After researching the life of a British Special Operation Executive agent, Oliver Churchill, who operated over the summer of 1944, Andrea Cominini found that his brother, Peter, had also been an SOE agent operating in France during WWII. Peter carried out four missions, spending 225 days in enemy territory. Finally captured, he spent over two years in captivity. After the war he wrote four novels based on his wartime experiences. Reviewing his second book, The Daily Herald wrote: "Now Peter Churchill wrote one of the best spy books of all time". The author describes the different literary genres in which Churchill's works can be situated and - through a subsequent analysis of the novels - how they provide a clear and historical representation of everyday life of a British secret agent during WWII. Peter Churchill's works are then compared to those of pther novelists of his time, uncovering a range of connections with other related authors and literary genres. After the war, Churchill was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Croix de Guerre; his wife Odette, who worked with him as an underground courier during the war, was the first woman to receive the George Cross.

About the Author
Andrea Cominini teaches of foreign languages and literatures at an Italian secondary school and writes for the Historical Institutes for the Resistance of Brescia and Bergamo. In 2018 published an essay on Oliver Churchull in the Valle Camonica in the volume The Allies in Brescia Between War and Reconstruction (FrancoAngeli Edizioni). In 2020 he published the volume Il nazista e il ribelle. Una storia all'ultimo respiro for Mimesis Edizioni.


Book Information
ISBN 9788869773983
Author Andrea Cominini
Format Paperback
Page Count 130
Imprint Mimesis International
Publisher Mimesis International