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Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Twenty-five years after her passing, Audrey Hepburn remains the most beloved of all Hollywood stars, known as much for her role as UNICEF ambassador as for films like Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Several biographies have chronicled her stardom, but none has covered her intense experiences through five years of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands. According to her son, Luca Dotti, “The war made my mother who she was.”
Audrey Hepburn’s war included participation in the Dutch Resistance, working as a doctor’s assistant during the “Bridge Too Far” battle of Arnhem, the brutal execution of her uncle, and the ordeal of the Hunger Winter of 1944. She also had to contend with the fact that her father was a Nazi agent and her mother was pro-Nazi for the first two years of the occupation. But the war years also brought triumphs as Audrey became Arnhem’s most famous young ballerina.
Audrey’s own reminiscences, new interviews with people who knew her in the war, wartime diaries, and research in classified Dutch archives shed light on the riveting, untold story of Audrey Hepburn under fire in World War II.
Also included is a section of color and black-and-white photos. Many of these images are from Audrey’s personal collection and are published here for the first time.
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"This book was riveting. I am a WW2 buff and I also love the movies from the 40s and 50s. Audrey Hepburn was a wonderful actress and I enjoy all of her movies. This book is such an eye opener of the horror she experienced along with all the Dutch people. Learning so much about he life makes me respect her even more as a person and as actress. Thank you for providing this book and all the wonderful affordable books"
— Lark Rials (5 out of 5 stars)
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“A vivid, moving, and persuasive account of a harrowing time that the actress seldom discussed in detail and which has been glossed over or sensationalized by frustrated biographers.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“A wonderfully complete and revealing character sketch.”
— Christian Science Monitor -
“Tavia Gilbert provides a sensitive and appropriately paced narration…precise, and appealing. Listeners will learn much that is new about the silver screen icon…Riveting, powerful, and memorable listening await the listener.”
— AudioFile -
"[A] scrupulous account of Hepburn’s upbringing in Belgium, England, and the Netherlands—elements that previous biographies have only glanced at…The author interweaves detailed military and social history…Matzen’s labor of love amply shows how war shaped Hepburn’s world view.”
— Kirkus Reviews -
“A master storyteller, Matzen has given us a great story—intimate, intense, and unforgettable.”
— Foreword Reviews -
“Matzen has created a vivid portrait of a civilian population under siege–one of who just happened to become a Hollywood star.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“A meticulously detailed and researched look at the formative years of an iconic performer.”
— Library Journal -
"Dutch Girl may be one of the best books about Audrey Hepburn ever written. It offers the reader, the historian, the film buff an insight and understanding as to what made Hepburn the star, the actress, the humanitarian—the very woman whom the world to this day warmly remembers with love and admiration. Dutch Girl is a must read.”
— Stephen Michael Shearer, author of Beautiful: The Life of Hedy Lamarr
Awards
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A Fortune Magazine Pick for Spring Reading
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A GoodReads Readers’ Choice for April in History and Biography
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About Robert Matzen
Robert Matzen is a former federal contractor for NASA who now specializes in Hollywood history. He has appeared on BBC 2 and BBC Radio 4. He is the author of Carol Lombard: A Bio-Bibliography and Errol & Olivia, and he is the coauthor of Errol Flynn Slept Here. He lives in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
About Tavia Gilbert
Tavia Gilbert is an acclaimed narrator of more than four hundred full-cast and multivoice audiobooks for virtually every publisher in the industry. Named the 2018 Voice of Choice by Booklist magazine, she is also winner of the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She has earned numerous Earphones Awards, a Voice Arts Award, and a Listen-Up Award. Audible.com has named her a Genre-Defining Narrator: Master of Memoir. In addition to voice acting, she is an accomplished producer, singer, and theater actor. She is also a producer, singer, photographer, and a writer, as well as the cofounder of a feminist publishing company, Animal Mineral.