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Agent Josephine
- American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy
- Narrated by: Damien Lewis
- Length: 16 hrs and 40 mins
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Agent Josephine
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Publisher's Summary
Singer. Actress. Beauty. Spy. During WW2, Josephine Baker, the world's richest and most glamorous entertainer, was an Allied spy in Occupied France. This is the story of her heroic personal resistance to Nazi Germany.
Prior to World War II, Josephine Baker was a music-hall diva renowned for her singing and dancing, her beauty and sexuality; she was the most highly paid female performer in Europe. When the Nazis seized her adopted city, Paris, she was banned from the stage, along with all "negroes and Jews". Yet, instead of returning to America, she vowed to stay and to fight the Nazi evil. Overnight she went from performer to Resistance spy.
In Agent Josephine best-selling author Damien Lewis uncovers this little known history of the famous singer's life. During the years of the war, as a member of the French Nurse paratroopers—a cover for her spying work—she participated in numerous clandestine activities and emerged as formidable spy. In turn, she was a hero of the three countries in whose name she served: the US, the nation of her birth; France, the land that embraced her during her adult career; and Britain, the country from which she took her orders, as one of London’s most closely guarded special agents. Baker’s secret war embodies a tale of unbounded courage, passion, devotion, and sacrifice, and of deep and bitter tragedy, fueled by her own desire to combat the rise of Nazism and to fight for all that is good and right in the world.
Drawing on a plethora of new historical material and rigorous research, including previously undisclosed letters and journals, Lewis upends the conventional story of Josephine Baker, revealing that her mark on history went far beyond the confines of the stage.
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What listeners say about Agent Josephine
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Victoria
- 2023-10-23
I never knew
Fabulously researched and informative. An amazing woman. So much information and insight. I found that sometimes there were a bit too many facts bombarded at you at a time but still worth it. My only real criticism was the narrator who was too stilted at times. But he has an easy voice to listen to.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Wilf Gobert
- 2022-12-06
A black American women escapes US bigotry
Set in the 1920s and 1930s, a black American woman entertainer immigrates to France to escape US bigotry. She becomes a huge international star, “the most photographed woman in the world”, even as Americans continue to denigrate her. She turns to Nazi resistance and spying, earning her medals of honour from the French and the British. The narrator is annoying, a Englishman, reading the life of a black American woman, living in France, and speaking French. His pronunciations got me, i.e. the city is St Louis, not St Louie.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amanda
- 2023-01-04
Excellent story but boring narration
The story was fascinating and very detailed however the monotone and cadence of the narrator made it very dull and hard to finish. It’s a shame because the intrigue and adventures of Ms. Baker deserved better.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 2022-10-29
Josephine Baker, superstar, super spy!
I had heard of Josephine Baker, of course. but I was totally enthralled by the events depicted in this book. her heroic efforts in the cause of French resistance to the Nazis and racism through the second world war years and indeed, all of her life, are truly inspiring. these efforts, exemplified the true meaning of self sacrifice and love towards her fellow Human beings. This is truly an awe inspiring journey of a remarkable woman.
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