The Improbable Heroine : Lela Karayanni and the British Secret Services in World War II Greece
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This is the first biography in English of a World War II heroine of the Greek resistance, who joined the British secret intelligence services (SIS) shortly after the German occupation of Athens and was betrayed, arrested and executed one month before the Germans’ departure. She was a prosperous housewife with seven children, who had no experience in politics or military affairs, and yet she managed to build a formidable escape, espionage and sabotage organization that interacted with the highest levels of SIS agents in Occupied Greece.
Book Presentation with Prof. Stylianos Perrakis (Concordia University), Prof. Stathis Kalyvas (University of Oxford), and Prof. Gonda van Steen (King’s College London)
“The Improbable Heroine” by Stylianos Perrakis was shortlisted for The London Hellenic Prize 2022!
From the jury’s statement: „The Improbable Heroine: Lela Karayanni and the British Secret Services in World War II Greece has brought to life the most inclusive, most well-researched biography of Greece’s famous resistance fighter who contributed so much to the British anti-German underground. Author Stylianos Perrakis sheds light into unknown aspects of anglo-hellenic wartime collaboration and raises Lela Karayianni to the highest pedestal of freedom-fighters.”
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"The book is extremely pleasant to read, keeps the readers engaged with the narrative and allows those who are not familiar with Greece’s World War II history to follow the story of the heroine within the broader background of its time and place." – Nikos Marantzidis, Professor of Politics and Contemporary History, University of Macedonia, and author of several best-selling books on World War II Greece
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"In the end, the author succeeds in his primary task. He presents an authentic portrait of L.K as a truly remarkable woman, self-made, resourceful, indefatigable, idealistic, patriotic, inspiring and above all, an incredibly brave and dedicated Resistance leader. With the publication of this study the author will have secured for L.K. a permanent place of distinction and honor in the male-dominated pantheon of Greece’s World War II Resistance leaders." – John O. Iatrides, Professor Emeritus of International Politics, Southern Connecticut State University
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The official book presentation took place in Ottawa on March 5, 2023, and was hosted by the Canadian Institute of Mediterranean Studies. The presentation is available on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-arMMY4aa8&t=13s (last accessed October 5, 2023).
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