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How did a young Parisienne mother, celebrated for her beauty and glamour, come to lead the largest spy network in France? The Mademoiselle Alliance is a powerful, heartbreaking historical novel by New York Times bestselling author, Natasha Lester.
Nedlands Library presents bestselling novelist Natasha Lester, as she brings to life the true story of one of history's unsung heroes: Marie-Madeleine Fourcade. Her story is one of epic love, tragic loss and magnificent leadership.
Natasha Lester’s passion for research and her dedication to stories of women’s bravery in wartime has been the basis of many of her historically detailed novels. However, during all her extensive research, she only encountered the name Marie-Madeline Fourcade twice.
It took Natasha two years to uncover the true story of Marie-Madeline Fourcade, the only female leader of a resistance network in France during World War II. She led approximately 3000 agents, many of whom were experienced military men decades her senior.
“This was the hardest and most extensive research I’d ever done. I’ve never come across a more astonishing hero, and I couldn’t believe what this woman had achieved. This is the most extraordinary subject I’ve ever written about.”
The Mademoiselle Alliance is a fictionalised account of what one woman accomplished in the fight against the Nazis.
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Morocco, 1928. Eighteen-year-old Frenchwoman Marie-Madeleine is not the kind of woman who goes through life sitting down, something her new husband can attest. Her unconventionalities - rally car driving, flying planes and dabbling in intelligence work for the government - earn her a reputation, but she knows who she is at heart: an adventurer.
Paris, 1936. As Europe teeters on the brink of war, a chance encounter with a mysterious man codenamed Navarre turns Marie-Madeleine's life upside down. Recruited to help build a resistance network known only as Alliance, she conceals her identity - and her gender - as she navigates a perilous double life away from her children and the man she loves. Capture and death are only a heartbeat away.
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About the Author
A Perth local, Natasha Lester launched her writing career at age 30 after leaving a successful position as Marketing Manager for Maybelline at L’Oreal to pursue Creative Writing at University. Her debut novel won the TAG Hungerford Award for Fiction, and she was hailed by The Age newspaper as “a remarkable Australian talent.” Since then, she has become a New York Times bestselling author.
“When I was a child, I loved nothing more than to escape into the world of a story. I wondered what it would be like to make readers feel the same way I did when I lost myself in a book. That’s why I became a writer. Writing historical fiction combines my passion for history, research, travel, fashion and extraordinary women who blazed a trail.”
