Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent

by Pearl Witherington Cornioley, Kathryn J. Atwood (Editor)

Overview

An NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People
 
There was a full moon on the evening of September 22, 1943, when Pearl Witherington, age 29, parachuted into France to aid the French Resistance as a special agent for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). Out of the 400 agents sent to France during the German occupation, 39 were women. Pearl, whom the SOE called “cool and resourceful and extremely determined” and “the best shot, male or female, we have yet had,” became one of the most celebrated female World War II resistance fighters.
 
In Code Name Pauline Pearl describes in a series of plainspoken reminiscences her difficult childhood and harrowing escape from France in 1940; her recruitment and training as a special agent; the logistics and dangers of posing as a cosmetics saleswoman to make her way around the country as an undercover courier; and both failed and successful attempts at sabotaging the Nazis. She tells how, when the leader of her network was caught by the Gestapo, she became “Pauline” and rose to command a 3,500-strong band of French Resistance fighters.
 
With an annotated list of key figures, an appendix of original unedited interview extracts—including Pearl’s husband Henri’s story—and never-before-published photographs from Pearl’s personal collection, Code Name Pauline will captivate World War II buffs of any age and, just as Pearl wished, inspire young people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613731581
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/01/2015
Series:	Women of Action Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	1,081,316
Product dimensions:	5.56(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.57(d)
Lexile:	950L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Pearl Witherington Cornioley (1914–2008) worked for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) as a special agent and with the French Resistance as an undercover courier and later a network leader of 3,500 men. She was instrumental in carrying out numerous acts of espionage and sabotage. Kathryn J. Atwood is the author of Women Heroes of World War I and Women Heroes of World War II. Visit her online at www.kathrynatwood.com.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note Kathryn J. Atwood xi

Preface Herve Larroque xv

Introduction xix

Prologue 3

1 A Difficult Childhood 5

2 Courtship with Henri Cornioley 15

3 Escape from France 19

4 Training and Preparation in the Ranks of the SOE 31

5 Parachuting into Occupied France 39

6 Courier Missions, Code Names, and Covers 49

7 The Michelin Factory Affair 61

8 Arrest of a Resistance Leader 67

9 The Battle of Les Souches 73

10 Organizing the Maquis 81

11 Into the Forest 95

12 Postwar Life 103

13 Righting Wrongs 113

Conclusion 121

Epilogue Raymond Billard 123

Acknowledgments 125

Key Figures 127

Appendix: Extracts from Original interviews 133

Notes 165

Bibliography 173

Index 175

Editorial Reviews

"A gripping, true story of a courageous secret agent fighting behind enemy lines, as riveting as any work of historical fiction." —Kirkus Reviews

“Code Name Pauline is the real deal—a treasure trove of primary source material.” —Margi Preus, author of the Newbery Honor–winning Heart of a Samurai and Shadow of the Mountain

“A must-read, not only for anyone fascinated by the underground war in France, but also for anyone who admires bravery and ingenuity in the face of evil.” —Brendan Foley, coauthor of Under the Wire

“Young adults and adults will be fascinated to read this memoir detailing a piece of neglected World War II history.” —Doreen Rappaport, author of the award-winning Beyond Courage: The Untold Story of Jewish Resistance During the Holocaust


"This is an important first person account of the brave women who worked on the front lines to win the war. This narrative preserves the little-known story of the women who daily lived under the threat of capture and execution." —Library Media Connection

From the Publisher

Gr 8 Up—Parachuted into France in 1943 to be a courier for a resistance group in Nazi-occupied France, 29-year-old Pearl Witherington ended up leading four Maquis groups-more than 3,500 French guerrilla warriors. They continued to harass and sabotage the enemy until late in 1944 when France was liberated. Agent Pauline then retreated to private life and married her French fiancé. Not wanting her own role dramatized or exaggerated, she refused even to give interviews. But late in life, French journalist Larroque convinced her that her life story could be a model for young people. He first published a transcript of his interviews with Pearl and her husband, Henri Cornioley, himself, in French, and arranged for an English translation. Atwood has reordered that material into a straight narrative, preserving the subject's "own choice of words and her own style of speaking," but adding chapter-by-chapter introductory material for necessary historical background. The memoir begins with chapters about Pearl's childhood in France and Henri's early courtship, her escape from occupied France to England (both parents were English), and her training with the French section of the Special Operations Executive. But the major focus is on her year as a special agent: the parachute drop, life as a courier, and organizing and working with the Maquis. Not surprisingly, her story is less compelling than that of the fictional heroines of Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity (Hyperion, 2012), but it is authentic. She did, Witherington says in an appendix of extra interview material, what "had to be done."—Kathleen Isaacs, Children's Literature Specialist, Pasadena, MD

School Library Journal

One of the most celebrated female World War II resistance fighters shares her remarkable, heroic story in this revealing chronicle of her experiences as a special agent for the British Special Operations Executive. French-born British citizen Cornioley tells her story through a series of reminiscences, including her difficult childhood spent in the shadow of World War I, her family's harrowing escape from Paris as the Germans approached in 1940, her recruitment and training as a special agent, and parachuting into a remote, rural area of occupied France. She assumed the identity of a cosmetics saleswoman to make her way around the country as an SOE courier. Cornioley vividly recounts acts of espionage, sabotage and several dramatic narrow escapes. She became "Pauline" when she was put in command of a 3,500-strong group of French Resistance fighters when the leader of her network was captured by the Gestapo. Each chapter opens with remarks providing context and background on the SOE and the French Resistance. Appendices include an annotated list of key figures and original, unedited interview extracts with Cornioley. A gripping, true story of a courageous secret agent fighting behind enemy lines, as riveting as any work of historical fiction. (photographs, source notes, bibliography) (Memoir. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews