Secret Agent Men and Women

Double Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies by Ben Macintyre; page count 360

This non-fiction work tells about a British espionage network, the Double Cross Team or XX or Twenty Team (the roman numerals for double Xs) during World War II. (I will never look at one of my favorite beers the same again.) This team worked on capturing Nazi spies in Britain and turning them to work for the Allies.

It follows five of the main spies who made the landing at Normandy not a total bloodbath and disaster. The first is Dusan Popov or Agent Tricycle, a playboy and entrepreneur with several contacts in Germany. Then there is Juan Pujol Garcia or Agent Garbo, a Spaniard with an excellent imagination who developed his own network consisting of dozens of fictitious sub-agents. There is also Lily Sergeyev or Agent Treasure, a White Russian former aristocrat and fanatical dog lover. Roman Czerniawski or Agent Brutus was a Polish freedom fighter then French resistance leader, who when arrested by Nazis in France convinced his captors he would become a spy only to turn against them for the Allies. And last but not least we have the gambling, bi-sexual socialite Elvira de la Fuente Chaudoir, Agent Bronx. You also learn a great deal about the British men and women (alright, just one woman) who run the agents, as well as some of the side agents and subplots.

I really liked this book. Granted it has everything I like in a book: daring deeds, espionage, far away destinations and life hanging in the balance. However, Macintyre’s writing style is particularly pleasing. He did not burned with footnotes (don’t worry they are at the end for the more studious readers.)He also has this brilliant English dry humor running throughout the book which makes the sometimes amusing scenarios very funny.

I would recommend this book to anyone who would like a lighter take on Word War II, or to anyone with an interest in true espionage stories. Honestly, I don’t think this book would disappoint anyone who happened to pick it up.

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The People magazine of non-fiction

To Marry an English Lord by Gail MacColl & Carol MacD. Wallace; page count 416

Tyntesfield Manor in Bristol, UK

Really? Do you want more of a review than the title of this post? Yes? Alright then.

This book gained fame by being the inspiration for Cora, Countess of Grantham from the hit TV series Downton Abbey. I am only surprised it was not more popular before the show. This book is awesome!

The book tells the various stories of wealthy American heiresses who traveled across the Atlantic in order to find a husband with a British title. The first women to cross the pond did so because they were not accepted by the stuck up and slightly puritanical dowagers of New York society. Soon, however, the sport of catching a “peer” became fashionable.

Besides being both humorous and fact-filled, this book dishes the dirt on the scintillating scandalous details of the mid- to late-nineteenth century upper crust. Plus, it’s fully illustrated! I just love that this book is page after page of lovely photos.

I gave a copy as a gift to our very own Sapphire, and much to my joy and surprise received a copy myself! (Don’t tell Sapphire, but I considered keeping her copy for myself since I wanted to read it.) I do highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoy Downton Abbey or you like reading about historical socialites. If you are a celebrity magazine fan and normally do not read “heavy” books, this would be your best dip in the rewarding world of non-fiction.

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I do love me some tea

None of the guys in the book. This is just the most relevant copyright-free picture I could find.

For All the Tea in China: How England Stole the World’s Favorite Drink and Changed History by Sarah Rose; 252 pages. 

I received this book as a birthday present from my fantastic mother.

The book tells the story of botanist Robert Fortune who travels to China in order to steal the tea plant and drow it in India for the infamous East India Company. China basically had sole control over tea before Fortune’s espionage in the mid-nineteenth century. Most experts even thought that green tea and black tea came from different plants. We now know it was a different processing technique.

While I did enjoy this book, it is certainly only for a niche group. If you are interested in travel writing or the history of tea or the east India Company, then you should probably pick up this title. The writing was quite good; although, not as thrilling as to be on par with Erik Larson.

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