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.

Weekly Reader: The Flames of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II by Kit Sergeant; Sergeant's Darkest and Best True Spy Thriller Yet

 

Weekly Reader: The Flames of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II by Kit Sergeant; Sergeant's Darkest and Best True Spy Thriller Yet

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Normally, I don't emphasize spoilers when a historical fiction novel involves real historical people as the protagonists. There's no point when all the Reader has to do is look up the information on the Internet. But Flames of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II is an entirely different beast from Kit Sergeant's other Historical Fiction novels about female spies. It's darker than the others by far and  some of the most compelling things about the book are how those dark aspects are written. So, I am going to repeat this has some  MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS!!!

With all of Sergeant's Female Spies novels, there is always a feeling of suspense: a realization that every moment that these women live through could be their last. They work amidst war, violence, and dehumanization of those who are considered "The Enemy." Some are dehumanized themselves or fall into that propaganda mindset. They suffer great hardship, separation from loved ones, deaths of those closest to them, and imprisonment and torture. All of this while they use deception, brilliance, and subterfuge to deliver information to their  allies. 

However, in all of Sergeant's previous novels only one of her selected protagonists is killed in the line of duty: M'greet Gertrude Zeller MacLeod AKA Mara Hari in L'Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs of The Great War. She was executed by firing squad. 

 Not bad considering the series covers so far four books that cover almost 200 years of history and four major wars. However, Sergeant's second World War II era novel and fifth novel total seeks to break that record in the most horrific, disturbing, and heart wrenching of ways. This is the one that reveals the courage and dedication that comes with fighting to defend one's country from invasion and the ultimate sacrifice that is often waiting in the end.

In Sparks of Resistance, Sergeant covered the early years of WWII when the French Resistance was formed by combining several small groups of spies, saboteurs, rebels, and activists into one large supergroup that hides in the shadows and uses intelligence, espionage, and covert activities to fight Hitler's tyranny. Unfortunately, that group suffered a serious setback when Mathilde "La Chatte" Lily-Carre, one of the main organizers, was arrested, forced to turn traitor, and become a double agent to save her own skin. The original group Internationalle fizzled out because of the deception.

This novel is set in the middle of the War when Resistance is at an all time high and many are willing to join, even some who would have looked the other way a couple of years prior. Four women are the focus who take part in the fight against Hitler and his Nazis. As before, they are different, ages, status, lifestyles, races, and outlooks but they are all united for a cause.

Those women are:

Yvonne Rudellat -Yvonne is the first female agent trained by the newly formed  Special Operations Executive to enter France (A predecessor Virginia Hall arrived before but she was American and entered the country as a journalist.) A divorcee and single mother, Yvonne is often older than the other female agents and takes an almost maternal role with them. 

She is also one tough lady that you do not want to mess with. Her first arrival into France is not a pleasure cruise as she and a colleague arrive in a small boat through the rushing water and in the dead of night.

She also reveals much strength and toughness as she studies and prepares explosives for sabotage. Yvonne also is often paired in the field with Pierre Culioli, an agent with whom she has a love-hate relationship that evolves into a mutual respect and admiration for each other, even a potential romance.

Andree Borrel-A young woman who had been recruited as a nurse, Andree is tomboyish and scrappy. She comes from a lower class background and has an earthier sassy attitude as compared to many of her upper class fellow agents. For entrances, she one ups Yvonne. She is the first female agent to parachute into France. 

She works mostly as a courier for the Prosper circuit alongside Francis Suttill and wireless operator Gilbert Norman. The three even become a known trio, with Andree and Gilbert becoming lovers.

Andree has a young, more spirited nature that sometimes gets her in trouble and unfortunately puts right her in the path of treachery and betrayal.

Noor Inayat Khan-Of the agents, Noor had an interesting family background that could have filled its own book. Her father,  Inayat Khan was an Indian Muslim and descendant of hereditary nobles and musicians. His great great grandfather was the ruler of Mysore, making Noor a princess. Her mother was an American who left her family behind and changed her name to wed Inayat who earned a living as a Sufi musician. 

Noor herself has a talent for music, art, and literature.  She was also a Sufi musician and children's books author and illustrator. One of her most popular books was Twenty Jataka Tales, an anthology of stories inspired by Jataka legends from the Buddhist tradition.

Noor left that privileged and cultural life behind to join first the Women's Auxiliary Air Force then the SOE. She begins her espionage career as a wireless operator. Her talent for literature allows her to think of poems and phrases that combine the various codes to communicate with fellow operators (and to make them untraceable to the Nazis).

