A beautiful young widow and mother of a small daughter, Violette Szabo undertook two secret missions to France in 1944 as an agent for the Special Operations Executive. Just after D-Day, a few days into her second mission, she was arrested following a gun battle and sent to Ravensbruck, the women's concentration camp near Berlin, where she was executed at the beginning of 1945.
The first edition of this book, published in 2002, was written with the cooperation of some of Violette's family members - in particular her elder brother Roy and her daughter Tania - as well as several of her friends and two of the only three SOE agents to survive incarceration in Ravensbruck. The author was also given access to letters written about his daughter by Violette's father, Charles Bushell, which had never before been made public and remain in a private collection to this day.
This updated edition contains more information, available following the release of documents in 2003, which poses questions about Violette's relationship with her family and highlights anomalies in the way the official version of Violette's story was told.
'Ottaway confirms that she is a meticulous researcher and first-rate historian.'
Alliance Advocate
'This excellent biography presents a vivid portrait of Violette as an agent and as a person. Extensive research and interviews with people who knew and worked with her have enabled the author to set out the facts and re-examine Violette's remarkable life. This is a moving and gripping read which offers a valuable insight into the character of one of Britain's greatest heroines.'
This England