Code Name Hélène

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For more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee. About the author: This fully animated portrait of Nancy Wake . . . will fascinate readers of World War II history and thrill fans of fierce, brash, independent women, alike.”

But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she—and the people she loves—will become. ( From the publisher.) Based on the thrilling real-life story of Socialite spy Nancy Wake, comes the newest feat of historical fiction from the author of I Was Anastasia , featuring the astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII. In the 1930s, Wake was an Australian expat living in Paris and had brilliantly bluffed her way into a journalism gig stringing for the European branch of the Hearst Newspaper Group. Well before the start of the war, Wake documented the depravity and revolting cruelty of Adolf Hitler’s private militia known as the Brownshirts. On assignment in 1934 in Vienna’s Old Square, she and her photographer witnessed the paramilitary group publicly and viciously torturing an old Jewish shopkeeper, something the Brownshirts apparently liked to do on Fridays before the beginning of Shabbat. The fictional Wake’s response is no doubt true to life. Lawhon writes in her author’s note that the real Wake used profanity “Liberally. Unapologetically. And with flair. It was one of her greatest weapons in gaining dominance and respect with the Maquisards of the French Resistance. If she was to lead those men, she could not appear weak, delicate, or easily offended.”But no one can protect Nancy if the enemy finds out these four women are one and the same, and the closer to liberation France gets, the more exposed she–and the people she loves–become. Based on the thrilling real-life story of a socialite spy and astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII —from the New York Times bestselling author of I Was Anastasia. With a five million franc bounty on her head, Nancy is forced to escape France and leave Henri behind. When she enters training with the Special Operations Executives in Britain, she is told to use the name HELENE with her comrades. A historical novel explores the intersection of love and war in the life of Australian-born World War II heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake. Lawhon breathes new life into Nancy Wake's extraordinary story. Rich and thoroughly researched, an exciting, well-written account of wartime valour and the protagonist's qualities shine through' The Times

Nancy’s trek across the Pyrenees and her 72-hour bike ride are harrowing. Her grit and stamina are awe-inspiring. Do you think you could endure the physical and mental stress of such a journey? Inspired by true wartime events, Code Name Helene is a gripping and moving story of extraordinary courage, unfaltering resolve, remarkable sacrifice - and enduring love. A compulsively readable account of a little-known yet extraordinary historical figure—Lawhon’s best book to date.” — KIRKUS REVIEW, *STARRED* Wake got her start as an operative after her courtship and 1939 marriage to the French industrialist Henri Fiocca, with whom she lived briefly and happily in Marseille. When the war began and her husband was called to fight, she drove an ambulance to ferry the wounded. And once France fell to Nazi occupation, she aided the escape network of British officer Ian Garrow, whose release she arranged from a concentration camp by bribing a guard. Ultimately, her husband returned from the war, but the Gestapo discovered her Allied loyalties, forcing Wake to flee the country into Britain and leave her beloved husband behind.Did you read the Author’s Note before or after finishing the novel? How did it change your feelings about the novel?

Leading the Resistance, Nancy was a formidable force. Strength of character, her determination to never give up, her loyalty to the men she worked with, and her hatred of the brutality of the Bosch gave her the respect that kept her men by her side. The memorable push bike ride over rough terrain through France, avoiding German patrols, pedalling for 250kms to her destination, then discovering she had to return immediately to notify her men in the camp of a drop – almost 500kms in 72 hours; the admiration of her men, but the exhaustion and pain for Nancy was just one of the many feats by this astonishing woman. Nancy's different identities, totaling four, are not exactly told chronologically. The book is told in dual timelines, but two of her identities are not described until much later in the second half of the book. But, what happens is kind of all over the place. The story of Nancy as the WWII heroine was scattered and rambling. The story of what she did under each identity isn't balanced, and the reader sees more from her as the fighter Madame Andrèe. Anonymous Content is synonymous with smart, sophisticated storytelling and is the perfect partner for us on ‘Code Name Hélène.’ It’s a gripping, epic tale with a wonderfully colorful, feisty and daring woman at its core whose bravery can’t help but inspire us all,” said Rousselet.Nancy is accused of using "profanity as a weapon" to gain her male colleagues’ respect. Do you think this is true? The descriptions of her trials and what she accomplished were mesmerizing and worthy of the highest note and regard. What Nancy Wake did to aid the war effort against the Nazi war machine is nothing short of miraculous. Who said that the war front was no place for a woman? Well whoever said it Nancy Wake proved them wrong. Nancy Wake... Nancy Fiocca—is the kind of woman who conquers the world. Fearless. Ferocious. Nancy is the sort of woman who bathes in a meteor shower. She is not the kind of woman who concedes to anyone. (c)

Henri slowly woes Nancy, they marry in 1939 and the Germans invade France. Henri is called up, Nancy drives her own ambulance at the front and she helps the resistance by smuggling documents and people. The Germans give Nancy the title of, 'The White Mouse', with a bounty on her head, Henri makes her leave France and she crosses the snowy Pyrenees Mountains and travels to England. No, before I read this book, I had no idea who Nancy Wake was, or anything about the woman behind the many aliases she had including The White Mouse, Madame André, and of course, Hélène. In fact, Lawhon begins her book with the line “I have gone by many names.” The fact that I wasn’t familiar with any of these names, despite her being one of the Gestapo’s most wanted spies, and the extraordinary number of awards heaped upon her after the war (literally across the globe), makes me ashamed, both for myself (as a lover of historical fiction, particularly biographical, women’s fiction from this era), and for the oversight of history not shouting her story out from the rooftops. Well, thank heavens for Ariel Lawhon, and for her writing her story so beautifully (or should I say, righting history). I will now take this opportunity to reiterate what Lawhon says as introduction to her author’s note at the end of the book: do NOT read those notes before you read the novel! PLEASE! In Part Two, Hélène and Hubert help train Fournier’s men. One day while visiting a nearby village, they witness the wife of a maquisard being tortured by the Germans. Hélène recognizes one of the officers, Wolff, from Vienna. Gaspard invites them to interrogate a captured Gestapo agent named Roger le Neveu. Hélène is disgusted. She demands that Gaspard disperse his men instead of keeping them all in one place. Nancy gets arrested while on a train. O’Leary saves her by telling the police she is his mistress. Henri gets arrested by Marceline and Police Commisionner Pacquet. O’Leary gets arrested, causing Nancy to flee France through the Pyrenees. I am sitting here, hands hovering over the keyboard, trying to figure out how in the world I am going to put into words how much I enjoyed this book!Starred review) [P]lenty of fireworks and heroism as they converge to explain all. The author begs forgiveness in an informative afterword for all the drinking and swearing. Hey! No apologies necessary! [C]ompulsively readable… Lawhon's best book to date. Did the dynamic of Nancy and Henri’s relationship surprise you? In what ways does it differ from other stories of love in wartime that you have read before? Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène is a spellbinding and moving story of enduring love, remarkable sacrifice and unfaltering resolve that chronicles the true exploits of a woman who deserves to be a household name. If you like historical fiction, I think this one you would enjoy! It doesn’t earn the full 5 stars because I think it could have been edited down a bit.