I normally read fiction and lots of nonfiction doesn't pull me in. I found this book easy to pull you in. It was very informative and written well. I love how at the end the author went chapter by chapter explaining how the information was found. Overall a great book.

I was drawn to this book because I wanted to know more about Audrey Hepburn. Known mostly for the movies she starred in, Dutch Girl takes a look at another, much more personal of Audrey's life. I was very interested in the Foreword to this book which was written by Audrey's oldest son. I felt that this automatically gave it a very personal touch and I was moved by the way he talked about his mother. 

I thought Dutch Girl would be about Audrey's roots and rise to stardom, but it is actually quite a humble story. Audrey and her family lived in Holland during World War II and she was a teenager at the time. 

I knew nothing about her family, but here we learn that her mother was a great follower of Hitler and met him on more than one occasion. That made me feel uneasy but Audrey went for what she wanted in life and became a UNESCO ambassador and loved to help others. I was fascinated by the fact that she and Anne Frank were around the same age and was gripped by any part of the book mentioning diary entries, be that Audrey's mother's or Anne Frank's.

I have had a special interest in Anne Frank ever since I read The Diary of Anne Frank in my German class at school. It was so interesting seeing how their lives intertwined and overlapped. 

The level of detail in this biography is impressive and extensive. I was interested in Audrey and her family but at times I felt distracted and overwhelmed by the pace at which so many different people were introduced so much so that it was hard to keep track of the characters and the plot at times. 

Dutch Girl is a book to be cherished and I think it is a very unique biography given it is about Audrey and her family outside of Audrey's acting career. I would have loved to have discovered more bout that too and perhaps how the aspects of her past looked at in Dutch Girl shaped her decisions to become an actress and her experiences during her acting career. 

However, I appreciate that the author wanted to show the world a different side of Audrey. The book is very heavy on historical facts and Nazi history yet is written in an accessible way. Overall, Dutch Girl is a good read for anyone interested in Audrey Hepburn. Having read it makes me want to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's again. 

I love the cover of the book which I feel represents Audrey's true sense of style. And the title is mysterious enough to have made me want to find out more about Audrey. I'm glad I got the chance to review it and post for the blog tour. I am going to recommend this book. 

Thanks to Robert Matzen for such a unique biography and to Smith Publicity for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. 

4 stars.

Audrey Hepburn was terrified. The teenage girl was returning from delivering a message to an Allied airman when she saw German soldiers coming towards her. She knew that she would not only be asked for her identity, but also what she was doing. This required fast thinking. Audrey started picking wildflowers, smiled sweetly at the soldiers, and told them that she was taking the flowers home. 

This is just one of the many tales   tells in this exciting, but extremely harrowing book about Audrey Hepburn’s time in the war. Although the star was quite a heroine, the war affected her so badly that she didn’t want to talk about it so she kept it mostly secret except from her sons. Also, her aristocratic mother was once a fan of Fascism and even met Hitler, misguided by her Irish husband, Audrey’s dissolute father. Her mother saw the light quite quickly, however, once the Nazis invaded Holland.

Although Audrey did manage to establish a fledgling ballet career during the war, she had a terrible time. Her beloved uncle was taken hostage and shot. She saw her older brother dragged to a Nazi camp and Jews taken away on the cattle trains. She lived in Velp near Arnhem and towards the end of the war, people were suffering from malnutrition, including Audrey herself. The war raged around them and they turned to despair when the Battle of Arnhem was lost. Audrey once said: ‘Don’t discount anything you see or hear about the Nazis’. She said that: ‘It was worse than you could ever imagine. She was once helped by UNICEF and never forgot it – this led to her becoming an ambassador for the organisation.

During this dreadful time, Audrey and her mother helped a doctor who worked for the Resistance, Audrey delivered a Resistance newspaper, and her family even hid an Allied airman! She also helped to raise funds for the Resistance. 

This is a well-researched story which reads like a novel and might make people see the wonderful star in a different light. The only point that I would quibble at is that            seems to give the impression that all of the Mitford sisters were pro-Nazi. Nancy was very much for the Allied cause and Jessica became a Communist and ran away to America. 

