The Invisible Woman

by Erika Robuck

  While the following scenes are within the realm of possibility, I can’t prove them. It is unclear whether Virginia accompanied Mimi and Sophie on their visit to Paris, Bob to Le Puy, or Roger to Le Puy when he was arrested. There are conflicting reports about precisely when—before or during her mission—Virginia found out she was destined for Chambon. Finally, I don’t know if Virginia went to confession with Robert Alesch, but numerous sources claim he betrayed from the confessional, that Virginia helped hunt him, and that Virginia made several trips to Paris during her second mission, so it is plausible. I don’t know that Virginia was in the crowd for his sentencing, but it was certainly possible given that her passport had her in France at the time.

  During the war, Virginia was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). After the war, Virginia became the only civilian woman ever to be awarded the United States Distinguished Service Cross. In the name of keeping her identity secret so she could continue clandestine work, she refused a ceremony with President Truman, instead receiving the DSC in the privacy of “Wild Bill” Donovan’s Washington, DC, office with only her mother in attendance.

  Virginia became one of the first women in the newly minted CIA, where she worked until her mandatory retirement in 1966. She and Paul Goillot married in 1950 and lived in a beautiful château-style home in Barnesville, Maryland, where they enjoyed gardening, cooking, crossword puzzles, and their French poodles. Virginia died in 1982, followed by Paul in 1987. They are buried together at the Hall family plot in Druid Ridge Cemetery, just outside of Baltimore.

  In telling this story, my goal was to illuminate the extraordinary courage of Virginia Hall, those in her network, and the villagers of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and the surrounding region. Many of these people wished to keep their secrets, but now that so many have died, this novel is my prayer for those brave men, women, and children of World War II. I hope they’ll forgive me for bringing their stories to light.

  What Became of Virginia’s Networks?

  After their arrest, Louis (Marcel Leccia) and his team (Élisée Allard and Pierre Geelen)—along with Hector (Maurice Southgate) and a large number of agents—were deported to Buchenwald. In September, the Nazis began calling up and executing groups of them. I’m devastated to report that on September 10, 1944, Louis and his fellow agents were murdered. Because Hector was in the sick ward, he escaped the fate twenty SOE agents met, and survived through the liberation of the camp in April of 1945.

  The doctor from Virginia’s first network, Jean Rousset, survived Buchenwald. He hid patient files from the Nazis and was able to turn them in to the proper authorities after the war to bring countless Nazis to justice. The prostitute from Lyon, Germaine Guérin, also survived, but I was unable to find the identity or the fate of the nun from Virginia’s first network. Rousset and Guérin both helped bring down the notorious Robert Alesch.

  Sophie (Odette Wilen) survived her escape over the Pyrenees. Her guide, Santiago Strugo Garay, was so taken with her, he found her in London after the war. They fell in love and married, eventually moving to Buenos Aires and having two children. Sophie/Odette died in September of 2015 at the age of ninety-six.

  In spite of the arrest and torture of Mimi (Marie Vessereau), and heavy losses to the Maquis group led by Lavilette (Fernand Vessereau), the couple survived the war. They had several children but, due to the abundance of characters, only one son—“the boy” (Gérard)—is mentioned in this book. At the age of ten, Gérard was awarded the Croix de Guerre for transporting weapons and supplies in his wagon for the Resistance. His parents were also given the Croix de Guerre, among other honors. Lavilette/Fernand died in 1961 at the age of fifty-five, but Mimi/Marie lived until 2018, when she died at the age of one hundred six.

  Bob (Lieutenant Raoul Le Boulicaut) was reported to have joined the Free French’s Ninth Colonial Division for the remainder of the war, and the French Intelligence Agency after it. Sadly, in February of 1946, he died shortly after checking into a Paris hospital at the age of twenty-five, likely from complications as a result of head injuries from his accident.

