Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Safe Passage
by
Ida Cook
Gala opera evenings. Sudden wealth and fame. Dangerous undercover missions into the heart of Nazi Germany. Standing up to the perils of the Blitz. No one would have predicted such glamorous and daring lives for Ida and Louise Cook—two decidedly ordinary Englishwomen who came of age between the wars and seemed destined never to stray from their quiet London suburb and comfo...more
Paperback, 287 pages
Published
November 1st 2008
by Harlequin
(first published 1950)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
271)
The author of this book, Ida Cook, is an adorable, charming lady and you can't help be drawn into this book by her warmth and candidness. However, I felt that the title and description were somewhat misleading. I thought that the majority of the book would be about her and her sister's rescue of Jews in pre-World War II Germany and was a little surprised by the lengthy passages about the opera stars of the day. It was interesting to learn more about the great singers of the 1920s and 30s but not...more
I liked this book, but "the remarkable true story of two sisters who rescued Jews from the Nazis" is a bit of false advertising. Yes, Ida and Louise Cook saved Jews from the Nazis by arranging for them to gain refugee status in England--at considerable inconvenience, cost, and some danger to themselves--and those actions were sufficient to have them named "Righteous Among the Nations" by the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, which means they were the real deal. But the stories of their rescues take...more
I don't know exactly where I ran across a reference to this book but I think it was in A Short History of Women by Kate Walbert. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the idea of a pair of proper British sisters who developed a network of opera lovers and opera stars that smuggled goods belonging to Jewish families out of Hitler's occupied territories. The Cook girls decided they loved opera and began traveling from England to the Continent to hear their favorite operas and opera stars. They were wit...more
This is a true story about two of the most unlikely individuals one would ever expect to risk everything in order to secret Jews out of Europe and out of the clutches of the murderous Nazis during WW II. We meet Ida and Louise Cook, sisters from a very modest home and family in England. Their love of opera eventually brings them into the company of the great operatic stars of the day. The sisters would scrimp and save all year in order to travel to Europe and America so that they could attend th...more
Jul 14, 2009
Lizzy
added it
This review was written by Leland Phelps and posted by Lizzy Mottern
This incredible book is the story of two young English sisters in London who, in the early 1920s, became instant and passionate opera lovers. With very limited means, they not only began to attend operas but also tried to meet their favorite singers. Over the years they were able to establish friendships with such stars as Galli-Curci, Rosa Ponselle, Ezio Pinza and Maria Callas.
During the mid-thirties the sisters’ opera tours in...more
This incredible book is the story of two young English sisters in London who, in the early 1920s, became instant and passionate opera lovers. With very limited means, they not only began to attend operas but also tried to meet their favorite singers. Over the years they were able to establish friendships with such stars as Galli-Curci, Rosa Ponselle, Ezio Pinza and Maria Callas.
During the mid-thirties the sisters’ opera tours in...more
This was a very interesting book. Ida and Louise Cook were two British sisters born in the early 1900's. They were addicted to opera and were early "groupies" of the leading operatic voices of the 1920's and 1930's. Their "claim to fame" however, was the work they did to rescue nearly 30 people, one at a time, from Nazi Germany and Austria in the late 1930's. Neither sister was wealthy; they were resourceful, energetic people who saw that something needed to be done, and they figured out how to...more
I have to remember this is a non-fiction account written by one of the two sisters who were opera lovers and rescuers of Jews from Nazi Germany. I expected a lot more of the rescuing and a lot less of the opera, but I was disappointed. If you are not into opera, you will find much of the narrative to be dry. Ida Cook, the sister who wrote the book, also wrote many romance novels which helped to fund her rescue program before World War II. She was obviously very humble about her part in saving li...more
Am going to lend this book to my opera friend because it discusses many first half of the 20th century opera stars as the two sisters in this book make their way around Europe and the US going to Operas and star gazing subsequently befriending the stars and the people they met in lineups for the cheap seats. That on top of administering the guarantee and rescue of some pre-WWII jews right up until the day war was declared by Great Britain. Immigration policies in GB at the time made this process...more
Ms. Cook has a very conversational tone as she writes. As I was reading I could just imagine sitting down to a cup of tea with her and hearing her tell her fantastic story. OF course, a conversational tone can include rather abrupt changes in topic or tenor or seeming leaps from light subjects (opera) to very dark subjects (ghettos, beatings, concentration camps). For some this might be off-putting (especially if you don't care for opera), but I felt drawn in to her confidence and her exuberance...more
An autobiographical story by Ida Cook of her life with her sister Louise. They started out as young office girls in London who scrimped and saved to buy their first gramophone and ten recordings, which incidentally included an opera recording -- not their original intent. They become enthralled with opera and start going to the opera. From there, their scrimping and saving continuing on a grand scale. They scheme to go to the US to see some opera -- with a savings plan for 2 years of eating buns...more
The first half of the book is autobiographical, with the two british sisters in their twenties talking about life before WW11. The second part of the book shows them arranging safe passage, in dangerous circumstances, for jews lucky enough to escape the holocaust. What is remarkable about this book, is how "feminist" the women's thinking is, especially when I compare their thinking to that of my grandmother and mother and many women who grew up in the same chauvinistic era.
The anti-Nazi work is actually only a portion of this interesting memoir, and bless their souls for their courage and focus. But I loved the beginning section when the two sisters fall in love with opera and save, painfully, for two years on low-level office salaries to travel to the U.S to hear a particular diva. The homemade wardrobes, the careful planning, the conviction that this crazy trip was a perfectly sensible thing to do! Loved it.
