Censorettes
During WWII on Bermuda, Lucy Barrett, gifted in languages, is a Censorette, part of a branch of British Intelligence stationed on the island to inspect mail between North America and European nations. Lucy uses her Cambridge education and love of Shakespeare to detect a Nazi spy ring operating out of Brooklyn and retrieve a million dollars heading into Vichy France. As she is promoted to her next assignment in Alexandria, Egypt, her friend Ruth is murdered. She both embraces her new assignment and seeks justice for her friend and “duckling.” She does so while interrogating Italian captives, volunteering at a hospital, and finding the love of her life.
If you enjoyed the heart of Call the Midwife and the brainy brawn of The Bletchley Circle, Censorettes is for you. The team of extraordinary women, misfits in their own societies, form an unbreakable bond in a world at war. The characters, especially haunted-by-the-Blitz Lucy, described as “haughty as a duchess, persistent as a badger,” are unforgettable. So are the exotic locales and family ties (many shown in the form of letters), both of birth and made by affection. This is what great historical fiction is all about. Highly recommended.