Later she becomes a courier and field agent because of her desire to be more hands on. She is more reserved than her female colleagues and does not have much in the way of a love interest in this book. However her friendships with the agents are very close and she has to face hardships with quiet stoicism that the others rely on.

Francine Agazarian-The final spy is the only one of the quartet who is happily married. In fact, despite objections, Francine and her husband, Jack are both operatives and couriers for the same Prosper circuit. 

Francine is the most emotional of her colleagues, probably because she has more to lose that is staring her right in the face. By contrast, the other agents are separated from those that they love and face it with toughness, earthiness, and stoicism. At one point, Francine and Jack are reunited after a long separation. Francine has had enough of intrigue, violence, and death so she resigns to live a normal life.

The four operatives are similar to the protagonists of Sergeant's 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring. They often work together and are even friends. They have a sisterly relationship in which they share a common goal and work towards it. However, that doesn't stop personalities from clashing and them getting into disagreements about how operations are run. Because their love lives are so different, they don't get involved with the same lovers.

 But the book still shows them as different women with different mindsets and sometimes those mindsets result in heavy disagreement.

As I mentioned this is by far the best book in Sergeant's series but also her darkest. The Prosper Circuit is betrayed and from a person that is not a likely suspect. Unlike in Sparks of Resistance, there is no seeming reluctance on this character's part. They do it and delight in the chess game that they ended up winning.

As a result of the betrayal, three of the protagonists are arrested and subjected to extensive torture. The outlook is grim as they become ill, frightened, and anxious to the point of paranoia, and suffer horrid physical abuse. The only ray of hope lies when one attempts an escape and that ray is squashed when she is caught and returned to prison.

One by one, the women die either by being gassed to death, are shot in the head, or succumb to illness. The lone survivor sees the end of the war but is filled with tremendous survivor's guilt and PTSD that will last for the rest of her life.

Of course the women are awarded, three posthumously for their courage and sacrifice. The defeat of The Nazis and the end of World War II also proved that their heroism was not in vain. It is a disturbing process to that end, one that leaves a lot of sadness, but ultimately it's worth it.

Sergeant has another book set in WWII called Embers of Resistance which one could guess leads to the end of the war. It would be interesting to see whether Sergeant uses her writing to cover female spies in other conflicts. The French Revolution?

The Cold War? Would Vietnam work? The War on Terror? There could be more amazing historical trips led by some brilliant strong dedicated women.

Weekly Reader: The Spark of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II by Kit Sergeant; Sergeant's Spies Take On The So-Called Fuhrer And Vichy France

 

Weekly Reader: The Spark of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II by Kit Sergeant; Sergeant's Spies Take On The So-Called Fuhrer And Vichy France

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Let's see, we have seen The Revolutionary War through Kit Sergeant Sergeant's excellent writing. Then the Civil War followed by World War I. Where to go next? Why World War II of course. Instead of confining the stories of female spies to one book, Sergeant stretches their stories into a three volume series, about spies in Allied Europe, particularly the French Resistance. This approach allows Sergeant to spend more time on the female spies as well as the changing landscape of the war between the Allied and Axis powers.

The first book, The Spark of the Resistance begins right at the start of the Nazi occupation of France and when the flames of Resistance were just getting lit.

Like Sergeant's previous works, we get points of view from various women from all walks of life who fight for causes that they believe are greater than themselves. 

One of the first women that is recruited is Mathilde Lily Carre AKA La Chatte (The Cat). She is to help organize the official Resistance by recruiting potential members. She is the match that lights the flame. She also works to bring together the Internationalle, the various subgroups of Resistors into one large supergroup.

Another woman is Odette Sansome, French by birth but moved to England after her marriage. Because of her fluency in French, she is recruited by the British War Office, leaving her three children behind. Most of the book consists of her training and some missteps. Eventually, she becomes involved in sabotage and reconnaissance.

Eileen "Didi" Nearne- Her sister, Jackie is recruited to be a spy under the cover of an ambulance driver. Didi is envious but also wants to follow in Jackie's footsteps. Eventually she becomes a wireless operator overhearing information and passing it along in code. 

Since this book is the first of three part series, Sergeant has more time to dwell on the parts that she had glossed over in the previous books. Here we get the actual beginnings of how these spy rings are formed and how potential spies are trained.

