The Rosie the Reviewer Podcast

Welcome to Rosie the Reviewer, a Dutch-Canadian female-led WW2 media podcast. A new episode airs every Friday!

Back to all episodes

Ep 57 – A Call to Spy – Women of the SOE in Focus

Subscribe:

Apple PodcastsCastBoxPocketCastsSpotifyRSSAmazon MusicYouTube

Share

Support the podcast

Rosie the Reviewer is a passion project, built episode by episode. If you’d like to support what we do, you can help keep us on the air or pick up some Rosie merch. We’re working on more ways for you to get involved in the future.

merch

Description

In this episode of Rosie the Reviewer, we discuss the 2019 historical drama A Call to Spy, which follows the real-life wartime missions of Virginia Hall, Noor Inayat Khan, and Vera Atkins — three extraordinary women recruited into Churchill’s Special Operations Executive during WWII.

We explore what the film gets right, where it fictionalises, and how the true stories behind these women are even more astonishing than what made it to the screen. We also reflect on why telling these stories now matters more than ever, as the generation that witnessed them is rapidly disappearing.

Want to learn more about these women? Check out our companion post about Vera Atkins, Noor Inayat Khan and Virginia Hall.

A Call to Spy trailer

Documentary: Enemy of the Reich - The Noor Inayat Khan Story

We didn’t just watch A Call to Spy, we also watched a documentary about Noor, which is available on YouTube.

Podcast: The Spy Who Wouldn't Lie

Are we a little obsessed with Noor Inayat Khan? Maybe. We also listened to a 5-part podcast about her that we highly recommend.


Book Rec

Book cover in white and blue tones with the bold red title A woman of no importance by Sonia Purnell. Cover features a woman spy in a trenchcoat

A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell is a 2019 biography about Virginia Hall, the American woman with a prosthetic leg who became one of the most dangerous spies in occupied France. Hall was told over and over again that she couldn’t. Couldn’t be a diplomat, couldn’t serve, couldn’t run missions with a wooden leg. She did it all anyway. Nicknamed “the limping lady” by the Nazis, Hall organised sabotage operations, recruited resistance fighters, and coordinated arms drops. All while evading German patrols and occasionally dressing up as a cranky old cheesemonger to eavesdrop on officers.

Purnell pulls no punches: the book is part thriller, part long-overdue spotlight on a woman long overlooked. If you’re looking for a spy story where the danger is real, the obstacles systemic, and the woman at the centre unshakably bold… This is the one.

BUY ON AMAZON
*This is an affiliate link. If you buy through this link, we get a small percentage, and you get a book and help Rosie stay afloat. Thank you!

Discover more from the Rosie the Reviewer Podcast

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More episodes

Ep 112 – The Longest Day – Episode Art

Ep 112 – The Longest Day – D-Day from Every Angle

In this episode of Rosie the Reviewer, we discuss The Longest Day (1962), the docudrama based on Cornelius Ryan’s nonfiction book about the Allied landings at Normandy on 6 June 1944. We go through the mega ensemble cast, stuff we liked and can’t get over how good Cornelius Ryan is at character driven narratives.
We also get into: the star-studded cast, the lack of blood, some movie trivia and the Plus: Canadia mention.

Go to episode »

Ep 63 – Clare Mulley on the Women Who Fought – Polish Paratroopers, Nazi Test Pilots & Churchill’s Favourite Spy

In this episode of Rosie the Reviewer, we’re joined by award-winning historian Clare Mulley, author of The Spy Who Loved…, The Women Who Flew for Hitler, and Agent Zo. We talk about Polish paratrooper Elżbieta Zawacka (Zo), Nazi-resisting test pilot Melitta von Stauffenberg, and the razor-sharp Christine Granville. Clare shares how she builds trust with her readers, balances storytelling with historical rigour, and restores women to their rightful place in the WWII record. And, this episodes is full of stories about the heroic women Clare writes about. You’ll want to pick up a book or two after this!

Go to episode »

Ep 68 – Masters of the Air – Rosie Rosenthal, Black Week and the Hundredth’s Losses (Part Two)

In this episode of Rosie the Reviewer, we continue our Masters of the Air series with episodes 4 through 6. George is back again to help us cover everything from Quinn and Bailey’s escape routes to Black Week, and welcome Rosie Rosenthal. We break down new character arcs, major missions, and quiet emotional … uh, breakdowns, including Bucky’s slow downward spiral, Crosby’s grief, and Rosie finding his rhythm (with some help from Artie Shaw).

Go to episode »

Ep 46 – Sonny Boy – A Powerful Story of Love, Struggle, and Resistance in WWII

In this episode of Rosie the Reviewer, we dive into Sonny Boy, a Dutch film based on the book by Annejet van der Zijl. The movie tells the true story of Dutch-Surinam couple Rika van der Lans and Waldemar Nods, highlighting their struggles during the German occupation of the Netherlands. The couple’s relationship and their efforts to hide Jews in their boarding house make for a compelling, emotional tale of resistance during WWII. Maartje also shares her love for Dutch history and the personal connection to this story.

Go to episode »

Support the podcast

Rosie the Reviewer is a passion project, built episode by episode. If you’d like to support what we do, you can help keep us on the air or pick up some Rosie merch. We’re working on more ways for you to get involved in the future.

Shop rosie merch