Aug 06, 2011
Corin
added it
Very moving at times. Excellent depiction of so many disparate places and times. This wonderful book illustrates the excitement of the opera world of 1920s in contrast with the horrors and fear of the war years; the fun of being a naive young gallery girl against the unlikely morphing into brave rescuer; and more. There is a lot to learn and a lot to admire about these two adventurous sisters who worked hard to achieve their goals.
It's a light-hearted and easy-read book. I have never read any of Mary Burchell books but I can imagine Ida Cook wrote her autobiography the way she wrote her Mills and Boons romance. I was expecting to read a lot more about their remarkable deed in rescuing the Jews from the Nazis but the majority of the book is about their obsession about opera and the friends they have made over the years. It's a romantic story of the Cook sisters' lives.
I found this book interesting, but "the remarkable true story of two sisters who rescued Jews from the Nazis" is not completely accurate to me. I thought that the book would be about their rescue of Jews from Germany, but after over 120 pages with little or no mention of anything except lengthy passages about the opera, I gave up. Not a book I would recommend if a reader was wanting to learn about what the title states it is.
2.5 stars
A compelling story about the love of opera and the heroic efforts made to help refugees escape Europe during WWII, and how those worlds intersected. It is the true story of two sisters who made great sacrifices and were able to save 29 different families from the Nazi reign of terror. However, the writing was not the best and there were times when the operatic information was too prolonged - even for someone who enjoys opera...
A compelling story about the love of opera and the heroic efforts made to help refugees escape Europe during WWII, and how those worlds intersected. It is the true story of two sisters who made great sacrifices and were able to save 29 different families from the Nazi reign of terror. However, the writing was not the best and there were times when the operatic information was too prolonged - even for someone who enjoys opera...
A very interesting read. I seem to be perusing a great deal of fiction and non-fiction about the WW II era these days. This memoir was particularly interesting to me because of insight into the operatic scene of the time , and into the way in which the author and her sister viewed their world as it changed around them.
This book did not read the way I expected it to, but it still is fascinating story of two sisters. They live in England and are huge opera fans, and become friends with many opera stars. As a result, they are in a position to help many people escape Europe with WW II looming. I found their attitude so refreshing and amazing...they came into money just as things were heating up in Germany and their attitude was, that since they hadn't ever had money before, now that they did, why wouldn't they us...more
Quite engaging even though I know next to nothing about opera and there's a rather large focus on the art and the stars of it as the set-up to the sisters' quiet heroics in the days leading up to WWII. Very conversational and open in tone.
From pp 1-103 you learn about the early days and friendships with opera stars of the two sisters. Then it starts to get more interesting. The last one fourth of the book tells the stuff you expect to read about, the plans to save so many families that give the book its title. An easy, pleasant read.
Very inspiring and fairly well written book about sisters in London around WWII who are opera fanatics and help Jews find safe passage to England from Nazi Germany. A little too much opera for me; otherwise great book.
Delightful memoire about a subject I did not plan to read about -- opera. However, the true story of two opera fans and how they used their travels to concerts in Europe while rescuing refugees from the Nazis is utterly fascinating. A perfect example of the old adage: truth is stranger than fiction.
I'm reading some 1930s-1950s British and European history stuff . . . . This memoir was a tiny slice of that, and I liked it, and learned a bit about opera stars of the time to boot.
A simply written but moving account of two British opera-loving sisters who worked tirelessly to rescue Jews from the clutches of the Nazis in the months before WWII broke out.
Gosh, what can I say? This book starts as the story of 2 British spinster sisters as they are drawn into the world of 1920's and 30's opera artists from their ordinary fandom. This leads them to extraordinary measures to save Jews and their families as Hitler's regime begins to tighten its sinister web. Miss Cook then goes on from there to tell the story of riding out The Blitz in London, and rediscovering the opera world during the post war period. Quite fascinating, and written as a plain stat...more
While there were parts that were fascinating about the Cook sisters' valiant Jewish refugee rescue work during WW2, I found the book to mostly be about their obsession with opera and the opera stars of their day. Struggled to finish it.
A simply written but moving account of two British opera-loving sisters who worked tirelessly to rescue Jews from the clutches of the Nazis in the months before WWII broke out.
Mary Burchell's own amazing story - how a modest English secretary repeatedly traveled to Europe to save Jews from the Nazis.
The beginning of the book took a long time to set the stage for what I was really interested in. I guess it was necessary, but it shows how little I know about opera that it was a little boring at first. However, it was very interesting to hear how these sisters were able to save lives of many Jews. An entirely different slant to the European part of WWII. If there were 3 and 1/2 stars that's what I'd give it.
Agree with the other reviewers....too much about opera stars, not enough about the Jews and their rescues
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Then one woman looked directly at her husband. "Is our place gone?"
"I'm afraid so, girl," he said. "There isn't much left up there. But we're alive. We're all lucky to be alive. We'd have been dead if we'd stayed up above."
"Oh, what a mercy we didn't!" she exclaimed. "How lucky we are!"
Incredible though it sounds, within a few moments, a whole lot of people were congratulating each other on their extraordinary good fortune in only having lost all their worldy posessions.”
—
2 people liked it
"I'm afraid so, girl," he said. "There isn't much left up there. But we're alive. We're all lucky to be alive. We'd have been dead if we'd stayed up above."
"Oh, what a mercy we didn't!" she exclaimed. "How lucky we are!"
Incredible though it sounds, within a few moments, a whole lot of people were congratulating each other on their extraordinary good fortune in only having lost all their worldy posessions.”
“Presently someone is going to discover how to grow an instant tree. It won't be much like the tree that has taken years and years to mature, but it will satisfy quite a number of people who will, incidentally, be rather huffy if you talk about the superiority of the real thing.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
