Having heard the Gestapo were following her and tapping her phone, she fled Marseille and was for weeks trapped in France trying to escape over the Pyrenees. She did jump from a moving train under fire, losing all her money, jewels and papers in the process. Henri Fiocca was picked up by the Gestapo some time after Nancy left Marseille. They did torture him for information on Nancy which he refused to give in spite of the pleas of his family and he was murdered by the Gestapo on October 16, 1943. Nancy only learned of his death after the liberation.
Having finally reached England and been refused by the Free French, Nancy was accepted into the S.O.E. with Garrow’s help. She met Denis Rake during her training and she and Violette Szabo debagged an instructor and flew his pants from a flagpole. She did break in to the offices of one training base to read her report card (with another friend, not Denis), but as it was good, she didn’t alter it. She was dropped into France in the Spring of 1944. With her then and throughout the war was John Hind Farmer, codenamed Hubert, who also worked closely with the Maquis until liberation. They were met by Henri Tardivat who became a lifelong friend. In her biography she tells the story of overhearing Gaspard (Émile Coulaudon) and his men plotting to kill her and how having faced him and his men down, she and Hubert left to work with Henri Fournier instead, meeting up with Denis and his radio some days later. Nancy and Gaspard developed a good working relationship later in the war. He was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur as were Tardivat, Denis and Nancy herself. She also worked closely with Antoine Llorca (Laurent) and René Dusacq (Bazooka), and many others.
On D-Day itself Nancy was picking up René Dusacq from a safe house in Montluçon. She did blow up various bridges during her time in France, though not the Garabit Viaduct, which readers who know the region will recognize from the description in this novel. The timeline of events—Nancy getting her bus, the attack on Gaspard’s camp and so on—has also been altered. Nancy did kill with her bare hands, narrowly avoid assassination, lead men in combat and order a female spy shot. Her men would only obey the order to execute the woman when Nancy made it clear she was willing to do so herself. Nancy did participate in a raid on Gestapo Headquarters led by Henri Tardivat. She did not enter the building and poison the officers first. She regarded her epic bike ride (some five hundred kilometers in seventy-two hours) as one of her greatest achievements of the war, managing as a result to get a vital message to London via a Free French operator that they needed a new radio set and codes. The Maquis did give her a march past to celebrate her birthday on August 30, 1944, five days after the liberation of Paris. Nancy also led numerous actions against the Germans, captured fleeing German troops and saw them safely delivered to U.S. forces. The authors have represented and dramatized those actions in the battle of Cosne-d’Allier, though the battle itself is our invention.
Having tortured and murdered her husband in Marseille, the Gestapo actively hunted Nancy throughout her time in France. They plastered her image across the Auvergne, offered increasingly huge rewards for her capture and regularly sent spies to try and infiltrate the Maquis. Böhm is a dramatized version of those efforts. Though he is an invention, the atrocities carried out by the Nazis against individuals and entire villages in occupied France are not.
Whatever we have invented or altered the authors would like to note that the astonishing bravery, leadership and character of Nancy Wake is without doubt greater than any one novel can hold.
Nancy Wake was married to her second husband, John Farmer, for forty years and lived with him in Australia for most of that time. After his death she returned to Europe and died in 2011 in London. As she had requested, her ashes were scattered near the village of Verneix, five miles from Montluçon.
Nancy wrote her own biography, The White Mouse, as did Denis Rake, Rake’s Progress. Maurice Buckmaster also wrote a remarkable account of the S.O.E., They Fought Alone, which is still in print. Russell Braddon’s biography of Nancy, Nancy Wake, has been a consistent bestseller since publication. In Search of the Maquis: Rural Resistance in Southern France, by H. R. Edward, is an excellent scholarly study in English of what happened in the region where Nancy served; and Behind the Lines: The Oral History of Special Operations in World War II, by Russell Miller, is a fascinating collection of testimony from many other brave agents working behind enemy lines.
Darby Kealey & Imogen Robertson
Los Angeles and London, 2019
Reading Group Guide
Discussion Questions
1. What makes Nancy Wake so memorable? What are some characteristics or traits that you admire about her? What are some of the characteristics or traits that you struggle with? Discuss your favorite Nancy Wake moments.
2. In LIBERATION, women are seen conducting trains and working as secretaries, et cetera. Discuss the various roles of women during wartime. Would you have taken the same path as Nancy, or would you have chosen a completely different role? Explain why.
3. How do male characters factor into this narrative? In what ways does LIBERATION navigate topics such as toxic masculinity and gender stereotypes?
4. Who is/are your favorite character(s) in the book? Explain why.
5. How do you imagine Nancy’s postwar life would have been like if Henri Fiocca had lived? Explain.
6. Discuss how you feel about reading part of the story from the perspective of Major Markus Böhm.
7. Nancy and her comrades are confronted with a lot of difficult choices throughout the book. If placed in their shoes, what would you have done differently? What would you have done the same?
8. How is violence portrayed in the book? How do those portrayals differ from other war novels and/or films you’ve read?
9. How do you reconcile your understanding of issues such as racism, feminism, gender equality and identity, ageism, et cetera, with what is portrayed in the book?
