A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

This book offers a powerful and deeply moving portrayal of real-life experiences during wartime. Through vivid storytelling and authentic accounts, it immerses the reader in the harsh realities and emotional depths of life during conflict. The writing is so compelling that you find yourself eagerly turning the pages, not wanting the story to end. What makes this work especially meaningful is its focus on individuals who chose to live selflessly—driven not by recognition or reward, but by a profound sense of duty to humanity. Their courage, compassion, and resilience serve as a timeless reminder of the human spirit’s capacity for good, even in the darkest of times. Reading this book is not only an emotional journey but also a necessary one. It brings to light the lives of truly admirable people whose stories deserve to be remembered and honored. It’s a testament to the power of empathy and the importance of preserving history through personal narratives.

This is a spectacular account of an incredible, generally unacclaimed, woman named Virginia Hall! A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II is a fascinating biography that reads much like an adventure thriller. I became completely enamored with Virginia within the first few pages. Despite this, it took me quite a while to read the book because the story is so intense that I had to set it aside several times — especially after the brief reports of horrendous Nazi torture. The author’s research was copious and meticulous, the writing fast paced and clear, and the courageous brilliance of the subject unforgettable.

Virginia Hall was one of America’s most successful spies (and one of the Nazi’s “most wanted”). In A Woman of No Importance, Purnell brings to light this amazing woman’s story which was buried in the detritus of the war department. Rejected for employment by the U.S. State Department due to her gender and her prosthetic leg, Hall, fluent in 5 languages, talked her way into Churchill’s “ministry of ungentlemanly warfare” where she "willingly jeopardiz[ed] her life far from home in aid of a foreign country”. She became one of the most successful spies in history by helping "to pioneer a daredevil role of espionage, sabotage, and subversion behind enemy lines in an era when women barely featured in the prism of heroism, when their part in combat was confined to the supportive and palliative.” A pioneer in clandestine warfare, Hall was “tasked with coordinating the work of local Resistance leaders and future SOE agents, assisting the French to rise up against their oppressors when the time was right and to eliminate without mercy those who got in the way. Recruit and train guerrilla forces to agitate, spread propaganda, and ultimately kill and destroy. She was collecting details of the political situation in France; the scope and effect of Vichy propaganda; the use of dummy wooden aircraft to fool British aerial reconnaissance; the identity and movements of German regiments; the warring factions within the French Resistance; the installation of machine gun nests on the flat roofs of Paris; and lists of possible sites for future sabotage attacks that would reduce the need for aerial bombing raids with their inherent dangers of civilian deaths.” Her work was "varied and vital it was described after the war as of “universal character.” Having been rejected and belittled by most of the men in the war department, those same men later acknowledged that Hall "played a pivotal part in liberating huge swaths of France”. I struggled with rating this book. On the one hand the story of Virginia Hall, an American, who became the first woman spy in Britian’s spy organization is fascinating. On the other hand, the book is so laden with details that it almost takes away from the story. The book is, for the most part, well written and Purnell makes the reader feel the tension; however, I found myself skimming whole pages at times as the details were a slog. I marked it down one star for that reason. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is so mesmerizing it is very difficult to put it down

When we think of spies we think of James Bond or George Smiley. When we think of real spies maybe Kim Philby or Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Over time we have forgotten a lot of the World War II spies and special agents. Our memories of the efforts of so many brave people in France and other occupied countries has been clouded by the myths and legends of SOE, MI6 and OSS. This is the story of a great woman who served the allies in France, who survived despite physical hardships and who contributed so much to the war effort. Virginia Hall was an American citizen who worked in the state department. She lost a foot during a hunting accident in Turkey. She battled discrimination in the State Department and eventually found herself in France during the German invasion of 1940. Despite having a wooden leg, nicknamed Cuthbert, she acted as an ambulance driver and a reporter until the formation of VIchy. She ended up in Lyon, which became the hub of anti-German activities. There she acted as a co-ordinator and spy master, gathering like-minded people to her and funneling information to SOE. When her network was betrayed she escaped via the Pyrenees in WInter (remember Cuthbert). Eventually she joined OSS and was returned to France where she helped with the liberation ofthe Haute-Loire department. Virginia's story had been lost to history. She received a Distinguished Service Cross and a Croix de uerre, she told no one. She battled sexism, betrayal, fear, pain and distrust. She saw the horrible death of friends and colleagues to accidents and to terrible betrayal. She kept on fighting; nothing would get her to stop. Sonia Purnell tells her story in this book. The written style is a little dry but the story flows along well enough despite this. This is a true story of World War II heroism. The hero (heroine) overcomes terrible odds and, in the end, helps the allied victory. Her male colleagues were mostly glory-hound dunces who resented her. Her bosses frequently didn't understand how important she was. She overcame all of this. If you want a female role model her she is. If you want a hard-bitten, true life story, here it is. This is an excellent book about a brave, charismatic woman. Net time you see a glorified spy movie this should remind you of what it was really like. Highly recommended.

This is a true story about an American woman who helped the Allies win WWII. We have not heard about her before simply because she was a woman, therefore “not important “.

Compelling - as I kept reading to the end, even though I had many issues with the writing. Know that I will quit reading a book, and early on, if I don't like the writing style, So here are my complaints. This was difficult to read as characters were not developed, and "many" names were dropped and many unnecessary details given and then even more details given. It was easy to get lost in where and what was happening. Also, I found the book grammatically awkward - often re-read sentences/paragraphs. Again, it was just so fact filled that I often skipped and speed read through long drawn out details - history lessons. Yet for all my complaints, this woman, Virginia Hall is an untold hero during WWII. Her involvement in the United States first espionage is compelling and adventuresome! The trials that she and others faced is hard to imagine and then the stories of all the lives lost thorough torcher, execution, starvation, and concentration camps. Awful!! These are things that should not be forgotten. Our freedoms have come at a high price. Virginia Hall was the beginning of what is called the CIA today - OSS during WWII. So yes I would recommend this book:-)

Sonia Purnell, kudos to you for taking on the story of Virginia Hall. The story is fascinating, and I am in awe of the amount of research it took to write this book. There is always so much more to learn about WWII. I feel guilty giving this book only 3 stars but here is why: it is just too many people, too many places, somewhat dry, too much detail and it kind of rambles. I found it hard to follow and by 30% started skimming the chapters. I would have enjoyed knowing more about her life once she returned home. If I were Sonia, or her publisher, I would take the same terrific body of information and turn it in to a really interesting biography. Slim it down, make it a story and more people will love it. I felt the same way about David McCullough’s Path Between the Seas about the Panama Canal. It is a great wealth of information but just too much. I felt like I had a PhD in Panama Canal when I was done. It was more than I really wanted or needed to know. Just my humble opinion.