We see Mathilde studying people's characters and true emotions. She drops hints in lines, cafes, apartments and ascertains their allegiances based on their reaction. If someone says that things are better now that the Germans have taken over, well they are out. If someone is upset about the Vichy but too timid to fight against them, well they might be out too. But if someone wants to fight the invading army and is ready to use their skills, then they are the right ones for the job. Much of Mathilde's talents include reading people and she is good at it.

We also see the difficulties that spies have in learning to adapt to the technology and the lingo. Didi in particular has to learn several code names and terms during her time as an operator. One wrong word, number, or even wrong inflection on a syllable could mean death for someone. While she is never in much physical danger by not being in the field, her job is no less difficult than the others and requires a strong photographic and eidetic memory.

With Odette, we see exactly how spies are trained. In fact most of the book deals with her training like learning how to live under a new name and identity even the basics like responding to that name.

 In one frightening passage, she is awakened and kidnapped by people who demand to know who she is and who she works for. It isn't until after it is done that she learns that it's a training exercise to see if she can withstand torture. 

With these women, there is also a lot of mixing the personal with the political. They get romantically involved with fellow spies, two with the same man. They have to figure out how to separate their emotional feelings with the job at hand. We see that even though the Resistance has the goal to fight the Nazis, it is made up of people. People sometimes get jealous, get mad, worry about relationships, and are forced to work with people whom they would rather scratch their eyes out. Sergeant makes clear that these women are flesh and blood human beings and not cardboard two dimensional heroes created by a propaganda machine. While what they do is brave, their humanity is never in doubt.

Unfortunately, there is a strong level of betrayal when one of the women is taken and forced to become a double agent. To Sergeant's credit, she never portrays this character as hard hearted and she regrets sending so many of her fellow spies to prison or to their deaths. But what's done is done and she still has to make the choice of weighing her life over the others. Once that choice is made, she has to live with the consequences. 

Like her previous books, Sergeant brings a lot of humanity and courage to the female spies. This is one spark that is ablaze with great characterization, historical detail, and writing.

Weekly Reader: Underground by Kit Sergeant; Sergeant's Female Spies Take on The American Civil War

 

Weekly Reader: Underground by Kit Sergeant; Sergeant's Female Spies Take on The American Civil War

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: The previous book by Kit Sergeant, 355, told the story of Meg Coughlin, Sally Townsend, and Elizabeth Burgin, three women who spied during the American Revolution, one of which may have been the mysterious enigmatic "355," a woman who wrote missives directly to George Washington himself.

Her next book, Underground: Traitors and Spies in the Civil War, transports us to the War Between the States. She tells of four women who spy for both the Union and the Confederacy in a compelling narrative that gives both sides to a war that still resonates throughout American history and current events.

As with her previous works, Sergeant captures different women from various walks of life that contributed to the Civil War in their own unique ways. Hattie Lewis is the second woman employed by Pinkerton's Detective Agency (the first being Hattie's mentor,Kate Warne). After successfully and secretly hiding and protecting President Elect Abraham Lincoln from an assassination attempt, the boys at Pinkerton's take notice and offer Hattie tougher and more dangerous assignments including spying.

Mary Jane Richards Bower is an African American woman who had been  freed by her employer, Miss Lizzie. Grateful, Mary Jane offers her services by working in various wealthy Confederate homes and passing information to the Union. Her contacts eventually take her to the home of one Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy.

Belle Boyd is a young opinionated Southern Belle who uses her femininity and penchant for firearms to obtain information on behalf of the Confederacy in tempestuous Baltimore, which has mixed residents on both sides of the conflict.

Loretta Janeta Velazquez Williams, a New Orleans widow, takes a more direct approach to the action than the other three lead characters. She dons men's clothes and fights for the Confederacy under the name Lt. Harry T. Buford. 

I have mixed feelings about this installment, as compared to 355 and L'Agent Double which I felt were terrific with no argument. Right or wrong, a lot of my emotions towards Underground have to do with current controversies towards the Confederacy and how it is presented in historical textbooks and popular culture. There are some interesting chapters where Belle uses most men's perception of femininity against them by playing the flirtatious Southern Belle while obtaining and passing information. It's also interesting that Loretta goes the opposite extreme and dons male garb to become a soldier. However, their unapologetic Southern pro slavery views make it hard to be empathetic and root for them.

