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Shop nowDutch Girl
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Learn moreTwenty-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.
Robert Matzen has gained a reputation as one of today’s leading biographers for combining airtight research with spellbinding narrative. He has appeared frequently on radio and television discussing his books and other topics related to Hollywood history. He is a former NASA communications contractor and documentary filmmaker whose work has appeared on PBS. He writes a popular blog at RobertMatzen.com. This is his eighth book.
Tavia Gilbert has recorded hundreds of titles across a wide span of genres, including Erica Spindler romantic thrillers, John Scalzi science fiction, Jeaniene Frost fantasy. She received four Audies nominations and won three Audiofile Earphones Awards for titles The Obituary Writer, Sing Them Home and The Day of the Pelican. In addition to voice acting, Gilbert is an accomplished producer, singer and theater actor.
Reviews
“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.”
“A wonderfully complete and revealing character sketch.”
“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.”
"[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.”
“A master storyteller, Matzen has given us a great story—intimate, intense, and unforgettable.”
“A meticulously detailed and researched look at the formative years of an iconic performer.”
“Matzen has created a vivid portrait of a civilian population under siege–one of who just happened to become a Hollywood star.”
"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.”
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