Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

I have said more than once, we need more productions that showcase what women and people of color did during World War II. In some ways, the story of Etta Shiber and Kate Bonnefous seems ideal for a streaming series.

Goodman’s book isn’t so much a biography of the women, but a look at what they did during the Second World War and the fallout from Shiber’s account of the work, an account that was published while Bonnefous was still imprisoned by the Nazis.

Shiber was American, and Bonnefous was an English woman who married a Frenchman. Prior to the war and after the death of Shiber’s husband, the two women lived together with their dogs in a Paris apartment. Once the Germans invaded, they fled and then returned. It was during Occupation that the two women decided to help British soldiers escape the death.

Though according to Goodman, it seems that Kate Bonnefous decided she would work to aid her countrymen, and Shiber went along with it. To be fair, Shiber had to a bit more to risk considering that she was also Jewish, though secular. But the driving force does seem to be Bonnefous. The two women do manager to aid a few soldiers before their discovery and arrest by the Nazis. Shiber was arrested in Paris before Bonnefous. Her status as an American does give her a bit of edge because she is eventually released for health reasons and allowed to return to the States. It is there that she writes an account of the work she and Bonnefous did. The problem was that the book was published while Bonnefous was still under arrested, making her more at risk to not only abuse but to be executed. The book was still published in both the US and Britian even after Bonnefous’s brother, worried about his sister, objected.

There are parts of the book that are extremely interesting – the escapes that Bonnefous arranges (sometimes with the help and funding of/from US officials), the discussion about the crafting of Shiber’s book and its accuracy – the two women still seem distance. This isn’t so much Goodman’s fault, more like available sources, but it does stand out. In some ways, the men that helped stand out a bit more, undoubtedly because there are more sources about them. Outside of Shiber’s book and what Bonnefous told family, there is no source that seems to be the voice of the women themselves. This is, strangely, particularly true of Shiber as Bonnefous comes across as the more interesting and active woman.

At times, there does feel like there should have been a bit more analysis, especially in regards to why Shiber wrote the book and whether or not it was strictly a money grab (and as she had little money, can you really blame her?).

Still the story is worth knowing and is ripe for adaption.