Many times their racism is made completely clear as they think of black people as subhuman. Loretta is particularly upfront using derogatory terms in her first chapter. The fact that these are women challenging roles that society expects from them and they do not see the correlation towards African Americans doing the same is jarring at best and hypocritical at worst. I know we shouldn't put modern views on the past but there are times when the difference between past and present cannot be ignored and this is one of those times.

Because of that the stories of Hattie and Mary Jane are much more interesting. Hattie tries to break through the all men society of Pinkerton's and eventually earns the respect of her colleagues through her tenacity, courage, and persistence. She spends much of the book on an extended cover assignment where she and a colleague pose as husband and wife. It's a difficult assignment as Hattie must reconcile her personal feelings with her responsibility and duty as an investigator and spy.

Also interesting is Mary Jane's story. Similar to Belle using the masculine views of femininity against her opponents, Mary Jane uses white assumptions about black people against them. She poses as an illiterate kitchen maid but can read very well and is able transcribe missives and documents. She makes her employers believe that she is unintelligent when she is quite brilliant and observant. Also of the four stories, hers is the most suspenseful as Mary Jane ends up working for Jefferson Davis' household right in the belly of the beast of racism and separatism if you will. Her time there is filled with tense moments as she is well aware that any false move, any mistake, and she could be killed by a family who wouldn't bat an eyelid over killing one of their slaves.

Unlike 355 where the stories overlap as the three leads meet and become friends, there isn't much overlap between the four stories. They cover a wide ground of several states so it is not likely that these women would have been able to physically encounter each other very much. There is one awkward early chapter where Belle attempts to seduce "Harry" but Loretta leaves before too much happens, but that's it.

Instead their connections are more thematic then physical. This is particularly prominent when Belle and Hattie are imprisoned at the same time for different charges. The women handle their imprisonment in their own unique styles as Belle flirts with guards and makes powerful allies on the outside that vouch for her. Hattie faces her imprisonment with stoic patience but also quiet terror especially when one of her fellow investigators is executed. 

Underground is yet another achievement in Sergeant's series by giving faces and names to women who otherwise would have gone unknown. It's about time they spoke and acted for themselves.

Weekly Reader: 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring by Kit Sergeant; Female Spies Reveal Their Loyalties and Strengths During The American Revolutionary War

 

Weekly Reader: 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring by Kit Sergeant; Female Spies Reveal Their Loyalties and Strengths During The American Revolutionary War

 by Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Two years ago, I reviewed Kit Sergeant's L'Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs of the Great War, a memorable, suspenseful, character driven historical fiction novel about three female spies: Mata Hari, Alouette Richer, and Marthe Cnockeart, during WWI. Sergeant wrote other books about spies in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and WWII. I have been wanting to read the other books in The Women Spies Series. Well, with the publication of Sergeant's Sparks and Flames of Resistance: Women Spies of World War II, I thought that there is no time like the present. Here I am and I am certainly glad that I continued the series. The first book in the series is 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring, a winning masterpiece of suspense and independent characterization of three women who lived during the "times that try men (and women's) souls" to quote Thomas Paine.

 

The title and inspiration for the book comes from Agent 355, an unidentified spy who was part of the Culper Ring, who delivered missives directly to Washington himself. What is known about 355 is that she was female ("355"in the Culver code meant "lady), an American patriot, lived in New York City at the time, had a degree of social prominence or lived in a socially prominent home (not ruling out the daughter or a slave or servant of the household), and knew of and maybe interacted with Major John Andre and Benedict Arnold.

Using these tantalizing clues, Sergeant weaved her own variation on 355's possible identity and revealed the troubles that many women had while fighting for American Independence.

Like L'Agent Double, Sergeant focuses on three women who tell different sides in the story of the American Revolution: Meg Moncrieff Coughlin, the daughter of a Loyalist family whose devotion to the King is tested when she endures an abusive marriage and meets the charming Aaron Burr, Elizabeth Burgin, a pregnant mother of two whose husband Jonathan is garrisoning the East River beach, and Sarah "Sally" Townsend, a teenager whose father reluctantly swears loyalty to the British despite objections from his Patriot children.

With her three leads, Sergeant shows three women of different ages, political affiliations, and statuses, and how their lives are affected by the war. The book also reveals how the three women are able to use their roles in society as advantages in their spy careers.

Meg comes from a well to do Loyalist family. She is considered attractive and a catch. This draws her towards men like Aaron Burr. Even though she was loyal to the Crown, her friendship with Burr causes her to see things from the Patriot's point of view. Her views become even more personal when her parents force her into marriage to avoid a scandal. 

