell, impeccably researched and a gripping and informative read. By 1942 Virginia Hall was the Gestapo's most urgent target, having infiltrated Vichy command, trained civilians in guerrilla warfare and spung soldiers from Nazi prison camps. The first woman to go undercover for British SOE, her intelligence changed the course of the war. You cant but be in awe of this woman's courage and commitment to her work, she was certainly a force to be reckoned with in a man's world and earned the respect of her comrades through her intelligence, courage and determination. more
4 ☆ Valor rarely reaps the dividends it should. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II is about Virginia Hall (1906 - 1982) who eschewed publicity like any model covert spy would and whose rightful place in history was only officially acknowledged posthumously. Author Sonia Purnell conducted interviews and extensive research in American, British, and French archives. While I felt that Purnell had slipped frequently into conjecture to heighten the narrative tension or to fill the void created by absent or damaged records, Hall's accomplishments during WWII were nonetheless extensive and impressive, irrespective of gender. But as has recurred steadfastly in history, gender played a significant role in what jobs women would be offered. more
This is an amazing story about a little known female hero of WWII. Virginia Hall, although an American, worked for the British spy organization S. O. E. in Vichy France. more
Virginia Hall (April 6, 1906 – July 8, 1982) was an American spy, working first with the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) and then later with the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, primarily in France. After the war she was honored with awards in the US, France and Britain receiving the American Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the French Croix de Guerre and made an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). The DSC was the only one awarded to a civilian woman in World War Two. After the war Virginia worked at the Special Activities Division of the newly established CIA. The book covers in great detail her involvement in war efforts in France. more
Virginia Hall was an absolutely incredible figure, establishing and coordinating a resistance network across France almost single handedly, with little backup or communication – and she did all this working around a disability. Sadly, I don’t feel that this biography does her justice. Virginia was a brilliant secret agent – and she has inevitably made it difficult for the modern biographer to piece together her personal story in full. However, even by the end of the book, I had very, very little sense of her character. Purnell takes some remarkably imaginative leaps in moments that are latent in authorial panic. more
A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War IIby Sonia Purnell is the story of one woman's heroism that changed the course of the Second World War. In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her. " This spy was Virginia Hall, a young American woman--rejected from the foreign service because of her gender and her prosthetic leg--who talked her way into the spy organization deemed Churchill's "ministry of ungentlemanly warfare," and, before the United States had even entered the war, became the first woman to deploy to occupied France. Virginia Hall became one of the greatest spies in American history, yet her story remains mostly untold. more
Courage, Bravery, Resilience, thy name is Virginia Hall. I am willing to bet you never heard of this woman as I know with all my time spent in school, that I never did. Yet this woman was responsible for establishing an enormous amount of spy networks through out France, making her a person the Nazis were dying to find, capture, and eliminate. She came from wealth, lost her leg in a hunting accident, and yet nothing held Virginia back. Even after escaping, because the Nazis were hot on her trail, across a mountain pass, where so many others had perished, she went back into France, into danger, into a perilous environment where her life constantly was in danger. more
4. 5*A woman of no importance. Then why write a book about her. Well, because the title is meant to be ironic – and it is. After all, she was the most highly decorated American female during World War II. more
Author Sonia Purnell’s meticulous and extensive research into the life of Virginia Hall, an American woman whose unparalleled resistance work in France during World War II helped pave the way for the Allied invasion of Normandy. Virginia was no stranger to France because she had lived there as a student and remained in France after her studies were completed. At the outbreak of World War II, the United States had no agency which dealt with clandestine activities. Virginia Hall joined the British SOE agents who were sent into France. She arrived back in France in 1941 where she began her work with the French resistance and remained there until 1945. more
UPDATE: It appears that there HAS been a YA book written about Virginia Hall. Two, actually. The Lady Is a Spy: Virginia Hall, World War II Hero of the French Resistance, and Code Name Badass: The True Story Of Virginia Hall, which came out a few months ago. IDK anything about them, but I'm certainly glad they are out there. ===================================================================++++Pretty much every page of this book had me ready to scream, "Why didn't I know about this woman when I was was growing up. more
This is the biography of one of the first women to become a front line secret agent, who left America during the Great Depression, suffered her leg being partially amputated and ended up helping to found what became known as the French resistance. What a bloody woman. more
How are we not all aware of this incredible woman. This needs to be required reading for everyone. more
