Christine

A Search for Christine Granville

Author: Madeleine Masson Series: Virago Modern Classics

The remarkable life story of Christine Granville - Churchill's 'favourite spy' and one of the most successful women agents of the Second World War

Product Unavailable

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Summary

The remarkable life story of Christine Granville - Churchill's 'favourite spy' and one of the most successful women agents of the Second World War

Description

Christine Granville, G.M., O.B.E. and Croix de Guerre, one of the most successful women agents of the Second World War and said to have been Churchill's 'favourite spy', was murdered, aged 37, in a London Hotel in 1952. Her actions as a British secret agent in Poland, Hungary and France were legendary even in her lifetime and she repeatedly risked her life to undertake dangerous missions. Her exploits began after the fall of Poland when she became a British agent; organising the escape of British prisoners-of-war, Polish pilots and refugees and returning to Poland, her homeland, to set up escape routes and report on German troop movements. Her capture by the Gestapo led to a dramatic escape from Budapest in the boot of a car followed by travels through Turkey and Syria to Cairo. Christine is an inspiring and unforgettable true story.

Critic Reviews

“This biography, stark, earthy, uplifting and bloodstained, deserves to be read even by those who are tired of war books. In Christine, Dostoyevsky, I suspect, would have found a heroine to his taste”

Gripping. - MAIL ON SUNDAY

An exciting story. . . Christine was cool, fascinating, graceful, secretive, alternating a vivid warmth with remoteness, a lover of freedom and a law unto herself - DAILY TELEGRAPH

- SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Gripping. - MAIL ON SUNDAY

An exciting story. . . Christine was cool, fascinating, graceful, secretive, alternating a vivid warmth with remoteness, a lover of freedom and a law unto herself - DAILY TELEGRAPH

- SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

About the Author

Madeleine Masson was born in Johannesburg and is one of South Africa's most distinguished writers. She studied in Johannesburg, Paris and Munich and lived as a freelance journalist in Paris. She is a journalist, playwright and historian who has had over twenty books published.

More on this Book

Christine Granville, O.B.E. and Croix de Guerre, was one of the most celebrated female agents of World War II. Said to have been Churchill's "favorite spy," her exploits in Poland, Hungary, and France were legendary, even in her lifetime. As an agent of the Special Operations Executive, Christine--the first woman to be dropped into France from Algiers--landed in the Vercors in 1944, where as "Pauline Armand," she performed with tremendous valor. "Christine" is the thrilling tale of a fearless woman ready to die for freedom.