The Female Spy Who Helped Win World War II

As a woman with a wooden leg, Virginia Hall was an unlikely spy. That’s what made her so good.

Sonia Purnell
GEN
Published in
11 min readMar 28, 2019

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“Les Marguerites Fleuriront ce Soir” by Jeffrey W. Bass. A painting of Virginia Hall. Image via The Central Intelligence Agency.

In June 1940, England was afraid. France had capitulated to the Nazis after just six weeks of fighting, and nothing separated the island nation from its foe any longer but the turbulent waters of the English Channel. In order to fight…

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Sonia Purnell
GEN
Writer for

Sonia is an acclaimed biographer and journalist. Her latest book is A Woman of No Importance, the true life story of an incredible American spy, Virginia Hall