Library Overdrive Audiobook…. narrated by Juliet Stevenson …. 13 hours and 54 minutes Virginia Hall, an espionage in enemy territory secretly established operative networks and eventually lead a group of resistance who sabotaged Nazi armies. Those who knew her said she had a hand in paving the way to Hitler’s defeat. Brilliant under-cover work - with a prosthetic leg to boot. more
Virginia Hall is a grade A bad ass and deserves better. This book read like a bad book report. . more
Outstanding book about a very strong woman. This is the fantastic story of a great woman, Virginia Hall, who risked her life to organize, energize and run the French Resistance behind enemy lines in WWII. I would like to see it as a movie one day or even a documentary. Sonia Purnell wove minute and well referenced details into the book, so those who were true historians would be satisfied as well. Also, she has a way of making the book flow nicely in the midst of detail. more
Have you ever heard of Virginia Hall. How about a one legged civilian woman in the OSS that won the Distinguished Service Cross for fighting the Nazis in France with the Resistance. No. Me neither, until I read this book and it's now getting my rare 5 star rating. In 2019 I read Code Name: Lise about a French woman, Odette Sansom, married to an Englishman who was now in the army. more
I had never heard of Virginia Hall before the release of Sonia Purnell’s biography A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II. Virginia Hall would be okay with her anonymity since she never sought fame or recompense. In spite of her heroics and brilliant tactics as a spy for the British SOE, and later for the American OSS, Virginia Hall “was pigeonholed as a disabled woman of no importance. ” She was often under-utilized and always under-estimated simply because she was a woman in a man’s war. Yet, she had a fierce drive to exceed in helping the Allies build up the French Resistance and overcome Nazism. more
Purnell has penned another spectacular history of another outstanding woman. I was enamored with the first history of Clementine Churchill. I loved that one. And this tale of the exploits of Virginia Hall just blew me out of the water. This woman was unstoppable, unflappable and fearless in her desire to serve in WWII. more
Virginia Hall was an amazing person and is a fascinating subject for a biography. She was an incredible agent who worked for the SOE and the OSS during WWII, a key figure in espionage and resistance in occupied France. She deserved better than this book. A big part of my problem with this book was the writing style; the prose is dull and plodding, and I suspect it would be confusing in places for readers not already familiar with the SOE and its wartime operations. Purnell fails to define key terms or explain the background of major elements in the book. more
This nonfiction covers Virginia Hall, an American woman who almost single handedly oversaw the English SOE, Special Operations Executive in France. She was the antithesis of the expected spy - female, basically untrained, with a wooden leg. As far from 007 as you could get. What she had in spades was moxie and determination. Even after her cover was blown, she refused orders to evacuate. more
Slightly embarrassed, but didn’t finish. I really wanted to know this story but the writing is so dry and moves so slow. Don’t judge me; I put forth a good effort. And I love to read and love books. (But make a movie in this case. more
I have never been a big history buff. Perhaps it is something that happens as one collects decades in one’s life, but if I had read more books like Sonia Purnell’s A Woman of No Importance , I would have known that history is a fascinating subject. This non-fiction saga covers the incredibly successful, albeit unlikely, career of Virginia Hall, a woman who defied the odds by becoming a very reliable British Special Operation Executive agent in France in World War II. Virginia, called “Dindy” by her family, was born in Maryland in 1906 into a well-to-do family. Although she was highly intelligent, she found school boring. more
This outstanding biography of the most amazing Virginia Hall is more riveting than any well-crafted fictional thriller. Hidden in part because of her clandestine work, but mostly because history is written by men for their own glorification, Virginia's story was largely buried in the annals of military legend and lore. Her extraordinary life and what she accomplished in France during World War II is pieced together in meticulous detail by Sonia Purnell, who balances cold fact with brilliant storytelling, bringing Virginia to three-dimensional, vibrant life. Hall, always the adventuress, left her native Baltimore for Europe in the mid-1930s. Barely twenty, she fell hard for the liberal lifestyle that awaited her in Paris and after finishing her education, she signed on to work for the State Department. more
Omg. What an amazing read. I love reading about women who just are amazing. Virginia Hall was one of those women. . more
I love these books about important people in history who you’ve never heard of. This was my introduction to Virginia Hall, an American intelligence official who helped fight Nazis on the ground in France during the WWII occupation. Despite gender discrimination and the loss of a leg during an earlier hunting accident, she was able to organize vast networks of spies and resistance fighters, all while constantly eluding capture by Nazi forces. She was brave, strategic, intelligent, determined, and often very lucky. Her treatment by her male colleagues and lack of general recognition by France, Britain, and the US immediately after the war was infuriating to read about. more
I had never heard of Virginia Hall before, but wow. she was an incredible woman and such a force for freedom while behind the lines in France during WW2. I highly recommend this detailed history of all the incredible things she endured and accomplished and how many great things she did to defeat the Nazis in their own territories, and without backup. Content: while the story is very matter of fact, there’s no denying that the Nazis are guilty of incredible atrocities, and even just a sentence about something they did can have an incredible impact. Thanks to the publisher for a free reading copy. more