Know Her Value: Books about Female Spies
Operation S.I.N.: Agent Carter by Kathryn Immonen and Rich Ellis
Peggy teams up with Howard Stark to investigate alien technology, and to nobody's surprise, Hydra is involved. Despite featuring Hayley Atwell on the cover, this graphic novel does not tie into the TV show.
Black Widow: Forever Red by Margaret Stohl
Assassin. Agent. Avenger. Black Widow aka Natasha Romanoff has worn many masks, and in this young adult novel you'll see her in yet another role: mentor to a teenage protégé.
Black Widow Volume 1: The Finely Woven Thread by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto
"I've got red in my ledger," Natasha admitted in The Avengers. "I'd like to wipe it out." These graphic novels chronicle her exploits as she atones for past sins and goes undercover in Russia to expose a worldwide conspiracy, crossing paths with Hawkeye, Iron Man and the Winter Soldier along the way. The story continues in Volume 2: The Tightly Tangled Web and Volume 3: Last Days.
More women in spy fiction:
Rimington, the first woman to serve as Director General of MI5, went on to write an ongoing series of spy thrillers starring counter-terrorism agent Liz Carlyle.
Girl in a Box by Sujata Massey
Rei Shimura accepts an assignment from the CIA to go undercover in a Tokyo department store.
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The first in a series of cozy mysteries, this fun whodunit introduces readers to Lady Georgiana aka Georgie, who is 34th in line to the throne and doing her best to make her own way in 1930s London while carrying out covert missions for the crown.
Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
The latest Maggie Hope title brings our resourceful heroine to the White House. She is posing as Churchill's typist while he negotiates an American alliance, but when Eleanor Roosevelt needs her help, Maggie finds herself drawn into another dangerous plot.
Non-fiction:
Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House by Valerie Plame Wilson
Despite being redacted by the CIA, this memoir offers a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of the leak that ended Plame Wilson's career as an intelligence officer. She has since co-authored a series of spy novels, the first book being titled Blowback.
Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari by Pat Shipman
History has painted different pictures of Mata Hari, labelling her hedonist, harlot and heroine. Discover the complicated truth in this biography.
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott
Like your history served narrative-style with a side of scandal? Read about the extraordinary lives of Belle Boyd, Emma Edmonds, Rose O’Neale Greenhow and Elizabeth Van Lew.
Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan by Shrabani Basu
A descendant of Tipu Sultan, Inayat Khan proved her mettle when she joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during the Second World War. She continued to spy for the Allies as a Special Operations Executive agent before her career came to a tragically early end.
One thought on “Know Her Value: Books about Female Spies”
So glad you’ve included the Noor Inayat Khan selection. One of the most compelling figures in WWII; wrapped up in the SOE labyrinth..