Purnell’s account of Hall’s hectic, amphetamine-fuelled exploits never falters. It recalls Caroline Moorehead’s wonderful book, Village of Secrets, about defiance of the Nazis in Vichy France, but has an added touch of Ben Macintyre’s brio ... tells a redacted life. The erasures owe as much to Hall’s secretive and mystifying nature as to official censorship so it is a marvel that Purnell, who has previously written biographies of Boris Johnson and Clementine Churchill, has discovered so much. It is a pleasure to read a biography in which the author admires her subject so warmly. This might so easily have been a pernickety, fact-finding book, but instead it is a rousing tale of derring-do. Men, women and tomboys will all enjoy the courage and initiative of Virginia Hall.
That whispered-about legend she became during the war years in occupied France deserves to be loudly celebrated now ... Sonia Purnell’s excellent biography should help make that happen. If Virginia Hall herself remains something of an enigma — a testament, perhaps, to the skills that allowed her to live in the shadows for so long — the extraordinary facts of her life are brought onto the page here with a well-judged balance of empathy and fine detail. This book is as riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down.
... a groundbreaking biography that reads like a spy thriller ... Although documentation of the French Resistance movement exists only in fragments, Purnell ably draws on a variety of sources to create a suspenseful, heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant tale of heroism and sacrifice.
The large cast of characters and nuanced detail in this exceptional true story require close attention, but the payoff for readers is tenfold ... Stories layer on top of each other in a seemingly endless display of bravery ... Purnell’s writing is as precise and engaging as her research, and this book restores overdue attention to one of the world’s great war heroes. It’s a joy to read, and it will swell readers’ hearts with pride.
Purnell has turned out a thoroughly gripping and inspiring account bristling with real-life suspense of an American’s unlikely role in the struggle against Hitler’s occupying forces ... Purnell deserves much credit for her meticulous research ... The author never sacrifices precise detail in the interest of furtive liaisons, midnight explosions, narrow escapes, and shocking betrayals, though there are plenty of those ... sets the record straight: It’s a terrific book about an astonishingly brave and accomplished American war hero.
... Sonia Purnell's A Woman of No Importance is a gripping take ... Purnell smooths a staggering cast and timeline into a brisk narrative. And though Hall's impact is astonishing, the book makes clear how many people a Resistance requires ... Stakes are rarely an issue in a book about WWII; its rhythms are a shorthand, and we've come to expect hairy near-misses, unlikely escapes, and devastating double agents. Still, Purnell finds fresh dread in the growing efficacy of surveillance, the Vichy regime's tactics, and propaganda campaigns ... Purnell's picture of a postwar world is a fractured, ethically muddy arena of conflicting operations, and we're left without much sense of what Hall thought of those assignments — some of which pitted her against factions she'd worked with during the war ... A very smooth read about a rocky life, A Woman of No Importance is a compelling biography of a masterful spy, and a reminder of what can be done with a few brave people — and a little resistance.
... a riveting account of Hall’s work as a ferociously courageous American spy, yet whose mother never quite forgave her for failing to marry a rich man ... Purnell’s research is impressive, with extensive footnotes and a lengthy bibliography. And good thing, because the work of spies such as Virginia — Purnell calls her Virginia — is mind-boggling ... Purnell writes with compelling energy and fine detail. Passages about German torturer Klaus Barbie are emotionally wrenching. She avoids romantic flights about wartime valor. She quietly conveys Resistance fighters’ frank acceptance that fighting for one’s country is not only worth their sweat, but their lives ... Purnell reminds how much history there is to tell.
There have been other books about Hall, but with her thriller-writer’s style and copious new research, Ms Purnell has written a fitting and moving tribute to an amazing woman.
... excellent ... The facts are right, so it is a pity to find a few sweeping statements, such as that Hall ‘alone… changed opinions about women in warfare’, when she was in fact one of several extremely effective female special agents. At the time, as the ironic title of this biography suggests, women were effective partly because they were so often considered to be ‘of no importance’. All too often since, such women are still celebrated for their courage and beauty rather than for their achievements. The great strength of this book is that Purnell has far too much respect for her subject to fall into that trap ... What this book makes evident is that sustained results in the field were down to the skill, character and to some extent the luck of each individual sent to serve, whether male or female, able-bodied or otherwise.
It’s a cliché to describe a true-life spy story as being as gripping as any thriller, but it really is the case here. Purnell has done a huge amount of research for this superb biography ... But the narrative wears this research lightly, as Purnell nimbly takes the reader through Hall’s complicated manoeuvres all over central France and beyond. And in doing so, she paints a rounded portrait of a complicated, resourceful, determined and above all brave woman ... Purnell also gives readers vivid pictures of Hall’s fascinating associates ... While Purnell pays rightful homage to the deeply moving bravery of Hall and her comrades, she is at pains not to romanticise their often murky, gruelling world.
... reads like a detailed novel, introducing dozens of spies and double agents with whom Hall came into contact as well as a colorful roster of resistance fighters, including resourceful prostitutes of Lyon ... The irony of the book’s title is that without Hall, many of the Allied victories of World War II might have been greatly delayed or never have been achieved. Purnell’s fascinating book supports her description of Hall’s life as a 'Homeric tale of adventure, action, and seemingly unfathomable courage.'
Sonia Purnell resurrects the compelling saga of a remarkable woman whose persistence was honed early on by her battles against low gender expectations and later on by her disability: she had a wooden leg ... Purnell’s research is thorough, and she ably places Hall in the context of her times: women risking their lives in battle would remain controversial for more than a half century after her exploits. There is much high drama...
... fast-paced, meticulously researched ... Purnell expertly weaves Hall's narrative together with the story of SOE's founding, highlighting its attempts to build a new kind of covert operation (and its mistakes along the way) ... The woman's bravery and brilliance are on constant display, but Purnell also highlights the quiet heroism of ordinary people who risked their lives daily to fight fascism. She also minces no words about the sexism Hall and other women faced at the State Department and in SOE--both agencies having started as well-heeled boys' clubs ... Although some of Hall's exploits are epic, even cinematic, there's also a lot of nitty-gritty detail: cracking radio codes, planning elaborate prison escapes, agents narrowly avoiding capture (or not). Purnell's narrative moves along at a cracking pace, somehow managing to keep track of a large cast of characters against the ever-changing backdrop of war ... Purnell's book is a gripping account of an extraordinary woman, and a celebration of courage, ingenuity and grit.
Purnell vividly resurrects an underappreciated hero and delivers an enthralling story of wartime intrigue ... Though the broader contours of Hall’s story will be familiar to those who’ve read about wartime France, Purnell does a fine job of bringing Hall’s story to life. Fans of WWII history and women’s history will be riveted.
A remarkable chronicle of a courageous woman ... Meticulous research results in a significant biography of a trailblazer who now has a CIA building named after her.