  Most devastating was the fate of Dr. Roger Le Forestier, which came on August 20, 1944, when Klaus Barbie had Roger and 120 prisoners sent from Montluc to an abandoned house just outside Lyon. They were handcuffed in pairs, sent to the top floor of the house in groups, and shot. When the top floor was filled with bodies, the groups were sent to the floor below it, and finally to the ground floor. In order to destroy their identities, Barbie had the bodies covered in phosphorus and burned. Four days later, Montluc Prison was liberated.

  Danielle Le Forestier didn’t find out about Roger’s murder until six weeks had passed. Inspecting what could be salvaged of the bodies, she came across Roger’s distinctive belt buckle. A widow at the age of twenty-three, Danielle was left to raise her five- and three-year-old sons alone.

  Happily, Simon (Pierre Fayol) and his wife, Dolmazon (Marianne), Désiré “Dédé” Zurbach, Estelle, Léa and Edmund Lebrat, and Serge Nelken survived their wartime ordeals.

  I was especially fascinated by the complicated, singular, and private Vera Atkins. It isn’t clear if she remained in contact with Virginia throughout their lives, but I’d like to think she did. Vera spent the years following the war seeking information for the families of every missing and deceased agent in her employ. She conducted hours of interviews of Nazis, which were used extensively as evidence in the Nuremberg trials, and she worked for UNESCO. An often criticized and controversial figure, she retreated to her cottage in Winchelsea in 1961, and led a somewhat reclusive life until her death in 2000 at the age of ninety-two. It is thought Miss Moneypenny of James Bond fame (author Ian Fleming was in the SOE) was modeled after Vera. Upon her death, even many of those who were close to her did not know she was Jewish.

  Acknowledgments

  This book was the most difficult I’ve ever written, and I am grateful to the many people who supported and helped me along the way.

  To Virginia’s niece, Lorna Catling, for the hours of wonderful conversation about her formidable, remarkable aunt Dindy; I treasure the time we spent together.

  To my agent, Kevan Lyon, whose patience and enthusiasm have inspired new levels of my gratitude and admiration.

  To my editor, Amanda Bergeron, whose instincts, cheerleading, and vision have made this story so much stronger.

  To the entire team at Berkley—Claire Zion, Craig Burke, Lauren Burnstein, Jin Yu, Jeanne-Marie Hudson, Sareer Khader, Angelina Krahn, Michelle Kasper, and Emily Osborne—for their continued support of and belief in me and my work.

  To Lee Woodruff, for the research books and the encouragement.

  To Kristina McMorris, Devon Mish, Kelly McMullen, Frank and Sheri Damico, Dorie Thompson, Donna Triolo, Richard and Patricia Robuck, and my father, Robert Shephard, for endless moral support.

  To Jim Rudnick, Ed Weihs, and Donna Cole, for sharing personal, informative, and earnest reflections on combat, duty, trauma, and its aftermath.

  To Suzi Dixon and Suzanne Hartigan, whose frank, personal stories of amputation and prosthetics were so helpful to my understanding of Virginia.

  To Alyson Richman and Pam Jenoff, for their insights into Jewish faith, families, and survivors of World War II.

  To my “great-uncle Jack” (Francis J. Macauley III), for his tireless promotion of my books up and down Florida’s Clearwater Beach.

  To Michel and Candace de Messieres, the current inhabitants of Virginia and Paul’s residence in Barnesville, Maryland, for so kindly opening their home and land to me.

  To the knowledgeable staff of the National Archives in Washington, DC, for helping me navigate those thick files.

  To the Special Collections Research Center at the University of Michigan Library, for sending digital copies of correspondence between Virginia Hall and Dr. Margaret L. Rossiter, author of Women in the Resistance.

  To the magnif
icent and impressive men and women of the CIA; taking the tour of the museum was an honor I’ll never forget.

  To my husband, Scott, and our three sons: I wasn’t easy to live with during the writing of this book, and I am grateful for their love, cheerleading, and willingness to eat dinners out.

  And finally, to God, for His abundant grace and for leading me to Virginia.

  Selected Bibliography

  Atwood, Kathryn J. Women Heroes of WWII: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2011.

  Binney, Marcus. The Women Who Lived for Danger: The Agents of the Special Operations Executive. New York: William Morrow, 2002.

