LACPA’s Fall Book Club Selection:

A Woman of No Importance:

The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II  

by Sonia Purnell

Named a Best Book of the Year by: NPR, the New York Public Library, Amazon, the Seattle Times, the Washington Independent Review of Books, PopSugar, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, BookBrowse, the Spectator, and the Times of London

Winner of the Plutarch Award for Best Biography

Book Summary

Two LACPA members have provided descriptions of the thrilling biography, A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell, which is the next book the LACPA Book Club will be reading. 

She was recruited to spy in occupied France by England's MI 6 and American O.S.S. She single-handedly developed the most effective resistance group in Europe, the French Marquis. She organized the escape of multiple downed Allied flyers from Nazi prisons. She guided Allied troops over the almost-impassable Pyrenees - - and all done with a prosthetic leg. And you don't know her name - - but you will: she's A Woman of No Importance.

Purnell tells a compelling piece of unknown “herstory” –Virginia Hall’s remarkable, enigmatic life marked by significant contributions to French Resistance and Allied victory in WWII and her postwar career in the CIA.  Her story is one that highlights the potential we have to go beyond gender role stereotypes, face challenges of disability, loneliness and rejection.  The story inspires us with a complex portrait of this remarkable person who recognized her flaws, fears and insecurities and was motivated to protect, contribute and to live a life in accord with her values.

A Sample of Amazon Reviews

"[An] excellent biography... if Virginia Hall herself remains something of an enigma — a testament, perhaps, to the skills that allowed her to live in the shadows for so long — the extraordinary facts of her life are brought onto the page here with a well-judged balance of empathy and fine detail. This book is as riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down" -- The New York Times Book Review

“A remarkable chronicle...this lively examination…shows how, if Hall had been a man, dropping undercover in and out of occupied Vichy, Paris, and Lyon, setting up safe houses, and coordinating couriers for the Resistance, she would now be as famous as James Bond…Meticulous research results in a significant biography of a trailblazer who now has a CIA building named after her.”
–Kirkus

“Purnell’s writing is as precise and engaging as her research, and this book restores overdue attention to one of the world’s great war heroes. It’s a joy to read, and it will swell readers' hearts with pride.” —Booklist, Starred Review

Please contact the Book Club facilitator to RSVP so a Zoom Invitation can be sent to you.

 West Los Angeles

Sunday, November 20th at 3:00 PM

Hosted by Dr. Cris Scaglione 

[email protected]

(949) 939-1943

"The opinions of presenters at informal forums, such as Special Interest Groups (SIGs) or club meetings, and their approach to psychological issues and interventions do not represent a formal endorsement of any position by the Los Angeles County Psychological Association or its members.  The opinions, ideas, and concepts expressed are purely those of the presenter."