Madame Fourcade’s Secret War: the daring young woman who led France’s largest spy network against Hitler

by Lynne Olson

A MAIL ON SUNDAY AND WASHINGTON POST BOOK OF THE YEAR.

The little-known true story of the woman who headed the largest spy network in Vichy France during World War II.

In 1941, a thirty-one-year-old Frenchwoman, a young mother born to privilege and known for her beauty and glamour, became the leader of Alliance, a vast Resistance organisation — the only woman to hold such a role. Brave, independent, and a lifelong rebel against her country’s conservative, patriarchal society, Marie-Madeleine Fourcade was temperamentally made for the job.

No other French spy network lasted as long or supplied as much crucial intelligence as Alliance — and as a result, the Gestapo pursued its members relentlessly, capturing, torturing, and executing hundreds of its three thousand agents, including Fourcade’s own lover and many of her key spies. Fourcade herself lived on the run and was captured twice by the Nazis. Both times she managed to escape.

Though so many of her agents died defending their country, Fourcade survived the occupation to become active in post-war French politics. Now, in a dramatic account of the war that split France in two and forced its people to live side by side with their hated German occupiers, Lynne Olson tells the fascinating story of a woman who stood up for her nation, her fellow citizens, and herself.

• ISBN10: 1912854201
• ISBN13: 9781912854202
• Publish Date: 11 July 2019 (first published 5 March 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Scribe Publications
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I am endlessly fascinated with espionage during WWII. Or, really, any major war. I blame the fascination on repeated viewings of Goldeneye when I was a child (it’s the best James Bond movie – I will fight you). While Madame Fourcade’s Secret War has a little to do with Bond’s MI-6, for the most part, it tells it’s own story. And this story was… incredibly good. It is really everything I was looking for in a narrative this type.

Marie-Madeleine Fourcade’s biography is exactly the type of strong female narrative we need in this world. Lynne Olson writes Marie-Madeleine as a strong women who fights for her right to run Alliance, who is brave and afraid and second-guessed but also empowered. Beyond anything, she is strong, true to her beliefs, and willing to sacrifice whatever she must for justice and right. Marie-Madeleine is the type of woman young girls should idolize, and I’m so glad I stumbled on this book while looking for information on the SOE or any WWII-era spy network.

Lynne Olson writes the story as an accessible narrative, focusing on key moments in Marie-Madeleine’s life and referencing her personal memoir often. Her voice flows well, allowing the biography to feel equal parts story and history – none of the humdrum lists of names and dates here. While I’m sure there’s a level of narrative interpretation going on, the ways in which Lynne Olson brings Marie-Madeleine to life make this biography exciting and interesting. I haven’t read any of her work before, but after reading Madame Fourcade’s Secret War, I would certainly consider her future works.

Historical biographies don’t get a lot of love, especially compared to modern celebrity memoirs, but these people have left their imprint on history. In the case of women like Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, history seems determined to forget them, and so, it is doubly important for us to drink up their stories and honor their memories and contributions. In the 1940s, there was still a lot of resistance to having women operate in any aspect of the war effort… doubly so to lead it. Those who watched the short run of Marvel’s Agent Carter have seen on screen the sort of ridiculous prejudice that world had against the minds and leadership of women. Marie-Madeleine struggled with that prejudice, but I really appreciated that Olson included men who believed in her as well. It’s too easy, culturally, to slide women into a specific category. Marie-Madeleine led the French spy network Appliance on her own for most of WWII, and was still a mother. Not one thing or the other. Both.

And that powerful feminist message is just one reason why I really liked this book.

I think it’s easy to see the trenches and the American perspective of WWII – especially as it is taught in American classroom – but so many people of so many nationalities were instrumental to the destruction of the Nazi regime. Every action led to the endgame – and it was not all violence and hate… but also a deep sense of national pride and the courage of those willing to risk their lives for a key piece of information that could save hundreds of soldiers.

Madame Fourcade’s Secret War is an excellent narrative for anyone interested in important, unknown women in history, WWII, or the history of espionage. Honestly, it was just a good read overall, and one I’d certainly like on my shelf.