A Life in Secrets

Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII

By: Sarah Helm

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

From an award-winning journalist comes this real-life cloak-and-dagger tale of Vera Atkins, one of Britain’s premiere secret agents during World War II.
As the head of the French Section of the British Special Operations Executive, Vera Atkins recruited, trained, and mentored special operatives whose job was to organize and arm the resistance in Nazi-occupied France. After the war, Atkins courageously committed herself to a dangerous search for twelve of her most cherished women spies who had gone missing in action. Drawing on previously unavailable sources, Sarah Helm chronicles Atkins’s extraordinary life and her singular journey through the chaos of post-war Europe. Brimming with intrigue, heroics, honor, and the horrors of war, A Life in Secrets is the story of a grand, elusive woman and a tour de force of investigative journalism.

Critic reviews

“Brilliant. . . . One can only admire the way that Helm put together all the pieces of the puzzle.” —The Washington Post“Fascinating. . . . Compelling. . . . Gripping. . . . A stupendous job of reporting.” —The New York Times“Helm's account is a chilling reminder of the ghastliness of WWII.” —Entertainment Weekly“A Life in Secrets is a work of history that is at once a compelling thriller, an intriguing mystery, and a biography of bravery. . . . Better than CSI because it is all true and inspiring.” —Tina Brown

Much information about the history and workings of the Special Operations Executive during World War II

Rather too long. Would have liked first half, i.e. wartime, to have been longer, and the post- war part shorter.

we will never know much of what she knew/did

This was subject matter I would not have expected to choose or care a thing about. I became aware of Vera from the 30+ hours of Sarah Helm's thorough history of Ravensbruck (concentration camp for women). She was a Romanian born British intelligence officer who worked in the France section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during WWII. While espionage has captivated many, Ian Fleming's James Bond fans to name just some, Miss Atkins' story was deep & interesting beyond her short time in a leadership role from London during the war. It stretches from her childhood in Romania across many countries & decades & characters. This woman had an intimate personal view of the inside of goings on in a complex time. Unfortunately much of her story died with her in 2000, but, following in the footsteps of others who followed it somewhat earlier, this author tireless dug for evidence & drew some conclusions of her own that are very thought provoking & entertaining to hear.

Vera Atkins continues to be a bit of a mstery

What a revelation of SOE, Buckmaster, Atkins and many others who were involved in espionage in WWII. The bravery of the SOE agents was amazing. I'm not sure how well-served they were by their handlers. Atkins' determination to learn the fates of the agents and especially the women was remarkable. But I was left wondering about her actual motives. Helm did a great job of researching this history.

An exemplary work of research and journalism.

The book was not at all what I expected, but one cannot but admire the hard work of research and writing facility of the author. Vera Atkins remains a fascinating enigma, as do many of the major players in the book .Ms Helm conclusions , though entirely subjective, are well supported by her prose. There has been much written by other authors of this time in history and of the SOE and it is unrealistic to expect a consensus of these who existed in a cloak of secrecy. The narrator , Nicola Barber , was superb.

Awesome

Now I want to listen to it again. So many details, it’s hard to follow initially. So many threads to unravel. Interesting. Intriguing.