  Buckmaster, Maurice. They Fought Alone: The True Story of SOE’s Agents in Wartime France. London: Biteback Publishing, 1958.

  Churchill, Peter. Of Their Own Choice. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1952.

  Escott, Beryl E. The Heroines of SOE: F Section—Britain’s Secret Women in France. Gloucestershire: History Press, 2010.

  Foot, M. R. D. SOE in France: An Account of the Work of the British Special Operations Executive in France, 1940–1944. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1966.

  Grose, Peter. A Good Place to Hide: How One French Village Saved Thousands of Lives During World War II. New York: Pegasus Books, 2015.

  Helm, Sarah. A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII. New York: Nan A. Talese, 2006.

  McIntosh, Elizabeth P. Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1998.

  O’Donnell, Patrick K. Operatives, Spies, and Saboteurs: The Unknown Story of WWII’s OSS. New York: Citadel Press, 2004.

  Pearson, Judith L. The Wolves at the Door: The True Story of America’s Greatest Female Spy. Guilford, CT: Lyons Press, 2005.

  Purnell, Sonia. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II. New York: Viking, 2019.

  Rossiter, Margaret L. Women in the Resistance. New York: Praeger, 1986.

  Ruby, Marcel. F Section, SOE: The Buckmaster Network. London: Leo Cooper, 1988.

  Stevenson, William. Spymistress: The True Story of the Greatest Female Secret Agent of World War II. New York: Arcade, 2007.

  READERS GUIDE

  THE

  INVISIBLE

  WOMAN

  Erika Robuck

  A Conversation with Erika Robuck

  Q. Your previous novels are about American literary figures. What inspired you to write The Invisible Woman? How did you find Virginia Hall?

  A. I don’t want to get too fanciful, but I believe my subjects find me. I try to “write what I know” as much as possible. This means I’m always looking for extraordinary people from the past who come from places familiar to me, or to whom I feel a personal connection for one reason or another. Virginia was a fellow Marylander. The places she grew up and went to school, the waterways and hiking trails she frequented, her workplace and retirement sanctuary are all familiar to me. I understand the soil where she was grown.

  On the practical side, when I was working on another wife-of-famous-male-writer book, an editor said, “Why not write about a woman who is special in her own right?” That stopped me in my tracks.

  Around that time, Virginia entered my radar in a way I can’t pinpoint, and she’s been haunting me ever since. Virginia is not only a remarkable woman from history who grew up on my stomping grounds, but she is so extraordinary—in her own right—she could launch a subgenre of husband-of-famous-woman books.

  Q. Finding information about a subject engaged in clandestine work for most of her life must have been a challenge. How did you go about doing the research?

  A. It was a challenge, and Virginia was as elusive in death as she was in life.

  My research process begins with inspiration and trying to walk in the footsteps of my subjects whenever possible. With three school-age sons, getting to France in person was not feasible. I’m thankful for YouTube, Google Maps, and my treadmill, which allows me to virtually walk, run, and hike all over the world.

  The family land where Virginia spent her childhood summers, Box Horn Farm, is in Parkton, Maryland, north of Baltimore. The property has been sold and parceled, and the house razed, but I was able to find the approximate location of it using old land surveys. I spent many hours meandering along the trails where Virginia used to hunt, and I found the stream where she swam and canoed.

  Virginia’s niece, Lorna Catling, is a treasure. She welcomed me into her Baltimore home—not far from where Virginia attended school—and shared boxes of photographs and artifacts with me. Over many lunches, Lorna regaled me with tales of her formidable “Aunt Dindy.” I’m happy to call Lorna a friend.

  The home where Virginia and Paul lived while she was in the CIA and until their deaths is located in Barnesville, Maryland. The current owners of the house were kind enough to not only answer my strange letter asking questions about the property, but even invite me there to explore the beautiful château-style home, the kennels, and the grounds. I could feel Virginia there with me every step of the way, and even snapped a picture near the kennels that housed her French poodles that has a significant orb.

