Author | Kate Quinn |
---|---|
Cover artist | Diahann Sturge |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Historical novel |
Publisher | William Morrow |
Publication date | 2017 |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) and audiobook |
Pages | 560 (first edition, paperback) |
ISBN | 978-0062654199 (first edition, paperback) |
Website | www |
The Alice Network is a 2017 historical novel by American author Kate Quinn. It was a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.
The story is based on the real-life World War I spy ring called the Alice Network, which operated in German-occupied France and Belgium. Three historical figures are used as characters in the novel:
The novel uses a dual narrative approach, alternating between events that occurred beginning in 1915 and in 1947. The 1915 story involves a fictional character named Eve Gardiner (code name Marguerite Le François), who was selected by Captain Cameron to join the Alice Network in Lille, France, under the direction of Lili.
The primary character in the 1947 story is the fictional American college student Charlotte (Charlie) St. Clair. Charlie finds Eve in England and enlists her help to find Rose Fournier, Charlie's French cousin who went missing during World War II. In the end, Eve and Charlie find that they both have reason to hunt down a certain restaurant owner, profiteer and collaborator named René.
The narrative starts in 1947. American college student Charlotte (Charlie) St. Clair is on her way to Switzerland with her mother, who has arranged for her to get an abortion. However, Charlie is more interested in finding her French cousin Rose Fournier, who disappeared during World War II. During a stopover in England, she slips away from her mother and tracks down World War I British spy Eve Gardiner, whose name appeared on a report Charlie's father had received when he was trying to locate Rose.
The story of Evelyn (Eve) Gardiner starts in London in 1915. She is recruited by "Uncle Edward" (Captain Cameron) to join the Alice Network, a group of mostly female spies working against the Germans in northeastern France. The ring is headed by “Lili” (Louise de Bettignies). Using the code name Marguerite Le François, Eve takes a waitress job in Lille at a restaurant named Le Lethe, which caters to German officers and is operated by René Bourdelon, a French collaborator and profiteer.
Eve conceals her fluency in German so she can eavesdrop on conversations at the restaurant and pass on valuable intelligence to Lili and her lieutenant “Violette” (Léonie van Houtte).
Over time, Bourdelon becomes attracted to Marguerite and seduces her. She accepts his advances so she can get even more information to pass on to Lili. Eventually, he discovers that she is a British spy. In attempting to get information from her, he breaks all of the joints of her fingers. When she refuses to tell him anything, he gives her opium and tells her afterwards that, while under the influence of the drug, she betrayed Lili and her network.
Eve and the others are arrested by the Germans and sent to Siegburg Prison, where Lili dies. Upon her release at the end of the war, Eve returns to England, where she refuses to accept the medals that she was awarded for her service because she believes that she doesn't deserve them. She lives on her pension and becomes an alcoholic, working for a time helping people locate family members during World War II. Because her misshapen hands keep her from doing many normal activities, she hires a Scotsman named Finn Kilgore as a cook and driver.
When Charlie finds Eve in 1947, she convinces her and Finn to help her look for her cousin. Eve agrees because Charlie has information that Rose had worked at a restaurant named Le Lethe for someone named René in Limoges. They learn that, during the war, René Bourdelon moved from Lille to Limoges, changed his name to René du Malassis, and opened a restaurant named Le Lethe like the one in Lille. While working at the restaurant, Rose also worked for the French Resistance using the name Hélène Joubert. She was killed by the Nazis in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre based on information passed on by René.
Bent on vengeance, Eve and Charlie go with Finn to Grasse, where Eve remembers that René owned a villa. They find him there, now retired and using the last name Gautier. Eve shoots René at his villa and plans to kill herself, but Charlie intervenes. She had contacted Violette, who was able to find out from court records that someone named Mlle Tellier had informed on Lili, so Eve was not at fault after all.
In the end, Charlie decides not to have an abortion, marries Finn, and settles down with him in Grasse. Eve goes to France and visits Lili's grave with Violette. She goes on safaris, where she meets people who accept her for what she is, and stays in touch with Charlie, Finn, and her goddaughter Evelyn Rose Kilgore.
The novel is inspired by the true story of the Alice Network, a group of women spies who worked for the British during World War I in the area of Lille, France, gathering information about German troop movements and battle plans. The characters Lili, Violette, and Cameron are based on historical figures. [2] [1]
The Alice Network was a New York Times [7] and USA Today bestseller. [8] It was named one of NPR's Best Books of the Year. [9] [1] Matthew Jackson of BookPage declared Kate Quinn to be "one of the best artists" of historical fiction. [3]
Violette Reine Elizabeth Szabo, GC was a British-French Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent during the Second World War and a posthumous recipient of the George Cross. On her second mission into occupied France, Szabo was captured by the German army, interrogated, tortured and deported to Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany, where she was executed.
