One Woman's War - Christine Wells

It was the subtitle of Christine Wells' new book One Woman's War that caught my eye. 'A Novel of the Real Miss Moneypenny'. Uh huh, I was curious too. With so many WWII books being penned now,  I find am getting a bit choosy on which one I choose to listen to. 

Here's the facts...

"Dame Victoire Evelyn Patricia Ridsdale, Lady Ridsdale, DBE (née Bennett; 11 October 1921 – 16 December 2009), known as Dame Paddy Ridsdale, was a British secretary and intelligence operative. She was author Ian Fleming's secretary during World War II and was the model for the character Miss Moneypenny, being M.'s loyal, long-suffering secretary, who is smitten with James Bond."Isn't that fascinating? 

Wells builds her story on a actual event that took place in WWII. I'm going to let you discover what that is on your own. Wells adds a fictional twist to that event with the addition of a double agent with their own agenda. I quite enjoyed the subterfuge on both sides. 

But it's not all spy stratagem. Wells gives the main characters rich personal lives as well, making them easy to imagine.

Wells' settings are wonderfully depicted through her descriptions of offices, restaurants, dance clubs, homes, food, clothing, social expectations and more. 

I liked how Wells took these factual bits and actual events to bring us an entertaining and realistic look at the past. 

I chose to listen to One Woman's War. The choice of narrator was another reason I chose to listen.  Saskia Maarleveld is an award winning narrator and a favorite reader of mine. Her voice is pitch perfect for this story. She has a rich, lower toned voice that is easy on the ears and well enunciated. The accents she provides for the characters are real and easily identify the players. Her reading has lots of movement, easily capturing the tone and action of the events and the feelings of the characters. Another excellent performance. Hear for yourself - listen to an audio excerpt of One Woman's War.