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Publisher's Summary

A rousing tale of espionage and unsung valor, this is the captivating true story of Vera Atkins, Great Britain's spymistress from the age of 25. With her fierce intelligence, blunt manner, personal courage, and exceptional informants, Vera ran countless missions throughout the 1930s. After rising to the leadership echelon in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a covert intelligence agency formed by Winston Churchill, she became head of a clandestine army in World War II. Her team went deep behind enemy lines, linked up with resistance fighters, destroyed vital targets, helped Allied pilots escape capture, assassinated German soldiers, and radioed information back to London. As the biographer of her mentor in the SOE, William Stevenson was the only person Vera Atkins trusted to record her story.
©2007, 2011 William Stevenson (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By Glenn on 03-29-14

Great Story - Unfortunately Monotone Performance

What made the experience of listening to Spymistress the most enjoyable?

The story itself. And the writing was brisk and informative.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Why, the Spymistress, of course

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Really a one tone narrator. Very little inflection. It was, literally, mono-tonous. It is really too bad because the story is very interesting, and one that needs to be told. It is quite remarkable that this performance was 'approved' by editors/directors. Sentence after sentence delivered with the same intonation contours. It becomes almost impossible to distinguish given and new information.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Only a strong reaction to the performance. I like the narrator's accent, but his lack of any kind of variation in delivery made listening a challenge.

Any additional comments?

I finished the book because I wanted to hear the story. And it was well told, just not narrated very well at all.

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4 of 4 people found this review helpful

1 out of 5 stars
By david on 08-18-14

Disappointed

The disappointing part of this book is that it doesn't live up to it's title. Lots of info on the WWII spy network, but little about Vera herself. The narrator's fast talking and british accent made difficult to listen to.

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2 of 2 people found this review helpful

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
4 out of 5 stars
By Laura Bennewith on 03-05-17

Fascinating story

I struggled, at first, with the narrator - very flat. However, the story was so interesting and the pace so fast, that I kept going and in the end, I warmed to the narration style.

The foreword has very flowery language and the quotation from D H Lawrence did not surprise me but stick with it - the book is not so!

I recommend listening to this.

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1 of 1 people found this review helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By Margaret Peyton on 02-10-16

brilliant

the world needs to know more about these unsung heroes amazing woman and outstanding courage of the operatives

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2 of 3 people found this review helpful

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful
1 out of 5 stars
By Louise on 04-04-14

Racing to the end.

What would have made Spymistress better?

A slower pace. Could not keep up with the speaker. Had to really concentrate to understand.

How could the performance have been better?

Slower speech and more inflection in his voice. Sounder like reading a documentary.

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