Code Name: Héléne by Ariel Lawhon 5*****

RATING:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 466

Wow! What a gem!

I am delighted to count this book as another winner for our #HistoricalAfictionados book club's monthly reading. This was the true and powerful story of Nancy Wake, a brave Australian, who managed to command thousands of French resistance fighters during WW2.

The story begins in 1936 when Nancy Wake is a foreign correspondent living in Paris. Shortly after meeting a young industrialist and playboy, she falls in love and marries him. When the war breaks out, her husband enlists at the front, leaving her in Marseille, where she works

with a network of British spies and helps smuggle Jews and pilots across the border. When France is occupied, Nancy is separated from her husband and forced to flee.

The book alternates between her younger years in France and her current situation in 1944 in command of a group of French resistance fighters (after being herself recruited by the Brits). Her job is to arm and train them and that’s exactly what she does!

Both timelines were fascinating to read and incredibly insightful. Nancy is one of the best female war characters I have come across, and to think she was a real person! She was brave, bold, brazen and funny, and armed with victory red lipstick, which she always wore before facing a male enemy. 🤣💄

I just loved Ariel Lawhon's writing style, the vivid detail and the research that went into this book. It helped me understand the hardship and utter despair everyone had to endure as well as other aspects of Nancy's life back then. We are so used to our comfort today that we cannot even imagine what she must have endured to gain due respect and consideration from the men she led into battle.

There was never one boring moment in the entire book, and I found the author’s note to be an integral part of the story, which helped me gain a better understanding of the true facts!

If you love to read about tough women in our history, don’t miss out on this book!

A solid 5 stars from me!