Incensed that she was treated as property by her father and husband, Meg understands exactly why the Americans want to break away from Britain. Before when she was a Loyalist, she passed along information to generals. As a secret Patriot, Meg continues to listen in on what her husband and his allies are planning and feeds that information to the American soldiers. Of course her Loyalist front proves an advantage as they don't know that they are confiding in the enemy. The British soldiers think that they are talking to someone sympathetic to their cause.

As an older woman, Elizabeth is in a different place than Meg. After the death of her husband and subsequent birth of her child, Elizabeth is left without many opportunities or assistance. She vows to do something to help others and to aid the Patriot cause in which her husband gave his life. With her friend, Mary, Elizabeth delivers food and other essentials to the men in the Jersey prison ship. 

While delivering goods, Elizabeth hides messages and delivers them to the right people, using the cover of the do-gooder widow. She also becomes a center of Revolutionary life as many prominent figures in the Revolution such as Hercules Mulligan, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington cross her path.

Sally is the youngest of the three protagonists and most volatile. Her family are Quakers and Whigs, therefore known for their ardent principles and speaking their minds which Sally does gladly. Sally is the most intelligent and well read of the Townsend sisters and is close to her brothers, William and Robert who are fighting the Patriot cause. Even though Sally is young, she isn't above infatuations such as with Major John Andre, the charismatic and handsome British spy.

Sally is furious that her father compromises his values and vows allegiance to the British. At first she stands up to the British soldiers who quarter themselves into the Townsend home. However, she uses this bad situation to the benefit of the Patriots by overhearing the soldier's plans and passing them along to people like her brother, Robert. 

Unlike the women in L'Agent Double who act independently from each other and only hear of one another by reputation, the three women of 355 interact quite often developing into a friendship. They first encounter each other at a ball and their stories overlap in many unusual ways. Meg is heartbroken to learn that information that she gave as a Loyalist resulted in Elizabeth's husband's death. While working as spies, Elizabeth develops a romance with Robert Townsend, Sally's brother. Meg also carries a fondness for Andre who also captures Sally's heart. 

All three women become instrumental in the Culper Ring by passing information and missives to Washington's people. Their information becomes important when all three become involved in the Battle of West Point and the actions of one Benedict Arnold. 

355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring is a great first book in looking at the inside lives of women during war time and how they proved important and necessary responsibilities to the causes.

New Book Alert: L’Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs in the Great War (Women Spies Book 3) by Kit Sergeant; Suspenseful Character Driven Historical Novel About Real-Life WWI Female Spies By Julie Sara Porter Bookworm Reviews

New Book Alert: L’Agent Double: Spies and Martyrs in the Great War (Women Spies Book 3) by Kit Sergeant; Suspenseful Character Driven Historical Novel About Real-Life WWI Female Spies

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Spies are some of the most interesting colorful figures in history, literature, and popular culture. They have to be on the inside of one place, giving information to another, . By definition, they have to be charismatic and charming, so they can be trusted with secrets. They always have to carry on a duplicitous nature that is capable of deceit and subterfuge, even more so when they are a double agent and work both sides. They also have to be resourceful, sharp, and always have to watch their backs because they could be caught and their lives could end at any time.

Kit Sergeant has written a series of novels about spies in different points in history. 355: The Women of Washington's Spy Ring was about female spies in the Revolutionary War and Underground: Traitors and Spies During Lincoln's War covers the Civil War. Her latest, L’Agent Double tells an intense brilliant story about three real-life women thrust into the WWI spy game.

The three women are: Alouette Richer, a French aviator who is recruited after her husband's death, Marthe Cnockeart, a Belgian nurse who is also a courier against the occupying Germans, and Margaretha Zelle-MacLeod known by her famous stage name, Mata Hari, a Dutch dancer who uses her noted charms to seduce secrets out of her lovers.

These women are brilliantly characterized as individuals who have different stories about their recruitments, their spy processes, and their personalities. They are all three memorable protagonist who are caught up in tense situations and use everything at their disposal from wit, to charm, to loyal connections to find their way out. The stories don't intersect much except for a few scattered incidents abs hearing about the occasional news report. This approach gives the three women chances to stand out on their own as key players on the larger stage of World War I.

Mata Hari, called M’greet throughout the book, is certainly the most famous of the trio if not the most famous female spy of all time. In Sergeant's book, she is a vain cunning woman who is well aware of her um talents and attributes and uses them to get material possessions. She spies not out of any patriotism or loyalty to the countries but for the financial gain that she receives from her handlers.

