‘A thrilling narrative that creates an extraordinary picture of female resistance’ The Lady<\/i><\/b>
‘Fascinating’ Kavita Puri, BBC History Magazine<\/i><\/b>
‘A fierce, intense picture of this aspect of the war . . . it will stay with me’ Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
On the evening of 31 March 1916, a 23-year-old woman was led from her prison cell in occupied Brussels. She wore a long blue coat and walked ‘like a soldier’. The chaplain asked if she would like a blindfold before her execution. ‘I am not afraid of looking into the rifles,’ she replied. ‘I have been expecting this for a long time.’
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This is not a traditional history of the First World War. It is the untold story of the women of the resistance in Belgium and occupied France during that conflict. \u00c2\u00a0
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Rick Stroud describes how the actions of eight exceptionally brave women affected the course of the war. Before the Germans invaded, they were ordinary people: some, like Gabrielle Petit, were working-class; some, like Edith Cavell, were from the bourgeoisie; and some. like the Princess de Cro\u00c3\u00bf, were from the upper echelons of society. The youngest was only twenty-one. The women took enormous risks and produced extraordinary results: they established underground networks, transmitted coded information, carried out sabotage attacks and helped to repatriate Allied soldiers. What they did was dangerous and exhausting and the penalties were severe: three faced the firing squad.
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Recounting their heroism and their inevitable tragedies,\u00c2\u00a0I Am Not Afraid of Looking into the Rifles\u00c2\u00a0<\/i>is an enthralling story, beautifully told. In revealing the inspiring work of these remarkable women, Rick Stroud will introduce you to an entirely new version of the ‘war to end all wars’.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A new book from the critically acclaimed author of Lonely Courage: The true story of the SOE heroines who fought to free German-occupied France<\/i>
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