I received this free ebook from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

Once again I would like to thank NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and impartially review.
Warning - Spoiler Alert
Though i have to confess it is quite difficult to review this excellent book without giving away spoilers for my fellow readers. Almost everyone knows Audrey Hepburn the famous film star, model and UNICEF Ambassador, but this story concentrates on her early years particularly 11 to 15 in War torn Netherlands. Her Mother and English Father were initially Nazi supporters, she wrote propaganda articles for British fascist magazines, and her Father was detained in prison during the war for his pro German beliefs. When war looked imminent her Mother recalled Audrey from school in England to the Netherlands as she believed that as in the First World War, the Germans would respect their neutrality, so Audrey the would be Ballet Dancer spent the majority of the War with her family in a small town not far from Arnhem. Yes that Arnhem of a Bridge to Far fame. This is the story of a brave compassionate girl who suffered the horrors of War at close quarters, the danger of imminent death from both sides, food shortages, and all while volunteering at the local hospital, and aiding the resistance where she could but so much more that i cannot reveal without further spoilers.
This is a fascinating meticulously researched book, well written and so descriptive you feel a part of the story that is as good a fiction.
Highly recommended.

A fascinating biography of Audrey Hepburn.  From her birth to death her life was filled with adventure.  Five years of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands, Arnhem's most famous ballerina and on to her work as an actress and a UNICEF ambassador.  Audrey Hepburn exemplified one who rises above all troubles and is a wonderful example for everyone.

The biography of Audrey Hepburn was so dry and confusing with all her ancestors that I had to put the book down.   I felt the emphasis on her relatives bogged the initial story down  and then I lost interest

I was glad to read the Introduction by Audrey Hepburn’s son, giving the book - & author -  his warm approval. So often biographies can seem unfair, written without the subject having a chance to correct anything. Add to that, this has been written in a very ‘readable’ style – again not always the case with biographies & histories – another plus point, before I had even read very far.                                                                                                                                                       This would have proved a fascinating story to read even if the subject was not a ‘celebrity’. In fact I have always admired Audrey Hepburn, since (unwittingly!) purchasing an oil painting of her when I was a teenager. Someone later told me they thought it was of her, in the lead role in ‘The Nun’s Story’. So then I had to buy the book – which I loved - & many years later finally saw the film. Many people have been struck – just as I was – on looking at the painting : it really ‘speaks’ to us. This is one very special lady, & this book allows us to understand some of what she went through to make her who she was.                                                                                                                                I also found this a most interesting read from a war history point of view : I have read a lot about the Second World War, & did see ‘A Bridge Too Far’ when it first came out, but really had no idea of what it was actually like to have lived through the experience. This book took me there, as if I had been a part of it. I don’t want to spoil the story for other potential readers, but I would say I can totally recommend it - & I will certainly be looking for the author’s other books...

I found this account of Audrey Hepburn's early years in Nazi occupied Netherlands riveting.  It gives new depth to this actress that I have long admired.  It balances the terrors of the war with her emerging love for dance and performance.  Her family was not untouched by the brutality of war, but this taught the young Hepburn an appreciation of life that she carried with her beyond those difficult years.  This book was well researched and a gripping read.  I will definitely look for the companion titles about Jimmy Stewart and Carol Lombard and their war experiences.

If you're looking for a biography that delves into the glamour and glitz of being a world-acclaimed actress, this could be disappointing as very little of the content is dedicated to that side of Audrey Hepburn's life. However, those who want to read an absolutely fascinating account of the real life of Hepburn will find it here. Just as the events of the second world war were to fashion and permeate a large percentage of her life, we are led to feel the effects of the harrowing times that the child and teenager was to suffer.
Not only does this enlighten me as to what life must truly have been like for the frustrated young aspiring dancer, but it provided me with a deeper knowledge of what the Occupation meant for the Dutch citizens and just how terrifying those days must have been.
As Matzen states, Hepburn was a remarkable survivor and her later work with Unicef was further proof of this. There were obviously many sufferers and survivors from the second world war but somehow this account really reached out to me.

Thank you to NetGalley and GoodKnight Books for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Audrey Hepburn's movies since I was in high school. No matter what "level" of fan you are, this is great book for you to pick up.

It's great to learn about not only her personal history, but also about where she comes from familial wise.

A fascinating look into a part of Audrey Hepburn’s formative years during the war.  Although the first 10% of the book got bogged down in nobility relationships, the rest was a wonderful insight into those years for Audrey Hepburn.  Thank you for an advance reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I didn’t know much about Audrey Hepburn, aside from her movies.  This was a fascinating work.  It makes me want to learn more about the rest of her history.  I am fascinated by this time period, but knew nothing about what happened in this area.

I so enjoyed this book and her story. I knew that she had experienced the war and it affected her but not to the extent of what I read. So much so many scared and then to live as long as she did and make a life for herself!! I will read the other books from this persn!!

