The Alice Network

by Kate Quinn

bony girls like me who couldn’t wear the New Look. Then again, 1947 was hell for any girl who would rather work calculus problems than read Vogue

“Is this—is this a date?” I asked, keeping my hand from going to my mussed hair. “Yes.” His eyes were steady. “It’s what a man does when he likes a lass. Puts on a jacket. Puts a shine on his shoes. Asks her to dinner.”

“I had a lovely time,” he said, very solemn. “I’ll ring you tomorrow.” “Boys never call.” “Men call.”

Louise de Bettignies took the code name of Alice Dubois (among several, though the nickname of Lili was my own invention) and turned her facility with languages and her organizational flair to the intelligence business. The result was one of the war’s most spectacularly successful spy rings.