The Nurse Who Became a Spy Madge Addy’s War Against Fascism by Chris Hall Pen & Sword

 Madge Addy was an incredibly brave woman whose story deserves to be told. She left an unhappy marriage to nurse during the Spanish Civil War where she had to cope with many horrors. In Spain, she helped train Spanish nurses, taught English to medical staff, and she helped refugees. She also helped to run a hospital with few staff. She even gave her own blood to the sick soldiers.

Madge also played a significant role in the French Resistance. Her husband set up two SOE networks, and when he was sick she led them, even though she had no training. She also helped to set up the famous escape line: the Garrow-O'Leary line, assisting Allied armed forces personnel to escape to Spain. She also raised funds for the networks, as well as acting as a courier and messenger for British intelligence agencies. She was certainly a remarkable woman.

I enjoyed reading about Madge, but there was just too much historical 'background' in this book. The author could have summarised the sections on the Spanish Civil War, the reasons for the Second World War and the rise of the Resistance much more briefly.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.