All Audrey Hepburn fans this is it !
But don't expect to find this book.full of fab,Hollywood,glamour shots,This book is a down and dirty,telling all about her early life as a survivor of WWll.
She suffered starvation and deprivation along with her mother,mothers family.and the rest of the tightly knit Dutch community.
She did make it to Hollywood,after the war,but it wasn't her first choice,she wanted to be a ballet dancer.
She did many interviews,over the yrs.but,never answered any questions about the War or her private life,She considered those questions,off limits.
She retired from Hollywood,after 27 yrs.I'n the business to raise her two sons.She lived an enjoyable life,after all the glamour yrs.by keeping up with her gardening and the antics of her sons.
She died at the age of 63 due to stomach cancer.
I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review "Dutch Girl" by author Robert Matzen.

Audrey Hepburn is such an iconic actress and I've seen so many of her films multiple times. Outside of her films though I didn't know much about her life, especially as a young woman growing up during WWII in Europe. This biography from Robert Matzen is a fascinating read if you're interested in her life. I learned so much about her and I can definitely say that I have a newfound respect for her knowing what she went through. Audrey and her family lived through the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands and witnessed the terrible events of the war first hand, including the Hunger Winter of 1944-45. I knew nothing about her parents going in and their story is just as interesting given all of the circumstances. One thing that I didn't expect was the close connection between Audrey and Anne Frank - they were almost exactly the same age and lived fairly close to one another, but their lives were very different. It's easy to see how she grew to become the woman she did especially when it comes to work with children and UNICEF.

The best book I have read in a while and a must to write a review on is the well-researched biography “Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II” by Robert Matzen. Audrey Hepburn was a screen star adored by many including me for her awe-inspiring talent, and someone admired in her private life for doing much good for worthy causes like UNICEF.

After reading this biography, however, one cannot help but, admire her. Did you know that she spent five years of her life—ages 10-15—in Nazi-occupied Holland, and was a part of the Dutch Resistance even at that young age, starved along with the rest of that oppressed country, and was forever shaped by those experiences? This book explores those years. And, it is fitting it has been published not long before May 5 which would have been her 90th birthday had she lived. (Hepburn died at age 63.  
I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this great biography and a book on the history and effects of World War 11 and Holland.

This book drew my interest as a fan of Audrey Hepburn, however, after reading it, I'm even more impressed by the person that she was and what she overcame. Written with the approval of her son, this book delves into Audrey's childhood and life during World War 2. As a child in the Netherlands, Nazi occupation and fear of Hitler was enormous. 
Well researched and difficult to read at times, this book gives insight as to why Hepburn became such a vocal advocate for UNICEF and why she seemed so caring and selfless.
Hollywood isn't mentioned as this is based upon Hepburn's youth but it is well worth the read for historical significance. 
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

It was a privilege to review the biography “Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II” by Robert Matzen.  Audrey Hepburn was a screen star admired by many for her transcendent talent, and someone admired in her private life for doing much good for worthy causes like UNICEF.  

After reading this biography, however, I had even more reason to admire her.  Did you know that she spent five years of her life—ages 10-15—in Nazi-occupied Holland, was a part of the Dutch Resistance even at that young age, starved along with the rest of that oppressed country, and was forever shaped by those experiences?  This book explores those years.  And, it is fitting it has been published not long before May 5 which would have been her 90th birthday had she lived.  (Hepburn died at age 63.  And, yes, her wartime experiences did contribute to that early demise.)

Hepburn was born to an English father, and a titled Dutch mother from a prestigious and influential family in that country.  In the 1930s, her parents were duped—as many were—into having Nazi sympathies.  ( Her mother during the war, however, becomes a supporter of the Dutch Resistance and the Allies, and at the close of the war is exonerated from charges of being a Nazi sympathizer.). Her father abandons her family, and Audrey at a young age moves back to Holland from England.  Her family is devastated when a beloved uncle is executed by the Nazis, her half brother goes into hiding to avoid being conscripted by the Nazis, and she finds refuge in her love of ballet.  

During the war, she even uses her skills as a rising ballet star to raise funds for the Dutch resistance.  Through a network of doctors at the local hospital who are secretly active in the Dutch Resistance, she begins—in her early teens—carrying food and messages to downed Allied fighter pilots and Jews being hidden by the local people.  She also survives the bloody Battle of Arnhem, helping to tend those who are wounded.  When her small town becomes the focal point of battle, she is exposed to war at its worst.  Then, during the 1944 “Hunger Winter,” food supplies are cut off and she, along with the rest of her community, suffer severe malnutrition.

