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They Called Me Renée

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What to expect

'The pacing and personal voice of Ruth makes for a gripping, focused story where the stakes are high. If you loved The Nightingale, you will love They called me Renee.' Heather Morris, internationally bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

'Extraordinary... a luminous portrait of survival and a powerful reminder of the light that can be found in humanity's darkest hours' Ellie Midwood, bestselling and award-winning author of The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz

'Beautifully written and deeply affecting' Clare Mulley, author of Agent Zo, shortlisted for the Women's Prize

'Extraordinary. Heart-rending. Inspirational. A gripping chronicle of true courage, heroism and resistance, in the face of ultimate evil. A triumph.' Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo

'An extraordinary true story of courageous survival and fearless resistance against the Nazis. Beautifully written.' Robert Verkaik, author of The Traitor of Colditz

'A gripping and heartbreaking account of courage and coming-of-age. In honest and authentic prose she shares her gripping story.' Gwen Strauss, author of The Nine

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank meets The Last Secret Agent by Pippa Latour in this extraordinary story of a Jewish girl trying to save herself, her family, and members of the Jewish community from Nazi capture during the Holocaust.

When her hometown of Berlin falls under Nazi rule, Ruth takes her younger sister and boards a train bound for safety. But with the war progressing swiftly through Europe, they are soon forced to separate and Ruth finds herself joining the ranks of the secret French resistance.

Armed with a new identity and a burning desire to fight the forces that tore her family apart, Ruth becomes Renée. Under her new guise she impersonates a Gestapo member to save a baby from capture, is held and questioned by Nazis whilst delivering forged identification documents and smuggles Jewish children across the border into Switzerland. But even as she risks capture every day, the promise of ever being reunited with her family slips further and further away...

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Previously published with the title Resistance Girl Renée

Critics Review

'They Called Me Renee is an incredible story of an ordinary young woman who survived an extraordinary period of history. A story of how identity changed for the purpose of survival can alter the person you were born to be, giving you the courage and resilience to become not only a survivor, but someone who goes on to make a difference in their community and their world in general...The pacing and personal voice of Ruth makes for a gripping, focused story where the stakes are high. If you loved The Nightingale, you will love They Called Me Renee. A wonderful true story which I believe will still be read generations from now, by all ages, cultures, and genders.'
Bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
'A slim volume of great power. This part memoir, part tribute is beautifully written and deeply affecting.'
author of Agent Zo, shortlisted for the Women's Prize
'Extraordinary. Heart-rending. Inspirational. A gripping chronicle of true courage, heroism and resistance, in the face of ultimate evil. A triumph.'
author of Zero Six Bravo
'A masterclass in resilience. This extraordinary memoir captures the breathless terror of occupied France and the fierce, unyielding courage of a young woman who refused to be broken. This is a luminous portrait of survival and a powerful reminder of the light that can be found in humanity's darkest hours.'
bestselling and award-winning author of The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz
'An extraordinary true story of courageous survival and fearless resistance against the Nazis. Beautifully written.'
author of The Traitor of Colditz
'Ruth Uzarad's first-hand account of her journey from a young sheltered daughter of modest shopkeepers in Berlin into the resistance fighter known as Renée Sorell is a gripping and heartbreaking account of courage and coming-of-age. In honest and authentic prose she shares her gripping story. Glimpses into the future, when an older Ruth returns to the old sites, visits with her long lost friends, fellow refugee children and resistance fighters, and rediscovers her past, lends this account a profound layer of compassion and understanding.'
author of The Nine
'What makes They Called Me Renée so moving is the sense of before and after. A lovingly described domestic world is shattered the day in 1938 when the Nazis come to the house to arrest the author's father and he disappears forever-from one day to the next everything is lost. Survival depends upon strategy and luck. The eighteen-year-old Uzrad makes the terrifying journey from Berlin to Lyon where she joins the French Resistance. She does not think of herself as heroic. This is what you do. You fight back.'
author of The Betrayal of Anne Frank
'Unforgettable. A rare coming-of-age story of a young Jewish teenager who fled Nazi Germany and joined the French resistance. 'Renée' survived unbelievable hardship and risked all to save the lives of countless Jewish children. Her deeply moving memoir is a powerful testament to human resilience and survival. A must-read!'
author of Her Secret Service: The Forgotten Women of British Intelligence
Author Ruth Uzrad
Duration 10 hours
Release Date
ISBN 9781800964419
Format Audiobook
Publisher Octopus
Genre Espionage and secret services, Memoirs, Second World War
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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