"This absolutely fascinating and inspiring memoir spins you into the last few months of the Second World War as a female agent is parachuted into Northern France to feed information back to the UK.
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Overflowing with quiet bravery, this is an inspirational and fascinating look at the life of the last secret agent from the Second World War Special Operations Executive (SOE). Pippa Latour, with the assistance of Jude Dobson who helped collate the information for this book, has revealed her story for the first time. Even her family didn’t know about Pippa’s war-time, so it felt like an honour to be able to read her words, to hear her truth. Her story is simply told, which allows the difficulties and horrors she faced to really hit home. She is so matter of fact, there is no hiding, the information sinks clearly into your awareness and sets up camp. Her childhood set her fortitude in place, and meant she had the necessary skills to be called up by the SOE. There are very very few people with the expertise to be able to deliver the objectives set for the agents, or the moral strength and nerve required to be successful. Pippa Latour was one of the chosen few. The importance of this book cannot be overstated, it is a vital slice of history and has been chosen as a Liz Pick of the Month, and a LoveReading Star Book. The Last Secret Agent is a compelling and inspiring memoir, and is highly recommended by our LoveReading team.
'You know you can change your mind, don't you? Even now. Even when you are halfway across the English Channel. Any time before you jump.' 'Yes, I know,' I quickly reassured her, 'and I won't.'
In June 1940, a covert new force - the Special Operations Executive (SOE) - was set up to wage a secret war. Its agents were tasked with sabotage and subversion behind enemy lines, and over the course of the next five years, 470 special agents would be sent into France. Only 26 female SOE agents would return. None before have told their story in their own words.
This is the astounding true story of Phyllis "Pippa" Latour, the last surviving SOE agent. Born in 1921, Pippa's was an unusual childhood, followed by an even more extraordinary early adult life as she was parachuted into France aged 23. Incredibly brave, she travelled around the rural French countryside, concealing her codes in a hair tie and her Morse key underneath her bicycle seat, and sending crucial information back to Britain in the lead-up to D-Day. More than once she came frighteningly close to being discovered.
For decades, Pippa told no one - not even her family - of her incredible feats. Now for the first time, her story can be told in full.
Perfect for fans of A Woman of No Importance and Women in Intelligence
'Vivid, honest, inspiring and sometimes shocking, Pippa Latour's memoir shows how right the SOE were to assess her as having '"tons of guts"' -CLARE MULLEY, author of Agent Zo
'A rare glimpse into the life of the last surviving SOE agent to have seen action behind enemy lines in France. Pippa's story is one of immense courage and personal sacrifice... a truly gripping and remarkable wartime service.' -HELEN FRY, author of Women in Intelligence
'Vivid and vibrant. Pippa's words echo with resonance across the pages, punctuated with historical context and fact.' -KATE VIGURS, author of Mission France
Author
About Pippa Latour
Following the war, Pippa settled in New Zealand where she raised four children. For decades, Pippa told no one - not even her family - of her incredible feats during WWII. In the final months of her life, Pippa finally decided to tell her remarkable story, written with the assistance of award-winning historical documentary producer and writer Jude Dobson. Pippa died in 2023, at the age of 102.
You can find Jude Dobson on Instagram: @jude_dobson
