Miss Jenny is an interesting little mystery. Not as interesting nor as tragic as the drama surrounding Agent 355, but a nice little mystery all its own. Miss Jenny, as we understand, was a French-speaking Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War who infiltrated the French camps during 1781 and passed information along to the British. [...]
Lana Kane “Archer”
I cannot believe I am about to blog about Lana Kane, aka sex-bomb super-agent of Archer‘s fictional spy-outfit “Isis”, but here we go… If you haven’t seen the anachronistic FX animated Series “Archer”, then you’re in for a treat. The show is snappy, dirty, raucous (great word – don’t get to use it very often), [...]
Ruth Klieger Aliav
You have to admit, WWII for all its awfulness, was a great time for women in the spy trade. We’ve seen operatives, cryptographers, and inventors, and now, we have another to add to the list: human smugglers. Considering the heated American debate on illegal immigration in America, Ruth Klieger Aliav (19??-1979) is a worthy dame [...]
Nikita 4.0
Oh, boy. Here we ago again. The fourth reiteration of “Nikita”, a juvenile delinquent taken into the folds of a secret government agency and turned into a cold-blooded assassin extraordinaire! has premiered on television…again… Of course, the 1990 original (and best) has already been covered, and I refuse, absolutely refuse, to discuss the 1993 American [...]
The International Spy Museum
Let me begin this entry by writing that I really, really wanted to like this museum because not only is it a fabulous idea, but I believe the history of intelligence to be extremely important to our understanding of the geopolitical, political, and cultural history of America. That being said, the museum, sadly, is a [...]
Muriel Byck
SOE agent, Muriel Byck (1981-1944), reminds us that while war may be a messy business, it is quite literally, also a dirty and germy business as well. Muriel was born to French Jews in London although she was primarily raised on the continent, first Germany, then later, France. Muriel appears to have bounced back and forth [...]
Ana Montes
I’ve always heard it that Hell hath no fury like a women scorned, but lately I’m more inclined to think it is that Hell hath no fury like a woman with a cause. Anna Montes (1957-) is the daughter of the career Army doctor. Born in West Germany and bounced around a bit as a [...]
Won Jeong-hwa
Won Jeong-hwa (1974-), a North Korean expatriate to South Korea was arrested over the summer for being a spy-dame. Nothing is truly known of Won’s early life or her possible motives. What is known is that Won defected to South Korea seven years ago and was exemplified as the ideal defector from the North. She [...]
Charlotte Gray
A not-great film with some spectacular casting, 2001′s “Charlotte Gray” tells a story of a Scot SOE dame played by Cate Blanchett who joins the infamous unit after her pilot boyfriend is shot down over France. When we first meet Charlotte, she is a returning from her native Scotland to London where she is employed. [...]
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman (1820-1913) is most often recognized for her skillful navigation of the Underground Railroad, but too few people seem to know that she was also a highly successful Union spy. What is a long and worthy life story to know is unfortunately going to get the Reader’s Digest treatment here and then I’m going [...]
