Code Name Hélène: A Novel

I have been desperate to find a book that I’ve loved and I finally found it in Code Name Helene. It has it all…strong female character, romance, espionage, history and it’s a true story. Amazing!

8 • ⭐️ 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. Flash forward to the peak of WW2 and this once bright eyed journalist is now the most wanted woman to the Third Reich. Espionage. World War 2. Nazis. French revolutionaries. True story. I write this in absolute awe of a Nancy Wake and her story. World War 2 seems like a dream with the evils done by Hilter and the Third Riech across Europe but to read novels like this and than see that this was a real woman with a real story… I can’t imagine what I’d done in her shoes. Amazing read! Highly recommend.

This is a powerful, thrilling and fascinating piece of historical fiction based on the life of Nancy Wake, a journalist-turned-female-spy who operated on the side of the Allies during World War II. I usually avoid novels and movies set during the World Wars because I find them upsetting, but this book focuses mostly on Nancy’s relationships, and her struggle as a woman in a male-dominated workplace and the war-time environment. She was a remarkably brave and determined woman whose efforts within the resistance saved thousands of lives. Code Name Hélène is a gorgeously written novel bowling over the reading with waves of emotion and tender moments of humour. I listened to the audiobook and Barrie Kreinik does a really excellent job of reading Nancy. Peter Ganim reads Henri well, but struggles with Nancy’s accent a little. I also thought that he portrays her as far too soft and fragile in comparison to Kreinik's interpretation. It was really effective, however, that there was a female narrator for Hélène and a male narrator for Henri.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 of 5) One of the reasons I love historical fiction is due to the true-ish nature of the stories. I’m in awe of stories about real people who push boundaries and defy expectations through pure grit and determination. Nancy Wake is one such person. Nancy, although she goes by many names throughout the book, was a New Zealand-born, Australian-raised expat journalist who joined the French Resistance and later the British SOE – Special Operations Executive – during World War II. The plot has a heavy dose of war-time operations but also, a good bit of time is dedicated to love and solid friendships. Some of the Nazi scenes are difficult to stomach because they were written based on real-life scenarios. A huge credit to Lawhon (author) as there was clearly an immense amount of research that backs up this story. I really enjoyed all the characters and thought they were perfectly fleshed out. Nancy was occasionally over drawn to the point of caricature (which annoys me) but I also think it was perhaps necessary to tell her story. My main gripe: The story time-jumps between 1936 - 1944 and the flip flop between the two timelines was often confusing. The author refers to people in both timelines but at different stages of Nancy’s life. Many times I found myself wondering if I’d “missed something.” If you like historical fiction, I think this is one you would enjoy! I don’t award it a full 5⭐️ because of the confusing time jump as well as the beginning part being a bit long. P.S. Do not read the comments by the author contained in the epilogue until you finish the book. But definitely read them! Audible note: I listened to the audio version for a very small portion of this book but so glad I did. I loved hearing the correct pronunciations! Hélène —> el-lin Maquisards —> maa-kee-zar …just to name two Description: In 1936 Nancy Wake is an intrepid Australian expat living in Marseille 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. 

Told in interweaving timelines organized around the four code names Nancy used during the war, Code Name Hélène follows Nancy's transformation from journalist into one of the most powerful leaders in the French Resistance, known for her ferocious wit, her signature red lipstick, and her ability to summon weapons straight from the Allied Forces. But with power comes notoriety, and no matter how careful Nancy is to protect her identity, the risk of exposure is great—for herself and for those she loves.