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One Woman's War

A Novel of the Real Miss Moneypenny

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

ONE OF BOOKBUB'S BEST HISTORICAL FICTION BOOKS OF THE FALL

From the author of Sisters of the Resistance comes the story of WWII British Naval Intelligence officer Victoire Bennett, the real-life inspiration for the James Bond character Miss Moneypenny, whose international covert operation is put in jeopardy when a volatile socialite and Austrian double agent threatens to expose the mission to German High Command.

World War II London: When Victoire "Paddy" Bennett first walks into the Admiralty's Room 39, home to the Intelligence Division, all the bright and lively young woman expects is a secretarial position to the charismatic Commander Ian Fleming. But soon her job is so much more, and when Fleming proposes a daring plot to deceive the Germans about Allied invasion plans he requests the newlywed Paddy's help. She jumps at the chance to work as an agent in the field, even after the operation begins to affect her marriage. But could doing her duty for King and country come at too great a cost?

Socialite Friedl Stöttinger is a beautiful Austrian double agent determined to survive in wartime England, which means working for MI-5, investigating fifth column activity among the British elite at parties and nightclubs. But Friedl has a secret—some years before, she agreed to work for German Intelligence and spy on the British.

When her handler at MI-5 proposes that she work with Serbian agent, Duško Popov, Friedl falls hopelessly in love with the dashing spy. And when her intelligence work becomes fraught with danger, she must choose whether to remain loyal to the British and risk torture and execution by the Nazis, or betray thousands of men to their deaths.

Soon, the lives of these two extraordinarily brave women will collide, as each travels down a road of deception and danger leading to one of the greatest battles of World War II.

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    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2022

      Wells (Sisters of the Resistance) conveys the shadowy world of MI5 through the eyes of Victoire Patricia Evelyn Bennett, aka Paddy, an upper-class British woman, and Friedl St�ttinger, an Austrian-born double agent. Spanning London, Lisbon, and Berlin, Wells's unusually glamorous take on World War II has a cast of fabulous characters, including real icons of the era such as Dylan Thomas, Dennis Wheatley, and Commander Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels. Paddy and Friedl's lives are filled with adventure and romance as they navigate the male-dominated world of MI5, enjoy their eclectic relationships, and frequent fashionable London clubs. Traveling in these separate but parallel worlds, Paddy and Friedl's lives draw ever closer, finally colliding in Operation Mincemeat, a true--and intriguingly madcap--WWII stunt engineered by the British. VERDICT Fans of James Bond will definitely want to check out this novel. Readers of Ben MacIntyre's Operation Mincemeat may also enjoy Wells's take on this. This title features the usual cast, but due to its telling from the viewpoints of two charismatic women, it offers a fresh women-centric perspective not always found hand in hand with military themes.--Tara Kunesh

      Copyright 2022 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      September 1, 2022
      Serious James Bond fans know that Miss Moneypenny, M's private secretary, was inspired by a real person. Among the several candidates for the "real" Moneypenny is WWII intelligence operative Victoire Bennett, who worked with Bond creator (and Naval Intelligence operative) Ian Fleming and who was instrumental in the planning and execution of Operation Mincemeat, an elaborate misdirection effort designed to mislead the Germans about the Allied invasion of Italy. In her new novel, Wells tells the fact-based but fictionalized story of Operation Mincemeat, Bennett, and her relationship with Fleming. Bennett comes across as a smart, brooks-no-nonsense woman who could well have served as an inspiration for Moneypenny. Whether the Fleming in the book is the "real" Ian Fleming is up for debate--various Fleming biographies paint different pictures of the man--but one thing's for sure: he feels just right: a dash of Bond's panache, a touch of arrogance, a self-congratulatory approach to his own successes, and a fondness for the opposite sex, the kind of fellow who would later invent one of popular fiction's most enduring characters. An exciting story, well told.

      COPYRIGHT(2022) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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