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An American Heroine in the French Resistance: The Diary and Memoir of Virginia D'Albert-Lake 1st Edition, Kindle Edition

4.6 out of 5 stars 47 ratings

This account by a woman who fought the Nazis alongside her husband is “an indelible portrait of extraordinary strength of character” (The New Yorker).
 
Virginia Roush fell in love with Philippe d’Albert-Lake during a visit to France in 1936; they married soon after. In 1943, they both joined the Resistance, where Virginia put her life in jeopardy as she sheltered downed airmen and later survived a Nazi prison camp. After the war, she stayed in France with Philippe, and was awarded the Légion d’Honneur and the Medal of Honor.
 
This book includes two rare documents—Virginia’s diary of wartime France until her capture in 1944, and her prison memoir written immediately after the war. Together they offer “an invaluable record of the workings of the French Resistance by one of the very few American women who participated in it” (
Providence Journal).
 
“A sharply etched and moving story of love, companionship, commitment, and sacrifice . . . This beautifully edited diary and memoir throw an original light on the French Resistance.” —Robert Gildea, author of
Marianne in Chains: In Search of the German Occupation, 1940–1945
 
“At once a stunning self-portrait and dramatic narrative of a valorous young American woman . . . an exciting and gripping story.” —Walter Cronkite

Editorial Reviews

From The New Yorker

In 1937, Virginia Roush, a strong-minded young woman from St. Petersburg, Florida, married a Frenchman, becoming Virginia d'Albert-Lake, and moved to Paris. During the war, she kept a diary, including almost larkish reports of her Resistance work. Part of an escape line that smuggled downed Allied airmen out of the country, she took them on secret sightseeing tours of Paris. In June, 1944, she was arrested by the Germans and sent to a sequence of concentration camps that included three spells in Ravensbrück. (The third time she was transferred from Ravensbrück, she weighed seventy-six pounds.) This book, comprising a diary written before her capture and a memoir written after her liberation, is an indelible portrait of extraordinary strength of character. In the diary she seems naïve and spirited; in the memoir she is sombre, reflective, and attentive to every detail.
Copyright © 2006
The New Yorker

Review

. . .A tale of quiet heroism. ― ―Journal of Military History

I've met and photographed scores of memorable and important people in my time, but few hold a candle to Virginia d'Albert-Lake. Her work as an American woman in the French Resistance saving American airmen's lives led to her winning France's highest decoration, the Legion d'Honneur. But the greatest honor for her was having the love of her husband Phillippe d'Albert-Lake, who was the reason she stayed in
France when she could have retreated to the safety of the United States as World War II loomed on the horizon. This is an extraordinary story to be shared with friends, family, and particularly your children, as an example of how a life can be lived with grace, humor, and heroism.

---―David Hume Kennerly, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for photography in Vietnam

...an indelible portrait of extraordinary strength of character...[D'Albert-Lake] is sombre, reflective, and attentive to every detail. ―
―The New Yorker

[Litoff] is the preeminent authroity on the experiences of ordinary women in World War II, garnered through the letters they wrote to their husbands and fathers abroad. ―
―Rhode Island Monthly

This is at once a stunning self-portrait and dramatic narrative of a valorous young American woman who in World War II stayed
in France to fight alongside her French husband in the French resistance. Her own dramatic story is testimony to her love, heroism
and courage. It is an exciting and gripping story, one of the best of the many wartime tales.

---―Walter Cronkite

An enthralling tale which brims with brave airmen and plucky heroines…" ―
―St. Petersburg Times

These pages capture the compassion and toughness of a nearly forgotten heroine as they provide an invaluable record of the workings of the French Resistance by one of the very few American women who participated in it. ―
―Providence Sunday Journal

. . . [A] depiction of the emotional and ideological conflicts one faces in time of war and imprisonment. ―
―The History Teacher

...contains Virginia's diary of wartime France, kept until her capture, and her prison memoir, written soon after she was freed by the Allies. ―
―St. Petersburg Times

Product details

  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 47 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
47 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the memoir well-written and interesting. They describe it as a remarkable story, with one customer noting it's about surviving the survivable.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

4 customers mention "Narrative quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the narrative quality of the book, with one describing it as a well-written memoir that is carefully annotated.

"I thought this was a very interesting and well-written memoir of an American woman who was captured by the Germans while working with the French..." Read more

"...in the French Resistance: Mme d'Albert-Lake was one and in this intelligent book shows that she has a good memory and a clear expository style ---..." Read more

"...The memoir was good also, but a little awkwardly written...." Read more

"...the book in great condition,and in a timely fashion. It was great reading! I couldn't put it down." Read more

3 customers mention "Interest"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very interesting.

"I thought this was a very interesting and well-written memoir of an American woman who was captured by the Germans while working with the French..." Read more

"...Truly fascinating. I recommend it." Read more

"...Overall, though, very interesting." Read more

3 customers mention "Story quality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the story remarkable, with one noting it's about surviving the survivable.

"...I read her story from her notes in 1965. It is a remarkable story and should be told to everyone...." Read more

"...This story is about surviving the survivable." Read more

"Great story..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 8, 2013
    I thought this was a very interesting and well-written memoir of an American woman who was captured by the Germans while working with the French Resistance. Her time in the German Labor camps was horrific and brought home how terrible war can be and what it does to people. I highly recommend it.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2023
    I've read quite a few books about the French resistance. Many members of the resistance were arrested and sent to concentration camps or simply disappeared. This book starts slow, but the second half really tells the story of what happened to some of those captured. Virginia D'Albert-Lake survived, but you have to wonder how.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2020
    I read this as part of my research for a novel I'm writing about France in WW2, and although there is only a tiny overlap in time (my work spans only the first year or two of the war), I found myself reading to the end. It's an engaging story about an American woman who married a Frenchman and ended up working with the French Resistance. Truly fascinating. I recommend it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2008
    There were only a few Americans in the French Resistance: Mme d'Albert-Lake was one and in this intelligent book shows that she has a good memory and a clear expository style --- and a sense of humor as well. Carefully annotated. Informative both on the Resistance and on the French scene before and during World War II.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2019
    I knew Virginia d'Albert-Lake. I read her story from her notes in 1965. It is a remarkable story and should be told to everyone. She did what she did because it was the right thing to do. There was no money involved but great risk but it was the right thing to do
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2022
    Important first-hand account of the Resistance in WWII France.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2017
    First person account of an American expatriate who put duty above all else and managed to rise to the horrors of the Nazi regime. I cried several times at Virginia's descriptions of life in concentration camps.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2006
    I really liked the original documents which made up this book (filed reports, letters, diary entries, etc.). The memoir was good also, but a little awkwardly written. I also wished she had devoted as much time to her resistance work as she had to her imprisonment. Overall, though, very interesting.
    4 people found this helpful
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