“To be a woman, a Jew, and a resistance leader in France was to devote oneself entirely to the truth , even when it meant risking everything.”–Lynne Olson, Madame Fourcade’s Secret War

The more I read about WWII, the more blown away I am by the sheer number of incredible stories of courage and tenacity in the face of nearly impossible odds. This is one such story. 31 year old Marie Madeleine Fourcade, was a young mother and a member of the French elite. She was intelligent, feisty, beautiful, glamorous and the head of a large spy network group in France, nicknamed Noah’s Ark by the Gestapo because all the agents had animal names. She managed to hold her network together despite being constantly pursued, captured twice, and having many of her spies captured and executed. Her group lasted longer and gave more important intelligence than any of the others.

This is a riveting and impressive story. Madame Fourcade’s contributions to the war effort in France were crucial, and she sacrificed much to free her country from the Nazis. Thank you to Lynne Olson for bringing this story to the world. If you like a good spy thriller, this is the book for you and if you like this book, consider also reading A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win WWII, which covers the same time line and some of the same events but from the vantage point of another female spy, Virginia Hall.

Content Advisory: Sexism, descriptions of torture, death