Women of War: The Untold Stories Fearless Female Resistance Fighters

Author and narrative historian Suzanne Cope’s new book, Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis, uncovers the extraordinary—and until now, largely untold—stories of four courageous women who risked everything to resist fascism during World War II.

From bomb-making in underground bunkers to cycling through the Alps with munitions strapped to their backs, these women fought not only against Nazi occupation and Mussolini’s loyalists, but also against the erasure of their own legacies.

Cope will be in conversation about her book with writer Tracy Gates on Sunday at Seminary Hill in Callicoon, NY , to talk about history, heroism, and the real women behind the resistance.

Cope is also the author of Power Hungry, and her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and more.

Image: Anita Malavasi led troops across Italy’s Apennine Mountains as part of the Italian anti-fascist resistance during World War II. (Credit: Publicity/European Resistance Archive)