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Baltimore socialite turned World War II spy

Virginia Hall, daughter of an upscale Baltimore family, turned herself into one of the most daring spies of World War II. Biographer Sonia Purnell recounts Hall repeatedly eluding capture and death while helping the French resist Nazi occupation. Credit: Viking
Sonia Purnell
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Viking
Virginia Hall, daughter of an upscale Baltimore family, turned herself into one of the most daring spies of World War II. Biographer Sonia Purnell recounts Hall repeatedly eluding capture and death while helping the French resist Nazi occupation. Credit: Viking

Even as she was growing up in a posh Baltimore family a century ago, Virginia Hall defied convention. Still, no one--especially after a hunting accident forced amputation of her lower left leg-- could imagine she’d become one of the most intrepid spies of World War II.

Rejected as a junior diplomat by the U.S., Hall got a field job in a fledgling British spy operation. It sent her to France to support the resistance against the Nazis. She took alarming risks, adroitly dodging betrayal.

“She would constantly change her address. She would constantly change her looks, putting little rubber slivers in her cheeks so the shape of her face changed. But that was largely what she had between her and capture.” 

Author Sonia Purnell on her spell-binding book A Woman of No Importance.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Maureen Harvie is Senior Supervising Producer for On the Record. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and joined WYPR in 2014 as an intern for the newsroom. Whether coordinating live election night coverage, capturing the sounds of a roller derby scrimmage, interviewing veterans, or booking local authors, she is always on the lookout for the next story.