D-Day Girls

Archival Summary & Scope

NATIONAL BESTSELLER. Sarah Rose's *D-Day Girls* unearths the extraordinary, untold history of the women spies who paved the way for Allied victory in World War II. In 1942, as Germany seemed unstoppable, Britain's elite Special Operations Executive (SOE) recruited 39 women, training them as saboteurs to "set Europe ablaze." Drawing on recently declassified files, diaries, and oral histories, Rose chronicles the thrilling missions of three key agents in France: Andrée Borrel, who blew up power lines; Odette Sansom, who sought adventure beyond domestic life; and Lise de Baissac, the SOE's unflappable "queen." These courageous women destroyed train lines, ambushed Nazis, and gathered crucial intelligence, ultimately laying the groundwork for the pivotal D-Day invasion. This rigorously researched and gripping account celebrates the ingenuity, perseverance, and astonishing heroism of women in a moment of global crisis.