Madame Fiocca by Suzy Henderson; Gripping Moving Historical Fiction Novel About Nancy Wake, WWII Spy and Resistance Fighter

 

Madame Fiocca by Suzy Henderson; Gripping Moving Historical Fiction Novel About Nancy Wake, WWII Spy and Resistance Fighter 

By Julie Sara Porter 

Bookworm Reviews 

Spoilers: Of the various spies and intelligence operatives that participated in WWII, one of the most well known and decorated was probably Nancy Wake (1912-2011). Her story is recounted in the gripping and moving Historical Fiction novel, Madame Fiocca by Suzy Henderson. 

Nancy Wake was born in New Zealand and raised in New South Wales, Australia. She had Maori ancestry through her great grandmother who was believed to be one of the first Maori women to marry a white European man. Wake’s father abandoned the family and she did not get along with her mother. At 16 she ran away from home and eventually traveled to New York City after inheriting money from an aunt. She eventually became a journalist and moved to London then Paris.

While Wake lived in Paris, Hitler rose to power in Germany. Wake's articles criticized the Nazis and described the oppression and attacks on Jews. In 1937, Wake met Henri Fiocca, a French industrialist whom she married two years later. She and Henri lived in Marseille when Germany invaded. Wake became a courier and part of the Pat O’Leary Line of Resistance fighters. When Vichy France was formed, the O’Leary Line was betrayed. The Fioccas separated as Wake left France but Henri stayed behind and was executed. Wake didn't learn of his death until after WWII ended.

On her own, Wake joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and worked directly under Vera Atkins. In 1944, Wake parachuted back into France. Using the code name, “Helene,” she delivered missives, money, and correspondence between Maquis groups. She participated in many daring missions including one where she had to ride a bicycle for 72 hours to transmit a radio message. She eluded the Germans and even though she was briefly arrested with a trainload of people, she was never discovered or detained. She was nicknamed “The White Mouse” because the Germans could never catch her.

After the war ended, Wake received the Companion of the Order of Australia, George Medal, The US Medal of Freedom, Legion of Honor, The Medaille de Resistance, RSA Badge in Gold, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre three times. She entered politics, remarried, and published her memoirs. She died in 2011 at age 98.

Madame Fiocca captures Wake’s courageous and independent spirit through her first person narration. She is written as a strong-willed determined spunky adventure seeker who is not thwarted by rejection. She finds her own way.

When she moves in with her aunt, Wake finds her to be an encouraging kindred spirit. Through her influence, Wake is able to travel and write. 

Wake's personality also resonates through her marriage to Henri. They are a couple that enjoyed sparring with each other as much as they did making love. Wake's spirited temperament contrasts with Henri’s steadier rational personality. Their marriage is a test of wills to the point that when Wake wants to join the Resistance that Henri realizes that he would be a fool to tell her that she can't.

Wake's trajectory from journalist to Resistance fighter to intelligence operative is an exciting one as she is put into situations that test her endurance. Sometimes it's a matter of trusting potential colleagues as she has to when trying to convince another Resistance group leader to join forces. Sometimes she survives by pure chance such as when she is arrested in a mass detainment only to be released after four days.

Most of all, her resilience and perseverance is on display throughout the book. Her bicycle ride is recalled through her physical exhaustion and pain during the ride, nervous suspicions of what she will find and who is waiting to capture her, and her frantic determination to reach the radio operator in time.

Madame Fiocca is about a woman with an adventurous independent spirit who became a hero. 

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.