Agent Zo cover art

Agent Zo

The Untold Story of Fearless WW2 Resistance Fighter Elzbieta Zawacka

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Agent Zo

By: Clare Mulley
Narrated by: Clare Mulley, Kristin Atherton
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About this listen

 SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025: 'A masterfully written biography... inspiring and powerful'

'Gripping, moving and important' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE

'Agent Zo is a triumph. Absolutely essential reading' HALLIE RUBENHOLD

'The astonishing story of an extraordinary woman' JONATHAN FREEDLAND

Agent Zo tells the incredible true story of Elżbieta Zawacka, the WW2 resistance fighter known as 'Zo'. The only woman to reach London from Warsaw during the Second World War as an emissary of the Polish Home Army command, Zo undertook two missions in the capital before secret Special Operations Executive training in the British countryside.

As the only female member of the Polish elite Special Forces - the SOE-affiliated 'Silent Unseen' - Zo became the only woman to parachute from Britain to Nazi German-occupied Poland. There, whilst being hunted by the Gestapo (who arrested her entire family), she played a key role in the Warsaw Uprising and ultimately in the liberation of Poland. After the war, Zo was demobbed as one of the most highly decorated women in Polish history. Yet the Soviet-backed post-war Communist regime not only imprisoned her but ensured that her remarkable story remained hidden for over forty years.

Now, through new archival research and exclusive interviews with people who knew and fought alongside Zo, Clare Mulley brings this forgotten hero back to life, transforming the way we see female agency in the Second World War.

'Deeply researched and written with verve... thoughtful as well as action packed' The Times©2024 Clare Mulley (P)2024 Orion Publishing Group Limited Europe Great Britain Military Military & War Women World War II War Imperialism Inspiring Soviet Union

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All stars
Most relevant  
An extraordinary story of a resistance fighter, her near- death experiences and what happened after those struggles. It also provides the context for the 50% of the population in the war who were treated as inferior to the other 50% and her attempt not only to right this wrong but to correct the narrative.

An amazing and true story of inequality and heroism

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This was a complete left field for me, but absolutely gripping, and needs to be made into a film...cannot recommend highly enough....
Fantastic, and realistic story of huge bravery.

I cried

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Detailed, and very moving, this was a journey through time. Excellent, and powerfully told. An emotional portrayal of the Polish women's fight and survival during an incredibly harrowing period of time.

Delightful biography

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This book is amazing.

I was gripped by the story of her life and what she had gone through for payment. I often find myself wondering whether I would be brave enough to do a fraction what she did if we were called upon to do so in the future.

I liked it so much that I am now going to go and read her other books. 

So well written, you forget, it is not Fiction

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What a woman! Very few will achieve the task of doing the greater good. Well worth your time ear time

Incredible & Captivating account of so many heroes

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Clare Mulley has done it yet again. She shines a light on the life and exploits of Agent Zo.

Clare has an amazing ability to bring people’s lives to life. Yet again she has made me care about a person I had no idea about. Always so engaging.

Another brilliant book from Clare Mulley

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This is a fantastic book and takes you from the beginning to the end of ZOs Life she probably was Polands greatest Agent in WW2

Poland best female agent

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The heroics of some ordinary people in the face of evil and tyrony Agent Zo is extremely well written and i believe a must read, factual and a story that needed telling.

A gripping fantastic real life story.

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Well read and kept a good pace. A wonderful complex story which seems unbelievable in our modern world. A must read for a wartime perspective.

A very powerful book

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Fascinating story of Elzbieta Zawacka. The only fly in the ointment, which for me was a very big one was the terrible pronunciation of her surname. This did spoil the book for me as her surname is regularly said, as well as a few other names. Most were well pronounced but to miss the c in Zawacka grated on me and spoilt my enjoyment till the end.

Incredible person

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