Odette: World War Two's Darling Spy

Odette Brailly entered the nation's consciousness in the 1950s when her remarkable--and romantic--exploits as an Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent first came to light. She had been the first woman to be awarded the George Cross, as well as the Legion d'Honneur, and in 1950 the release of a film about her life made her the darling of the British popular press. But others openly questioned Odette's personal and professional integrity, even claiming that she had a clandestine affair with her supervisor Captain Peter Churchill. In the first full biography of this incredible woman for nearly 60 years, it delves into recently opened SOE personnel files to reveal the true story of this wartime heroine and the officer who posed as her husband. From her life as a French housewife living in Britain and her undercover work with the French Resistance, to her arrest, torture, and unlikely survival in Ravensbrück concentration camp, it is revealed for the first time the truth of Odette's mission. [Duke library]