#DutchGirl#NetGalley
This new biography by Robert Matzen mostly goes into details of the five years during World War 2 when Audrey Hepburn was 10-15 years old living in Holland. Her life was not what you might expect.
There are vivid descriptions of the people and the hardships they endured. Her town was situated so that there were times when it came under attack from the Germans as well as the allies chasing them down.
Her father divorced her mother and went back to England. Her mother, a baroness, had nazi leanings early on which would continue to haunt the family. Her uncle Otto, whom she adored, was executed.
She considered Anne Frank her “soul sister”.
Audrey would never fully recover emotionally. Her dream was to become a ballerina which ultimately led to her career as an actress.
The war years seemed to go on forever! Think less would be better.
The book does leave you with a new understanding of her quiet reserved personality.

The story of one of the most enduring and beloved stars Hollywood has ever produced -- Audrey Hepburn -- has been told again and again since her passing in 1993. An Amazon search of books with her name will produce well over a thousand titles, with every aspect of her life but one covered in print: her years during World War II when she lived in the Netherlands under Nazi rule.

On April 15, 2019 -- just weeks before what would’ve been her 90th birthday -- critically acclaimed and bestselling biographer Robert Matzen reveals the true war story of this cinematic icon. The book, as shocking as it is vital and triumphant, is ​DUTCH GIRL:​ AUDREY HEPBURN AND WORLD WAR II

As soon as I saw this book, I knew I had to read it! I've been a big fan of Audrey Hepburn for a long time and I'm always interested in reading about her life. This isn't just a biography of Audrey Hepburn but a biography of the time and place that made her who she was. I found it to be well researched and nicely put together.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #DutchGirl
Pub Date: 15 Apr 2019

Book Court - Where I'm the Judge and Jury

CHARGE (What is the author trying to say?): To explore Audrey Hepburn’s early years in the Netherlands during World War II and how it affected her development as a person and as an actress.

FACTS: Audrey, called Adriaantje, was born in Brussels. She was blindsided at age 6 by the separation of her parents and her banishment to a small boarding school in England. “She would never quite recover from the shock of the separation.” Her mother, Ella, was a Nazi-sympathizer and spent a lot of time in Germany. Her father also traveled extensively for the Third Reich. After Great Britain declared war on Germany, Audrey was moved to the Netherlands, where she lived with her mother and two half-brothers. Reunited with her mother would prove difficult. “Audrey would spend most of the next forty-five year subjugating her own will to that of her mother.” Audrey was trained in classical ballet. The circumstances of Anne Frank and the writing of her diary had a profound effect on Audrey. As the author describes the horrors and privations of the war years, he notes that Hepburn very rarely discussed them herself – though these experiences affected her for the remainder of her life. The book does bog down with too much focus on the unfolding history and too little on Audrey herself.

VERDICT (Was the author successful?): Guilty, as charged.

#DutchGirl #NetGalley

If you are interested in how Audrey Hepburn became the composed and compassionate woman she was, Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen is a must read. Dutch Girl is the little known story of Hepburn's years during WWII. She was 10 when Holland was invaded and 15 when it was liberated. She has said "My childhood in Arnhem and in Velp was the most important part of my youth." You learn how a young girl running errands for the Dutch Resistance between ballet practice balanced life as the daughter of a Hitler idolizing mother and a Nazi spy father.

This book is also a detailed account of WWII in Holland and would be a good book for anyone interested in WWII history. Robert Matzen did his research not only on Hepburn but also on the war and it's effects on Holland.

I received an uncorrected proof copy of the book from Netgalley and this copy is a little disjointed, I can only assume that it will flow better before actual publication. Even that stated, I would still highly recommend this book.

war-is-hell, world-war-ll, The Netherlands, ballerina, UNESCO *****

Who knows more about children's troubles living in a country visited by war than a girl who lived in England and then was summarily moved to the Netherlands not long before it was occupied by the Nazis. Her later accomplishments allowed her to make a difference through UNESCO, but that frightened girl remained inside her forever.
This biographer had some real advantages in being vetted by Audrey's son and also being able to have someone able to access classified documents in the Netherlands. At first the book spends an inordinate amount of time lauding her mother and later details some aspects of the War in Europe in excruciating military detail. However, even if the reader only reads half the book and skims whatever doesn't suit, it is worth the full retail price.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Smith Publicity via NetGalley. Thank you!

I hadn't read books about Audrey Hepburn before, all I knew was that she was European and spoke many languages fluently. Author Robert Matzen makes it clear that other biographers were wrong about details he got right. Her Dutch mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra, persuaded her English father Joseph Ruston to take on his ancestor's surname, an Earl of Bothwell named James Hepburn, which is how her birth name came to be Adriaantje Hepburn-Ruston.

War is complex and I can totally appreciate how one family can honestly stress bits in their past about abetting Allied soldiers and being tormented by Nazis while neglecting to emphasize that her mother's fluent German helped her find work and avoid worse suffering, or the fact that both her parents supported fascism to varying degrees and at different points in time. Clearly the effects of war impacted Audrey Hepburn her whole life, compelling her to maintain rigid privacy and to give her all to UNESCO and child victims of war worldwide.

Audrey is all honesty, integrity, and genuineness. I love that the gossip here is more political than saucy. In fact, according to Eleanor Harris's Good Housekeeping article, the dish on Audrey in 1959 was that as a patient she refused narcotics and sedatives and never complained, while filming The Nun's Story was seen selflessly serving thirsty Africans her water rather than drinking it herself, and as a wife and mother she was known to run a perfect household, and to credit self-discipline for her world-famous waist.

