{"product_id":"9780316724975","title":"A Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"product-copy\"\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003eA Life in Secrets: The Story of Vera Atkins and the Lost Agents of SOE\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHelm, Sarah\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSummary\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVera Atkins (1908–2000) was the highest-ranking female official in the French section of a WWII British intelligence unit that aided the resistance.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVera Atkins (1908–2000) was the highest-ranking female official in the French section of a WWII British intelligence unit that aided the resistance. Atkins sent 400 agents into France, including 39 women she'd personally recruited and supervised. Many were caught by the Gestapo and subsequently disappeared and presumed dead. In 1945, after the war, Atkins, fiercely loyal to the memory of her missing agents, took it upon herself to spend a year interviewing concentration camp officials and survivors in order to piece together her agents' fates. Helm, a founding member of London's Independent, brilliantly reconstructs Atkins's harrowing detective work, shedding light in particular on the fate of missing agent Noor Inayat Khan, whose suitability for the job had been widely doubted. Helm's portrait of Atkins is acute, dwelling evocatively on her Romanian-Jewish origins and their social significance for Atkins within upper-crust British circles, and on Atkins's mysterious personal life. Drawing on interviews with relatives and friends of both Atkins and her agents, and on full access to Atkins's private papers, Helm has produced a memorable portrait of a woman who knowingly sent other women to their deaths and a searing history of female courage and suffering during WWII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"book-highlights\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHighlights\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEasy to enjoy: 496 pages · Paperback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBy Helm, Sarah\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"book-details\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eDetails\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780316724975\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Helm, Sarah\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 496\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e English\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication date:\u003c\/strong\u003e 14 September 2005\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Used – Very Good\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"book-about\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout the authors\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHelm, Sarah and Sarah Helm · Publisher: Little Brown GBR\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/books.google.co.uk\/books?id=ovBmQgAACAAJ\u0026amp;dq=isbn:9780316724975\u0026amp;hl=\u0026amp;source=gbs_api\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMore about this book\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"book-reviews\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eReviews\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003eThis book also delves into the background of Vera Atkins, who never married, believed to be English but was not and covered her life in mystery, even her closest family knew almost nothing of her past.\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Little, Brown \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Used – Very Good","offer_id":53384974041352,"sku":"9780316724975-UsedVeryGood","price":12.6,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0928\/5297\/7928\/files\/standardized_2be1ce4fa8d704e2533a2e5afd10da1e.jpg?v=1772022848","url":"https:\/\/www.azbooks.co.uk\/products\/9780316724975","provider":"AZ Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}