  I applied as a researcher to visit the museum at the CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, and was thrilled to be granted access. Several officers escorted me through the exhibits, featuring artifacts from the OSS (including Virginia’s Distinguished Service Cross, her passport, and a wireless transceiver), tricks of the trade (including those rat “letterboxes”), and finally that gorgeous painting by Jeffrey W. Bass. The experience was a true honor.

  The National Archives in College Park, Maryland, have comprehensive files on Virginia Hall and the OSS in general, and I was able to read Virginia’s reports on her war activities, her evaluations, and the letters associated with her Distinguished Service Cross.

  Once I’m back at my desk, I read everything I can get my hands on—biographies, letters, articles, etc. I included many of the most helpful works in the selected bibliography. The most recent biography, A Woman of No Importance, wasn’t published until I’d already written my novel, but I greatly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. The book that most informed my characterization of Virginia and the time and place I decided to set the novel was a French book, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon sous l’occupation: Les résistances locales, l’aide interalliée, l’action de Virginia Hall (O.S.S.), by Pierre “Simon” Fayol. Because my French is very poor, I had to painstakingly type the text into Google. Though I’m sure much was lost in the translation, the obvious tension of Virginia’s interactions with the Maquis of the Haute-Loire and the detailed coverage of Maquis operations in that region were invaluable to my understanding of Virginia’s role there.

  Once Penguin acquired my novel, I finally made the drive to Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, Maryland, where Virginia is buried. There’s a family plot with a large stone labeled Hall, but Virginia’s modest grave is next to her dear husband’s and labeled, simply, Virginia H. Goillot. With no special plaque or marker, Virginia Hall, the secret agent, remains invisible.

  Q. What particular challenges did you face when writing the novel and, specifically, about a woman as complicated as Virginia Hall?

  A. The hardest feedback to receive—and I got it from several people—and execute while remaining faithful to the character was that I needed to make Virginia more likable.

  When I asked Lorna to describe her aunt, Lorna said Virginia was “intimidating and scary-smart.” Virginia’s landing partner on her third mission, Aramis, did not think highly of Virginia because of how she cut him off from the network. Pierre “Simon” Fayol had a contentious relationship with her. Quite frankly, no one ever described Virginia as “likable.”

  The fact remains, however, because this is a novel, the protagonist has to be someone the reader aligns with, sympathizes with, and wishes to
succeed. My editor, Amanda Bergeron, brilliantly suggested giving the reader a look at young Virginia in a prologue. This would serve to show not only Virginia before the war and all its losses—not only before the amputation—but also the early days of Virginia’s love affair with Paris. I think this ended up being the perfect introduction to a complicated woman and, with the epilogue, helped to frame the book in a satisfying way.

  Q. Virginia had three missions in World War II Europe. How did you choose this time period?

  A. This novel was the most difficult and unruly book I’ve ever written, and there were many, many drafts and restarts. (I can almost see Virginia smirking at me with an “of course, what did you expect?” look on her face.)

  In the first version, I wove Virginia’s story with that of a fictional female Iraq War veteran and amputee who inherits the property at Box Horn Farm without knowing to whom it used to belong. It soon became clear to me that Virginia’s story was too big to be half of a multiperiod novel.

  I started over and began writing Virginia’s story woven into the stories of Vera Atkins and another female SOE agent. After about a hundred pages, I felt Virginia’s impatience. “Focus!” she seemed to say. “This is about me.”

  So, I started over at the beginning of the war, when Virginia was in the French ambulance service, and then wrote through her first mission in Lyon, with the Pyrenees crossing at the climax. After I completed that, I realized it was all background for the story I needed to tell: the second mission. I needed to explore the question: Why did Virginia return to occupied France with a price on her head?

  I believe Virginia needed me to work out her survivor guilt and PTS. She wanted recognition for and redemption of the everyday people of France and those from her networks, and justice for the betrayer. It was time to reveal the stories of the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, their care for Jewish refugees, the coordinated Allied and Resistance effort to liberate the region, the beginning of the restoration of France, and Virginia’s own identity. It took me a long time to understand, but once I finally did, it was as if a missing lightbulb in a string was found and replaced, and the whole circuit came to life.