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Literati Book Club

"The Art Spy" by Michelle Young

The League of Women Voters of Broward County meet the second Friday of each month to discuss books centered around strong women of diverse backgrounds.

About The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland by Michelle Young:

A riveting and stylish saga set in Paris during World War II, The Art Spy uncovers how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the world's most treasured masterpieces.

On August 25, 1944, Rose Valland, a woman of quiet daring, found herself in a desperate position. From the windows of her beloved Jeu de Paume museum, where she had worked and ultimately spied, she could see the battle to liberate Paris thundering around her. The Jeu de Paume, co-opted by Nazi leadership, was now the Germans’ final line of defense. Would the museum curator be killed before she could tell the truth—a story that would mean nothing less than saving humanity’s cultural inheritance?

Based on troves of previously undiscovered documents, The Art Spy chronicles the brave actions of the key Resistance spy in the heart of the Nazi’s art looting headquarters in the French capital. A veritable female Monuments Man, Valland has, until now, been written out of the annals. While Hitler was amassing stolen art for his future Führermuseum, Valland, his undercover adversary, secretly worked to stop him. She came face to face with Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, passed crucial information to the Resistance network, and faced death during the last hours of Liberation Day.

At the same time, a young Free French soldier, Alexandre Rosenberg , was fighting his way to Paris with the Allied forces battling to liberate France. Alexandre's father was the exclusive art dealer for Picasso, Matisse, George Braque, and Fernand Léger. The Nazis had taken everything from their family—their art collection, their nationality, their gallery, and their home in Paris. 

Vivid and atmospheric, The Art Spy moves from the glittering days of pre-War Paris, home to geniuses of modern culture, including Picasso, Josephine Baker, Coco Chanel, and Frida Kahlo, through the tension-riddled cities of Europe on the eve of war, to the harrowing years of the Nazi occupation of France when brave people such as Valland and Rosenberg risked everything to fight monstrous evil.

In the spirit of Hidden Figures, with the sweeping narrative of The Rape of Europa, The Art Spy is an inspiration for us all—an extraordinary tale of courage in a time of violence.

Check out a copy in a Broward County Library branch near you.

The League of Women Voters of Broward County (LWVBC) began the Literati Book Club in August 2019 as a prelude to the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Led by Bradette Jepsen, a Past President of LWVBC and published author, the book club first selected titles focused around the Suffragists and the movement they created but quickly expanded to include stories of strong women of many diverse backgrounds, both past and present. Selected titles have included bestsellers, works of nonfiction, and even a graphic novel. Discussion is informal and all are encouraged to participate - or just listen. Both league members and members of the public are welcome.

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