 M’greet passes information from her various lovers to the governments using the code name, H-21. Since it's pointless to use a pseudonym because of her fame, she cleverly uses it as passage into the homes of various lovers. She is invited to swank parties where she observes plans and notes, or listens to gossip and conversations

and reports to superiors. Sometimes, she passes useless information to confuse them. 

However, Seargent doesn't write M’greet as a completely hard hearted woman or a stereotypical femme fatale. She is still hurting from a messy divorce and separation from her beloved daughter. Late in the book, she has a genuine romance with a younger soldier and considers renouncing her fame, notoriety, and lavish lifestyle for love. Unfortunately, the relationship ends and she is left alone once again. 

Alouette Richer is a different person from M’greet. She was happily married, while M’greet was miserably married and divorced. 

She was also brasher and feistier than the at times showy and materialistic M’greet. She becomes a spy, partly out of revenge for her husband's death but there are hints that she wants to live a life of excitement and significance. It is implied that she settled into a comfortable wealthy marriage to escape her former life as a courtesan.

 During her marriage, she flies airplanes something, rarely done by women in her day. She loves her husband, but wants to do something for herself. After his death, she actually writes a letter to the French government for her services in any way possible.

It is almost a series of errors and missteps in Alouette’s first spying assignment in Switzerland. She uses the cover story that she is looking for her fiance and drops the name of a former acquaintance without checking to see if he had married. She makes a friend with a German tourist but then learns, oops, that she is a spy and imprisons her. Luckily, Alouette's feistiness and impetuous nature which gets her in trouble also allows her to escape from her anatgonists. (Ironically, Gerda the spy, who almost captured Alouette, becomes M’greet’s spy trainer later.)

Alouette has better luck in Spain where she becomes more patient and self-assured than in her last assignment. Unlike M’greet who hopped from lover to lover, Alouette finds one specific German official to find information from, Baron Hans Von Krohn. She uses her former training as a courtesan to become Von Krohn's lover and to pass information using codes and invisible ink.

Alouette becomes an expert at concealing her real feelings. She whispers all the right romantic phrases while fully aware that she is in the home of an enemy. She plays the Spy Game so well that it's almost refreshing when she reveals her real emotions. While spying on Von Krohn, Alouette has a playful flirtation with Zozo, a fellow aviator and spy that develops into a potential real romance. When her assignment comes to an end, she calls out Von Krohn in a great moment of self-awareness. She also calls out her former handler when she learns that he was involved in betraying both her and M’greet.

Marthe Cnockeart doesn't have the seductive nature of M’greet or the forceful determination of Alouette, but she is no less dedicated to her work. She starts out as a nurse and a sweet naive girl with a family that loves but shelters her. When the German Army occupies her Belgian village, Marthe is filled with rage and despair and wants to do something. Her aunt provides her with a key to help the Belgians.

While she is treating patients, Marthe works as a courier. She listens to information from medical supervisors and wounded soldiers about upcoming battles and air raids and passes it along in notes to fellow spies. She is also monitored and advised by a secret group called “The Safety-Pin Men” (so-called because they were diagnal pins on their lapels) who tell her of important information that could affect her spying.

Of the three stories, Marthe's is probably the most emotional. She has to reconcile her spying with her medical career and the guilt she feels sending young men that she once healed to their deaths. She also has a sweet romance with a wounded soldier that does not end well.

There are plenty of suspenseful moments in this novel. Characters who the women trust prove to be traitors. Both M’greet and Alouette receive offers to become double agents further muddying their already tangled allegiances. One of Marthe's contacts is shot right in front of her and another is in a building when a bomb hits. All three women are at the point of near death, having their covers blown, and face possible arrest or execution several times. When M’greet is finally arrested and eventually executed, the shock waves of her fate are felt by Alouette and Marthe, causing both to question their loyalties and careers. 

Mata Hari 's maxim (said to be her final words) was “Life is an illusion,” meaning life is what you tell people and what you make them believe. All three women lived their lives in that way by carrying on subterfuge and revealing important information in war. They had to play specific roles in front of their enemies so others can go about their business. It was a tense and dangerous life, but never boring. It was always exciting and so is the book about them.

Kit Sergeant is writing a book about female spies in the Second World War. If it is anything like its predecessors it should be suspenseful, filled with strong leads, and completely unforgettable.