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Reviews
Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II by William Stevenson
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
2.0
The drama and intensity of this true story is lost due to the very dry and fact based writing style. I am learning a lot about individual, but am having a hard time stringing that together into a bigger picture story. If I didn't already have an understanding of the time period then I'd be completely lost.
I recomend only if you love facts and are familiar with the time. Hopefully there will soon be a more engaging biography of Vera Atkins written soon.
I recomend only if you love facts and are familiar with the time. Hopefully there will soon be a more engaging biography of Vera Atkins written soon.
xxstefaniereadsxx's review
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Vera May Atkins was born in Romania in 1908. Her name at birth was Vera May Rosenberg. She attended the Sorbonne, as well as a finishing school. She emigrated to Great Britain with her mother after the unfortunate death of her father, in part because of the worsening political situation in Romania and other parts of Europe for people of Jewish descent. Vera began working for the British government during World War II, thanks to her secretarial skills. How she evolved from secretary to spy was very interesting, but I do not want to spoil the story for those who wish to read it. Vera was a very keen and resourceful woman, and I enjoyed learning about her very much.
For some reason, in the past couple of years, I have picked up several books about spies during World War II. Anyone with half a brain knows that there are always covert operations and shady doings during war time...and any other time...but I hadn't realized there were this many books about the topic that I had yet to come across. This book was very entertaining and informative. I thought the story of Vera was wildly interesting. The research was well done, and the book was written in a way that gave you the facts while keeping your attention, which I always appreciate when reading a nonfiction book. People get turned off about reading nonfiction because they hate a dry recitation of facts, which I totally understand. This book was not one of those. If you are into spies, check this book out. It is currently free to listen to on Audible Plus, which is where I got my copy.
For some reason, in the past couple of years, I have picked up several books about spies during World War II. Anyone with half a brain knows that there are always covert operations and shady doings during war time...and any other time...but I hadn't realized there were this many books about the topic that I had yet to come across. This book was very entertaining and informative. I thought the story of Vera was wildly interesting. The research was well done, and the book was written in a way that gave you the facts while keeping your attention, which I always appreciate when reading a nonfiction book. People get turned off about reading nonfiction because they hate a dry recitation of facts, which I totally understand. This book was not one of those. If you are into spies, check this book out. It is currently free to listen to on Audible Plus, which is where I got my copy.
lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review against another edition
4.0
I read this because of an article I read in the Wattpad non-fiction WOMEN IN WAR: the Real-Life Agent Carters. I tried to memories the list of biographies and went to my library, but the only name I remembered was Vera Atkins. I was not disappointed.
There were a lot of names and code names, but I managed to keep them all straight, even the few titles that were two lines long. This book took a bit to become interesting, but once it did, I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late quite a few nights, just wanted to read one more chapter. And the chapter lengths were perfect. They weren't too long, nor too short, just long enough for me to think I could read one more before I went to bed.
There were a lot of names and code names, but I managed to keep them all straight, even the few titles that were two lines long. This book took a bit to become interesting, but once it did, I couldn't put it down. I stayed up late quite a few nights, just wanted to read one more chapter. And the chapter lengths were perfect. They weren't too long, nor too short, just long enough for me to think I could read one more before I went to bed.
nikki_daire's review against another edition
3.0
This book took me a while to get into. There was a lot of interesting stuff in it, but I found it hard to keep track of all the names mentioned.
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