The book is very well researched and documented.  And is riveting reading.  Here are some interesting passages:

Quote from the author about his research and the writing of the book:

“Context is everything in Audrey Hepburn’s war story, so I’ve described the times and the history that surrounded the subject. I was able to locate more than 6,000 words spoken by Audrey about World War II, and in the end I plugged them into the story of the war and the part the Netherlands played in it. And, son of a gun, her quotes made sense, including all those stories she told about the Resistance. In some ways it’s a miracle Audrey Hepburn made it out of the war alive; in all ways this is the tale of a remarkable survivor who would go on to become a hero for the ages.”

About what Audrey had in common with Anne Frank:

“New York, New York June 2, 1952
 “I didn’t know what I was going to read,” said Audrey. “I’ve never been the same again.” She had first run into Anne Frank quite by accident in 1946. No, it wasn’t an accident, not the way it turned out. It was fate—there was no other explanation—that she and Ella had left Velp and were living in Amsterdam below the apartment of a publishing house employee who was working on this soon-to-be released, strange wartime dagboek, or diary, of a young Jewish girl. It carried the title Het Achterhuis, translated literally as ‘the house behind,’ with an official translation of The Secret Annex. The editor knew of Audrey’s wartime experiences and saw some similarities between the manuscript she worked with day by day and what she had heard from the van Heemstras. She said of the manuscript that Audrey “might find it interesting.” Oh, that didn’t begin to capture the reaction of seventeen-year-old Audrey Hepburn-Ruston to the power of the entries of her contemporary, Anne Frank. They were written in Dutch by Anne to a fictional friend named Kitty. 

The Frank family, including Anne’s father Otto, mother Edith, and sister Margo, had fled their Frankfurt, Germany, home in 1933 after Hitler’s ascension to power. Anne was four years old when the Franks began a new life in Amsterdam. Her father ran a successful business until after the German occupation, and when Margo Frank received a summons to appear before the Nazis in July 1942, the family went into hiding. Anne’s diary described their experiences as onderduikers living in a secret part of her father’s building from 1942 to ’44.

“There were floods of tears,” Audrey said of that first encounter with the writing of Anne Frank. “I became hysterical.” As a resident of Amsterdam, she had been so moved that she became one of the first pilgrims to Prinsengracht 263 to experience the secret annex. Now here it was, six crazy years later. Audrey no longer lived in a one-room flat in Amsterdam; she had just completed the run of Gigi on Broadway, U.S.A., and now ran around her New York apartment packing for a trip to Rome where she would begin production of William Wyler’s Roman Holiday. 

This Dutch girl, the one who was a dancer and couldn’t act, the one who didn’t like her looks, had taken Broadway by storm. Everywhere she went in America, people fell in love with her unusual looks and quiet, humble manner. With the performances, social engagements, interviews, photo shoots, and appearances associated with a successful Broadway show, there would be times her mind shook free of memories of the war. But all that changed in a heartbeat today. 

Today she learned that the American edition of Het Achterhuis was about to be released. For U.S. audiences it had been retitled Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had been so impressed with it that she had agreed to write an introduction that would prepare readers for the impact of what they were about to experience. 

Hearing about the release of Anne Frank’ s diary knocked Audrey for a loop all over again, bringing back all the connections that one teenager’s words had made for the other. Audrey and Anne were two dark-haired Dutch girls who had been born in countries other than the Netherlands. They were less than six weeks apart in age—Audrey born 4 May 1929 and Anne 12 June 1929. Ella’s birthday was also 12 June. Separated by a distance of just 60 miles, Audrey and Anne had experienced the same war with all its milestones, from German occupation to the battles for Britain and Russia to the bombing of Berlin to D-Day—as followed by both girls with their families on Radio Oranje. They experienced the same Nazis in all their brutality. And Anne had even known of and commented upon the executions in Goirle when she wrote from the Franks’ hidden rooms: “Prominent citizens—innocent people—are thrown into prison to await their fate. If the saboteur can’t be traced, the Gestapo simply put about five hostages against the wall. Announcements of their deaths appear in the papers frequently. These outrages are described as ‘fatal accidents.’ “

A quote in the book from Audrey about what she saw during the war:

“In interviews later in life she recalled time and again the horror of what she witnessed in Arnhem: “I saw families with little children, with babies, herded into meat wagons—trains of big wooden vans with just a little slat open at the top and all those faces peering out at you. And on the platform were soldiers herding more Jewish families with their poor little bundles and small children. There would be families together and they would separate them, saying, ‘The men go there and the women go there.’ Then they would take the babies and put them in another van.”

