A Cool and Lonely Courage

August 11, 2014
Ottaway (Violette Szabo: The Life That I Have) relates the harrowing true story of Eileen Nearne and her sister, Jacqueline, both British agents with the Special Operations Executive (SOE) who worked with the French Resistance in WWII. The story opens when Eileen, known to her family as “Didi” and to neighbors only as a sprightly yet reclusive old lady, dies at age 89. Strange papers are found among her possessions, and her history is revealed when her only descendant, a niece, is found. Eileen, along with her sister, was able to pass as French; Didi worked as a wireless operator sending messages between the Resistance and the SOE while Jacqueline served as a messenger, traveling all over France with packages, helping with missions, and establishing new agents. Jacqueline’s workload and constant movement threatened her health, but Didi’s was ruined when she was captured by the Germans and sent to a series of work camps until finally escaping. Both sisters were decorated for their wartime service, and Ottaway’s riveting account details the risks they took, the friends and colleagues they lost, and their family’s fate during the war.

The two sisters in this story of WWII intelligence work were cool, collected, and unassuming. They did their job out of patriotism, not a sense of adventure. And that's exactly the tone Catherine Harvey takes in her narration. That's not to say her style is detached. She's an engaging narrator and carries the story along well but doesn't get in the way of the story. She lets events speak for themselves. Her diction is good, and her facility with French adds a nice touch. She adopts a more clipped tone when quoting official documents and dispatches, which gives the listener solid aural clues as to their sources. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

August 1, 2014
Ottaway (The Wind Beneath My Wings: John Hutchinson Concorde Pilot, 2013, etc.) returns to the familiar territory of British agents in World War II France. Born in England but raised mostly in France, Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne dedicated themselves to the Allied war effort after Germany's invasion forced them from their family home. With excellent language skills and knowledge of the country, first Jacqueline and then Eileen were trained by England's Special Operations Executive to work with the Resistance in France. Jacqueline worked for more than a year as a courier before returning to England for rest and recuperation. Though she took new training courses in preparation for an expanded role in the Resistance, she was not sent back to France until the country was liberated. Shortly after Jacqueline's departure, Eileen (referred to throughout the book by her nickname, Didi) was arrested. Though she managed to convince her interrogators that she wasn't a spy, she was still imprisoned in Paris. Ten days before Allied troops reached the city, she was removed to Ravensbruck concentration camp. Though Didi eventually escaped her captors, she witnessed and was subjected to many horrors in her time at multiple camps. Though the sisters' adventures aren't exactly edge-of-the-seat suspense tales, they paint a realistic picture of life as a spy: lonely and filled with constant fear. Ottaway is a gifted storyteller, rarely losing momentum and skillfully weaving family strife, SOE bureaucratic problems and on-the-ground Resistance work into a cohesive narrative. She draws attention to issues within the SOE administration but also goes to great lengths to show how their agents fought tirelessly for the cause. The author does not provide much background on the war, leaving some readers out of the loop on certain points, but even this snag won't lessen enjoyment of the book. A compelling story sure to please history buffs and novices alike.

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October 1, 2014

Eileen Nearne (1921-2010) lived a remarkably private life in a seaside town in England. After she died, her neighbors realized there was much more to this withdrawn figure than met the eye. Ottaway (Violette Szabo) introduces readers to the Nearne family, specifically Eileen and her older sister Jacqueline. Born in London to a British father and a Spanish mother, the sisters spent their formative years in France, but with the emergence of World War II and the sudden German occupation of Paris, they made the decision to return to Britain to assist with the war effort. From there, the sisters' stories become sensational. Both began working as spies for Allied powers. Based in war-torn Paris, they knowingly entered a web of secrets, lies, and danger. Ottaway's narrative focuses mostly on Eileen, who faced imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Gestapo but never divulged her sources. VERDICT Readers who are interested in the history of World War II, espionage, and the actions of women during wartime will definitely enjoy this striking biography of two courageous heroines.--Rebecca Kluberdanz, GB65 Lib., New York

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