10. Do you consider Nancy Wake a hero? Why or why not?
A Conversation with Imogen Robertson
What is it about Nancy Wake that made you want to tell her story?
I loved her no-bullshit attitude to life. She was an adventurer before the war even began, a woman of such strength and conviction. I loved the idea of trying to capture her on the page.
Why did you choose to write part of the story from Major Markus Böhm’s perspective?
We have to learn from the horrors of World War II, and one of the most terrifying things we should remember is that many Nazis weren’t simple-minded thugs. They were educated men who regarded themselves as noble warriors for a noble cause. We have to understand that it was not only thugs and fools who were sucked in by that horrific, twisted ideology, and we need to see it as a powerful warning.
Which character was the most difficult to develop? Please explain why.
Definitely Böhm. His head was not a great place to be. I read a lot about the Nuremberg trials, the campaign in the East, the Gestapo and the camps. It made me sick and despairing.
Why do you believe Nancy’s story needs to be retold? What relevance does she have in the current social and political climate in the United States?
The world in which she fought was one turned violent through tribalism, the cultish worship of strongmen, the “othering” of people of different races and religions, and toxic nationalism. Her story shows the sacrifices and the conviction necessary to keep fighting when those forces seem overwhelming,
Who are some other unsung heroes or heroines of World War II that you would want to write about? Explain why.
I’m writing this just after Holocaust Memorial Day, and the stories being shared on twitter are a reminder of how many unsung heroes and heroines there are. I’m not sure I’m the one to tell those, though. There is much more to be written about the men and women of the SOE—Denis Rake deserves a book of his own, for example—but I also want to hear stories and voices from around the world, and often the most important thing you can do as a writer is to listen.
Which authors have influenced
your books the most? Please explain why.
Vassily Grossman for his ambition, rigor, and unflinching gaze. As a writer of adventure and thrillers, I’ve learned a huge amount from Wilbur Smith and Lee Child—they can give a page of prose the same crackling excitement as an action movie. Zadie Smith is one of the best prose stylists writing today. I study the cadence of her sentences with awe. I’d really like to write like Nicci French, Erin Kelly, and Rosamund Lupton. Their ability to take you into the minds of their characters is unmatched.
What are some of your favorite books of all time? Any recent favorites? Please explain why.
Of all time? I was brought up on Dickens and Austen, and if you made me choose one book, it would have to be Bleak House. That said, the author I reread most is probably Terry Pratchett. A constant delight. I have a huge list of current favorites. I’m reading The Confessions of Frannie Langton, by Sara Collins, at the moment, and it’s superb. I’ve also just discovered the short stories of Teffi and am devouring them.
What is your writing process like? Do you have set hours when you write, or only when inspiration strikes? Do you have any special places you like to write?
I write best in the mornings—it’s when my brain is usually at its brightest. Many days I’m not writing, but researching and putting together ideas. I think waiting for inspiration to strike is fatal. I’d still be working on my second book if I did that. Often inspiration only comes as you are working. I have a desk in my flat within easy reach of the coffee maker surrounded by pictures and books, which is where I spend most of my days.
What advice would you give to writers of historical fiction?
Do your research! But never forget the most important element is your character and their experience. Never try and force things into the story because you found them interesting when you were reading up on a period or a person. Once you are confident you know their world, close the reference books and follow them on their journey. We all make mistakes, though—try and stop the fear of making them paralyze your imagination.
What is the best part of writing a book with another person? What are some of the challenges? What advice would you give to other writers who want to team up to write a book?
Having two brains! All the incredible work Darby had done on the screenplay meant I had a map in my hands, a guide, and Nancy leaping off the page. Finding that map of a story is one of the most difficult elements in wiring any book, so I felt all the hard work had been done before I started. Also, writing can be a very lonely business, so being able to talk through characters and plot points, settings, and beats in the story with Darby was brilliant. In co-writing I think you need a clear shared vision, shared enthusiasm, and a sense of humor. Pick someone you trust as a writer and someone you get on with as a human being, and you’re on to a good thing.
Imogen Kealey is the pseudonym of Darby Kealey and Imogen Robertson.
Darby Kealey is a writer and producer, based in Los Angeles. His credits include the critically acclaimed series Patriot for Amazon, as well as a number of film and television projects currently in development. His feature script Liberation was nominated for the 2017 Blacklist. He has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA and a BA in politics from UC Santa Cruz.
Imogen Robertson is a writer of historical fiction. Now based in London, she was born and brought up in Darlington and read Russian and German at Cambridge. Before becoming a writer, she directed for TV, film, and radio. She is the author of several novels, including the Crowther and Westerman series. Imogen has been shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger three times (2011, 2013, and 2014), as well as for its most prestigious award, the Dagger in the Library. She has also written King of Kings, a collaboration with the legendary international bestseller Wilbur Smith.
Also by Imogen Robertson
The Paris Winter
Crowther & Westerman Series
Instruments of Darkness
Anatomy of Murder
Island of Bones
Circle of Shadows
Theft of Life
Liberation Page 32