Weekly Reader: Embers of Resistance (Women Spies of World War II) by Kit Sergeant; World War II's Female Spy Saga Comes To Its Moving, Suspenseful, and Satisfying End

 

Weekly Reader: Embers of Resistance (Women Spies of World War II) by Kit Sergeant; World War II's Female Spy Saga Comes To Its Moving, Suspenseful, and Satisfying End

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers:

Then we come to the possible end of Kit Sergeant's Women Spies of World War II and the latest of her Female Spies Historical Fiction novels.

This novel serves as a midquel to the previous book, Flames of Resistance in that the events take place at the same time. It also takes us to the end of the war. Sergeant chose to continue, possibly end, her series on a high note. While Spark of Resistance is best in terms of characterization and Flames of Resistance is best in terms of suspense and plot, Embers of Resistance is probably the best in terms of the theme of ordinary people in extraordinarily tumultuous times putting their lives on the line to help others.

The three women who are recruited into the spy game in this volume are:

Christine Gizycki-The daughter of a Polish countess, Christine has been a spy for some time now. She is part of the Resistance organization, The Musketeers. She is one of the most traveled characters in this series, covering assignments from Poland, to Germany, to England, to Hungary, to Turkey. She also has an active love life with an estranged husband and two lovers over the course of the book.

Sonia Olschanezky-A former governess, Sonia is driven to join the Resistance after a brief imprisonment. She talks her way into joining Jacques Weil's group as a courier being assigned to locate information such as locations and train schedules. Eventually, she moves up to more dangerous territory while she and Jacques grow closer together.

Julienne Aisner-A former script editor, Julienne agrees to hide an agent and his ally who need a temporary refuge. This gesture lights a fire within Julienne who wants to join the Resistance. She becomes a courier helping the circuit by writing and sending messages and traveling with her handler as his secretary. Unfortunately, she is rekindling her love for an old flame putting her at odds with her steady lover, Charles. 

Like the previous books in the series, the women make use of their talents, connections, endurance, and courage to get the job done. Definitely the one who changed the most and therefore stands out is Sonia. Once, she was a naive governess and something of an innocent when it came to the awful truth of the Nazi's mistreatment of the Jews. In one of the most horrific moments, while in temporary custody, she is startled by a thump off the roof and is told that a person committed suicide when they learned that they were going to be sent to one of the concentration camps.

When Sonia becomes an agent, she proves herself by going beyond other's expectations of her. When she is ordered to go to the train station to observe the comings and goings of German officers, she makes a point to memorize and take notes of the time tables, saving her fellow agents plenty of time and energy.

Eventually, she finds herself taking part in sabotage missions becoming a true warrior and active participant instead of the passive innocent that she once was. She becomes a woman willing to kill and die for her beliefs in fighting the Nazis.

While the strength of Sergeant's book is turning different types of women into spies, it's kind of interesting when one of the characters acts like the typical depiction of a glamorous thrill seeking spy. That's Christine Gizycki. 

In contrast to Sonia who goes from passive observer to active fighter, Christine always was a fighter but adds a touch of glamor to her actions. Her first assignment features her and one of her lovers, Jan, skiing from Poland into Germany to observe and investigate checkpoints. Christine has to fight the urge to get involved when she sees dead bodies and soldiers pushing people around but she recognizes that she has a job to do and can't save everyone.

In Turkey, she plays a clever game of cat and mouse trying to locate and deliver information without getting caught. She also reunites with someone whom she used to know and has to trust as an informant.

Part of Christine's glamor is found in her active love life. She has been estranged from her husband and has two lovers: Jan who takes part in her assignments and Andrew, another agent who only has one arm. While there are some who would deride Christine's sexual activity, keep in mind that male agents, particularly a certain famous fictional agent, were not known for their chasteness and virtue. 

In some ways, Christine is acting out of emotional release. She has been living constantly on the edge. Her lovers give her a chance to feel something, to find moments that retain her humanity.

Julienne's story at first requires her to be in the background. She observes different agents communicating with each other, becoming an eyewitness to various secrets. But she takes a more active role when she learns that there is a traitor in their midst. 

When she learns the potential identity of the traitor is closer to her than she originally believed, she has to continue working with them not ever letting this person know that she knows about the potential betrayal. Her guilt at learning about the traitor's actions leading to the imprisonment and death of many of her colleagues is very real.

I am not completely certain if this is the final book in the Woman Spies of World War II series but there are some indications that this is so. Vera Atkins, the woman who recruited the agents, was one of the heads of the various spy rings is interrogated at the beginning of each book. This implies that the books are told from her perspective and how she viewed each of the women in the three books. 

In this book, she takes a more active role than the others becoming involved in the plot of the book proper. Atkins also foreshadows the betrayal that Julienne discovers by saying that this traitor did not care about the French, Germans, or anyone else. The agent's only interest was in themselves. (Knowing that makes even their innocuous friendly actions even more suspect even in the early chapters).

Another possibility is that even though the three protagonists do not encounter each other very often in this book, we do meet many of the protagonists from previous volumes. Mathilde Lily Carre from Spark of Resistance is not physically present but her betrayal still haunts the various networks and they take precautions against further treachery (but not enough since they are betrayed again). Odette Sansome, also from Spark, has a cameo. Julienne has to help Francine and Jack Agazarian from Flames of Resistance flee Occupied Europe. We also revisit the grisly fates of Yvonne Rudellat, Noor Inayat Khan, and Andree Borrel from Flames. 

The current traitor had been introduced in Flames of Resistance but the depths of their treachery is saved for this book where it's the most upfront and with someone who is left emotionally devastated by the betrayal.

Spark of Resistance ended on a positive note with the three agents surviving to tell their stories long afterwards. Flames of Resistance flips the predecessor by having three of the agents being killed and only one survivor. Embers of Resistance takes a middle ground. One of the heroines is imprisoned, interrogated, and killed in the line of duty. One survived to the end of the war only to be stabbed to death in 1952. Another survived as well earning a King's Commendation from Britain. 

The Women Spies of World War II is a compelling series of ten remarkable women whose courage, dedication, and sacrifice are finally honored. Recognition for their heroism is long past due.