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Community Read: A Woman of No Importance

Companion Research Guide for the 2024-2025 Community Read book: A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

A Woman of No Importance

"SHE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS OF ALL ALLIED SPIES. WE MUST FIND AND DESTROY HER" - Gestapo 1942

"TOO MANY OF MY FRIENDS WERE KILLED FOR TALKING TOO MUCH " - Virginia Hall (on why she never wrote a memoir)

"MISS HALL DISPLAYED RARE COURAGE, PERSEVERENCE AND INGENUITY; HER EFFORTS CONTRIBUTED MATERIALLY TO THE SUCCESSFUL OPERATION OF THE RESISTANCE FORCES IN SUPPORT OF THE ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES IN THE LIBERATION OF FRANCE." - Harry S. Truman 1945

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A Woman of No Importance Reader’s Guide

Questions and Topics for Discussion from the Penguin Random House "A Woman of No Importance Reader's Guide" by Sonia Purnell

  1. Sonia Purnell asks a pressing question: “One of my great interests is motivation—why did Virginia take insane gambles with her own life for the sake of another country?”
    • Why do you think she did?
    • Would you do the same in her place?
  2. Since birth, Virginia was expected to marry well and become a society wife; instead, she chose a male-dominated career path in which she constantly found herself either underestimated or overlooked, even after the end of her illustrious war career.
    • Do you feel like views on where “a woman’s place” is have changed?
    • In what ways do you feel society has progressed when it comes to gender equality—and in what ways has it not?
  3. Considering how central Virginia’s role was in the Allied victory in France, it’s difficult to fathom how she could have been lost in the annals of history. While there are likely many factors in play as to why her story took so many years to surface, Virginia herself was also uninterested in fame and shied away from public accolades, seeking to continue her work in anonymity.
    • How did her decision to do so make you feel?
    • What do you think this choice has meant, if anything, for the women who have wanted a career like hers?
  4. Did you (or anyone you know) have a course set for you since childhood that you were expected to follow?
    • Have you (or they) since rebelled from that course? If so, what obstacles did you (or they) have to face, if any? Was it worth it?

Explore the Complete List of Questions and Topics for Discussion from the Penguin Random House "A Woman of No Importance Reader's Guide"