Virginia Hall

Virginia Hall is the book’s central character, the focus of its historical and narrative excavations. As portrayed throughout the book, she was an effective and influential American secret agent, working for the French Resistance against the Nazis throughout World War II. She was born into a wealthy and aristocratic family in the United States, and despite the attempts of her controlling, ambitious mother, followed her own ambitions. First, she attended college in Paris, and as a result fell in love with both the city and the country. Second, she refused to marry, preferring instead to define her life according to her own inclinations. Third, she worked hard to enter the American diplomatic service, and eventually succeeded.

An accident while working at a posting in Turkey led to the amputation of Virginia’s leg and her lifelong reliance on a prosthetic, which she nicknamed “Cuthbert” (see...