Madame Fourcade's Secret War

Archival Summary & Scope

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From bestselling author Lynne Olson comes the untold true story of Marie-Madeleine Fourcade, the only woman to lead a major spy network in occupied France during World War II. Born to privilege but a lifelong rebel, Fourcade (codename Hedgehog) headed Alliance, an extensive resistance group that supplied crucial intelligence, including a 55-foot-long map for D-Day. Despite relentless Gestapo pursuit, the loss of hundreds of agents, and being a mother of two, Fourcade was captured and twice escaped—famously once by slipping naked through her jail cell bars—to keep her vital network functioning. Olson's "fast-paced and impressively researched" ( *The New York Times Book Review*) account reveals a woman who defied societal norms and risked everything for her nation. Named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR and *The Washington Post*.