Code Name Hélène : Inspired by the gripping true story of World War 2 spy Nancy Wake

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It is 1936 and Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Paris who has bluffed her way into a reporting job for Hearst newspaper when she meets the wealthy French industrialist Henri Fiocca. No sooner does Henri sweep Nancy off her feet and convince her to become Mrs. Fiocca than the Germans invade France and she takes yet another name: a code name. Code Name Hélène is a story about wartime heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, she was born in New Zealand in 1912 and moved to Sydney, Australia when she was a toddler. Nancy left Australia at sixteen, America was her first stop, and then she traveled to France to work as a freelance journalist. Here, Nancy meets Henri Fiocca, he owns a ship building company in Marseilles and has a reputation for being a rich playboy. It also made me see that we need Nancy's strength and daring in the challenges that face us as a nation and as a world. She helped whom ever she could to escape from the clutches of the Gestapo, she organised weapon drops for the resistance fighters, she ran and commanded freedom fighter and every man in her company new who the boss was. When she said jump the response was always “how high”

Elizabeth Debicki To Star In World War II Spy Thriller Elizabeth Debicki To Star In World War II Spy Thriller

I highly recommend this story about sacrifice, betrayal, friendship, loyalty and love for historical fiction and/or WWII fans alike! Nancy Wake... Nancy Fiocca—is the kind of woman who conquers the world. Fearless. Ferocious. Nancy is the sort of woman who bathes in a meteor shower. She is not the kind of woman who concedes to anyone. (c) Lawhon has proven herself a master at her craft, and she does readers a great service with Code Name Hélène, which she penned after a friend suggested a few years ago that she write about Nancy Wake. Like many of us, the author had not heard of the Aussie legend before 2015. “In all my years researching and writing historical fiction, I have never come across such a bold, bawdy, brazen woman,” she writes. Nancy Wake was an astonishing New Zealand-born, Australian-bred woman of incredible courage, ingenuity and wit. Her heroic actions during WWII are, in my opinion, too little known. As an Australian, I am delighted to come on board this production as both actress and executive producer to tell her utterly unique story." Nancy Wake was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised nurse and journalist who joined the French Resistance and later the British SOE – Special Operations Executive – during World War II. Her exploits during the war earned her the George Medal from the UK, the Medal of Freedom from the US, the Légion d’honneur from France and medals from Australia and New Zealand – she became Australia’s most decorated heroine in World War II. Her exploits also earned her the title ‘The White Mouse’ from the Gestapo because she was so difficult to catch. Author, Ariel Lawhon has penned her historical fiction novel, "Code Name Hélène" using facts gleaned from Nancy’s autobiography, "The White Mouse" as well as from the works of other biographers to paint as accurate a picture as possible of this extremely brave and unique person. The story covers Nancy’s life from the early 1930s when she was a journalist based in Paris (at one time she interviewed one Adolph Hitler) through her time with the French Resistance and finally, the SOE. It is an extraordinary journey by a remarkable woman.Nancy Grace Augusta Wake had several code names; Hélène was the one she used as a spy. During a large part of this novel, she is known as Madame Andrée, in charge of coordinating communications and vital drops of military paraphernalia including weapons from London, and assuming command of an army of French guerrilla soldiers as part of the French Resistance during WW11. She was fiery, intelligent, spirited, and had a right big vocabulary of curse words, which she employed liberally. Did I mention brave? She had that in spades. Originally from Australia, she left home when she was 16 and eventually landed in Paris, working for the Hearst newspaper, where she was never given a byline because she was female. While covering news stories about increasing violence against Jews, she developed a deep-seated hatred for the Nazis. This book has it all – suspense, intrigue, romance, so much more! I absolutely love Hélène AKA Nancy. She is honest, brazen, gutsy, and persuasive. She speaks first and thinks later. This book is intense and addicting, I was so enthralled I could hardly bear to pull myself away from it. A lot of the past, 1936, is about how Nancy met her husband, Henri. The development of their relationship takes the limelight for the first half of the book. I am sitting here, hands hovering over the keyboard, trying to figure out how in the world I am going to put into words how much I enjoyed this book!

Code Name Helene | Ariel Lawhon

Nancy's different identities, totaling four, are not exactly told chronologically. The book is told in dual timelines, but two of her identities are not described until much later in the second half of the book. But, what happens is kind of all over the place. The story of Nancy as the WWII heroine was scattered and rambling. The story of what she did under each identity isn't balanced, and the reader sees more from her as the fighter Madame Andrèe.Crikey! I am so glad Ariel Lawhon wrote this little-known story of one of WWII's greatest military leaders, Australian war heroine Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, who not only led successful missions with the French Resistance, but who also killed a Nazi with her bare hands! This was such an engaging book from beginning to end. It is difficult to say much more without getting into spoiler territory and this book is developed so beautifully with divergent timelines that I don't want to give anything away. It is best discovered as it is read. A few of my favorite passages: The story was too long. The first half was dull and boring. For me the story only caught on in the second half of the book