About the Hunger Winter:

““I went as long as three days without food,” said Audrey of life in the first quarter of 1945, “and most of the time we existed on starvation rations. For months, breakfast was hot water and one slice of bread made from brown beans. Broth for lunch was made with one potato and there was no milk, sugar, cereals or meat of any kind.” 

It was now more than four years since Audrey or any of the van Heemstras had enjoyed a full meal unaffected by rationing and shortages. Up until Market Garden, times were lean and stomachs always rumbled. After the one-two punch of a failed invasion and the railroad strike, the country’s food supply dwindled to nothing. Now, four full months later, Audrey and her family were suffering horribly from malnutrition. 

One official report said that by February 1945, more than 500 Dutch people were dying of hunger each week. Across the Netherlands, but particularly in the west, people were succumbing at such a rapid rate that morticians couldn’t keep up.”

About her work as a UNICEF ambassador and her death (Luca and Sean are her son’s’ names):

““When my mother wanted to teach me a lesson about life,” said Luca Dotti, “she never used stories about her career. She always told stories about the war. The war was very, very important to her. It made her who she was.” 

Audrey spent her last four years of life on the road as an ambassador for UNICEF, trying with her five-foot-seven frame that barely cracked a hundred pounds to will a planet of vengeful adults away from starting wars, because those wars create powerless victims in the children. She knew all about it. 

Audrey came back from Ethiopia, Venezuela, and Ecuador in 1988; from Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Mexico, the Sudan, and Thailand in 1989; from Vietnam in 1990 and Somalia in 1992 with her heart broken after every journey through barren, contested lands where children were starving. Or dying. Or already dead. She bled for them on the inside until she couldn’t live with the pain anymore. 

In an interview with Audrey’s friend, Anna Cataldi, Barry Paris documented a telling moment from October 1992 in Nairobi. Cataldi visited Hepburn to say goodbye after they had been in Somalia at the same time, Audrey for UNICEF and Cataldi on a magazine assignment. “When I hugged her, I was scared,” Paris quoted Cataldi as saying. “I had a shiver. She [Audrey] said, ‘War didn’t kill me, and this won’t either.’ But I had the feeling that sooner or later, war kills you. She was so skinny. I felt something was really wrong.” Cataldi said that Audrey mentioned she was having nightmares about the dead children of Somalia, and couldn’t sleep, and was crying all the time. “She had seen a lot of terrible things with UNICEF, but she broke in Somalia,” was Cataldi’s conclusion. 

Luca said that unlike every other mission, where she had found beauty in the children, “When she came back from the Somalia trip, she was devastated. Totally devastated. Hopeless.” 

And her health was failing fast. “She wasn’t feeling well,” said Sean. “At first she felt tired. Then we all thought for quite a while that she had caught a bug in Somalia, maybe some intestinal flu or some complicated disease.” 

The work on behalf of UNICEF that had been inspired—no, demanded—by the years in Arnhem and Velp attacked her insides as ferociously as the malnutrition and binges and diets plagued a girl who after all she had endured could never again master the simple task of eating. As sure as if a Nazi bullet had finally tracked her down, World War II claimed this woman who had cheated death in the Netherlands time and again. The date was 20 January 1993. At the age of just sixty-three, when she should have been vital and happy, enjoying the love of her life, her “Robbie” in their Swiss hideaway and delighting in sons Sean and Luca—both now adults—the war caught up and took Audrey Hepburn in a matter of weeks. The cause of death: abdominal cancer.”

I highly recommend this inspiring biography and thank Goodknight Books and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy of the book and for allowing me to review it.

"Dutch Girl" by Robert Matzen was a truly fascinating biography of Audrey Hepburn before she became the actress and activist that we know and love. Many know about her talents, gracefulness and philanthropy - but not much is documented of her upbringing. "Dutch Girl," chronicles the experiences of one small Dutch town  during the Nazi occupation. Not only was in informative, but also beautifully written. We learn about her interesting family dynamics, and how her mother got swept into the glamor of Nazi politics. Whether you are a fan of Audrey Hepburn or World War II, you will love this biography!

An impressive feat by Robert Matzen to set the record straight about Audrey’s life during World War II and the events that led up to it.

Good points: Audrey’s early life in detail. Her personal experiences in wartime is harrowing to read. Ella’s (Audrey’s mother) movements prior to the war was eye-opening. Stories about her other relatives were enjoyable.

There were a few things that bothered me. The many and varied titles of nobility got rather confusing as I continued onto the story. Could not help but wished the author stuck to everyone’s first names for clarity. And details of the war can get very technical? I felt very out of depth.

All in all, reading this book made me understand a lot about her. For that I am grateful.