Agent Josephine: American Beauty, French Hero, British Spy

By Damien Lewis 

“Damien Lewis chronicles [Josephine Baker] with much fresh detail… What most beguiles us today is the sense that a proud revolutionary lurked beneath the winsome savage, the snowy smile. Spycraft wasn’t so much what Baker did as who she was.” ―The New Yorker

“Mr. Lewis is a prolific author of wartime histories and novels… Agent Josephine is a fascinating story, thoroughly researched and richly detailed… Written in the breathless style of a thriller.” ―Wall Street Journal

“Damien Lewis journeyed down the rabbit hole of arcane European archives to piece together the elusive tale of Josephine Baker’s French espionage service during World War II. The result, which evokes the sensuous glamour of Baker’s expatriate superstardom, is 400 pages of bravery and heroism that read like a spy novel you can’t put down.” ―Vanity Fair

The thrilling account of how Josephine Baker, the world’s richest and most glamorous entertainer, became an Allied spy in Occupied France

A Vanity Fair and The New Yorker Best Book of the Year

In Agent Josephine, bestselling author Damien Lewis uncovers the extraordinary story of Josephine Baker’s transformation from Paris performer to dauntless spy. Throughout World War II, using her stardom as a cloak for her secret work, Baker undertook daring clandestine missions to fight the Nazis, stamping an indelible mark on history. 

Drawing on a plethora of new material and rigorous research, including previously undisclosed letters and journals, Lewis upends the conventional story of the renowned performer, revealing why she fully deserves her unique place in the French Panthéon.

Paperback 
512 pages
PublicAffairs, 2023
5.45 x 1.28 x 8.25 inches 
ISBN 9781541700673
Literature