Odette Sansom, also known as Odette Churchill and Odette Hallowes, code named Lise, was an agent for the United Kingdom's clandestine Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during the Second World War. She was the first woman to be awarded the George Cross by the United Kingdom and was awarded the Légion d'honneur by France.
Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British war drama film based on the book of the same name by R. J. Minney.
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown is a 1980 American animated adventure comedy film produced by United Feature Syndicate and distributed by Paramount Pictures, directed by Bill Melendez and Phil Roman. It was the fourth full-length feature film to be based on the Peanuts comic strip.
Eileen Mary "Didi" Nearne MBE, Croix de Guerre was a member of the UK's Special Operations Executive (SOE) in France during World War II. The purpose of SOE was to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by Nazi Germany and other Axis powers. SOE agents allied themselves with resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment parachuted in from England.
Darling Lili is a 1970 American romantic-musical spy film, written by William Peter Blatty and Blake Edwards, the latter also directing the film. It stars Julie Andrews, Rock Hudson, and Jeremy Kemp, with music by Henry Mancini and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. This was the last full musical to have song lyrics written by Mercer.
Violette Morris was a French athlete and Nazi collaborator who won two gold and one silver medal at the Women's World Games in 1921–1922. She was later banned from competing for violating "moral standards". She was invited to the 1936 Summer Olympics by Adolf Hitler and was an honored guest. During World War II, she collaborated with Nazis and the Vichy France regime. She became known as the "Hyena of the Gestapo" and was killed by the French Resistance.
"Hairography" is the eleventh episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on November 25, 2009. It was written by series creator Ian Brennan and directed by Bill D'Elia. The episode introduces New Directions' rival glee clubs, the Jane Addams Girls Choir for girls recently released from juvenile detention, and the Haverbrook Deaf Choir. Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester sabotages New Directions by giving their set-list for sectionals to the competing clubs. Quinn reconsiders having her baby adopted, but ultimately recommits to the idea, and Rachel tries unsuccessfully to attract Finn.
"Theatricality" is the twentieth episode of the American television series Glee. The episode was written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, and premiered on the Fox network on May 25, 2010.
Diane Hutchinson is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Alex Fletcher. In 2010, Hollyoaks series producer, Paul Marquess, embarked on the show's rejuvenation and axed a number of cast members. To compensate for the departures, the character of Diane and her family were created and introduced. Fletcher's casting was announced in June 2010 and she began filming her scenes in the same month. The actress said working on the show is practical as she does not have to relocate. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 September 2010. Diane was introduced with her husband, Rob and stepchildren, Sinead and Finn. The O'Connors were one of three families introduced throughout the year.
Rider on the Rain is a 1970 French mystery thriller film starring Marlène Jobert and Charles Bronson, directed by René Clément and scripted by Sébastien Japrisot, produced by Serge Silberman, with film music composed by Francis Lai. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Jovette Marchessault was a Canadian writer and artist from Quebec, who worked in a variety of literary and artistic domains including novels, poetry, drama, painting and sculpture. An important pioneer of lesbian and feminist literature and art in Canada, many of her most noted works were inspired by other real-life women in literature and art, including Violette Leduc, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Emily Carr, Anaïs Nin and Helena Blavatsky.
Louise Marie Jeanne Henriette de Bettignies was a French secret agent who spied on the Germans for the British during World War I using the pseudonym of Alice Dubois.
Quinn Perkins, formerly Lindsay Dwyer, is a fictional character portrayed by Katie Lowes and created by Shonda Rhimes for the political drama television series Scandal. At the beginning of the series, she is recruited to work for Olivia Pope in the Washington, D.C.-based crisis management-firm, Olivia Pope & Associates (OPA), that specializes in "fixing" political situations and scandals.
Lolo is a 2015 French dark comedy film co-written and directed by Julie Delpy. It stars Delpy, Dany Boon, Vincent Lacoste and Karin Viard. It had its premiere in the Venice Days section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival.
Marie Léonie Vanhoutte, also known by the pseudonym Charlotte Lameron was a French Resistance fighter and secret agent during World War I who worked at the French-Belgium border.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)