I would recommend this book to war afficionados, there was incredible attention to detail on the subject. Matzen alludes to gallows humor being a Dutch specialty, but I wish he'd provided examples. I was very curious about the Dutch ethnic slur for Germans "moffen" or "moff," meaning unwashed and backward people; when I looked it up online, I laughed out loud to find it defined as Menschen ohne Freunde (people without friends)!

I thoroughly enjoyed this captivating book about Audrey Hepburn's years in the Netherlands during WWII. Matzen fills in the voids that Hepburn was intentionally vague about. And with good reason: her mother was a Nazi sympathizer during the 1930s. The book highlights just how cruel the war was to the Dutch, right to the very end. Matzen's descriptions are vivid. He has a great introduction and it was almost as fun to read his notes as it was the text.

I received a copy of Dutch Girl from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It's not just a biography of Audrey Hepburn but a biography of the time and place that made her who she was.
Robert Matzen does a stunning job of bring Audrey to life.

Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen is a superb novel with impressive research in regards to the biography and true life-story of the adolescence of Audrey Hepburn-Ralston.
To finally have well-researched story to give a foundation of who Audrey was and how she became who she was later in life, is astounding.
To hear all the hurdles she overcame, to hear all the horrors that she had to endure, makes one fall in love with her all over again.
Audrey wasa strong, passionate, selfless woman who overcame it all to be a great mother, daughter, and family member. Her professional jobs later in life as an “actress” os just the smallest part of this puzzle.

This is a must read. Well done. 5/5.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this gem in return for my honest review.

What a fabulous book with a fantastic insight to Audrey Hepburn's early years wonderful research this book was a fabulous learning curv can highly recommend for fans of this wonderful lady.

This book is about Hepburn’s early years in Europe during the war. It has a foreword by her youngest son Luca Dotta. She had always been very introverted, a quiet, shy girl. Probably more so after her parents split and her father wasn’t around anymore. but the ballet lessons she loved so much finally helped her become more expressive outwardly. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra was very pro-German before the war began and had met Hitler a couple of times during their many travels. But then Audrey’s father had walked out when she was 6. They were both taking it hard but Audrey was really worried about her mother.

Elle put Audrey in a school and found her some ballet classes in London, but when war became imminent her mother had her brought to the always previously neutral Netherlands to live. It was hard for Audrey because she didn’t speak the language there and so didn’t understand a word of what they were saying at school. The only thing that made it bearable for her was that her mother was able to get her into ballet classes again. She grew up as Adriaantje (little Audrey) Van Heemstra, but after the Germans moved in she became known as the English-sounding Audrey Hepburn-Ruston. Ella is good at organizing events, especially if it will be something that will offer a chance to show her daughter’s talent. But she’s lacking in showing warm feelings to Audrey, who is so needing them. Audrey can’t understand why Ella is still friendly with the Germans, who are being so cruel to their Jewish friends. Though, as time goes on and her mother can no longer ignore what’s going on, she does stop socializing with them, etc. But this will cause problems for Audrey throughout the rest of her life.

About halfway through the book, near the end of the war, it begins speaking from Audrey’s later perspective, done in italics, where she returns to the Netherlands and reminisces about the war, married and a star. This appears off and on through the book. It’s well researched and reads well. This is for those interested in the old star biographies, and WWII. My thanks for the advance electronic copy that was provided by NetGalley, author Robert Matzen, and the publisher for my fair review.

Well written and well researched biography of Audrey Hepburn. I learned so much that I did not know about my favorite actress.

I will say there were times that my heart raced. I was terrified, I cried and I was elated. This was an emotional ride. Well worth the time, and double the money.

I enjoyed this book tremendously and was extremely excited at getting an insight into the tumultuous life of Audrey Hepburn, one of the most amazing actresses of her time. The novel was insightful and very interesting.

Princess Fuzzypants here: There once was an actress who very well could have been a princess. In fact, she came from a long line of European aristocracy. To look at her, one would think a brisk wind could blow her away but behind the surface, there was a very strong woman who survived much and accomplished more in her life.
Anyone who has ever watched an Audrey Hepburn movie would be forgiven for thinking she was a delicate waif. But as the reader learns more about her early years, particularly the ones during WWII, one realizes the steel behind the fragile form. Born into a family of exquisite blood lines but very little money, she had the unfortunate luck to have two very challenging parents. Her father abandoned his family early in her life and her mother was hyper critical of everything about Audrey. They also had a fascination with Hitler and the Nazis, her mother’s lasting into the Occupation of Holland. It was something that, even though she attempted to make amends, would haunt both her and Audrey all their lives.
Yet, in spite of her parents, or perhaps ironically because of them, Audrey had a discipline, courage, strength and compassion that was monumental. She wanted to be a ballerina but was too tall and started too late to achieve her desire. She fell into acting and stardom and was able to walk away with no regrets. She was able to find contentment in giving to others, both her family and the children of the world even with the ghosts that would haunt her.
She was a remarkable woman. This biography tells her story beautifully and gives the reader a glimpse of the true beauty that lay behind the image she projected. The world lost an admirable soul when she died. I am glad she can live again in this book.
Five purrs and two paws up.

"Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II" eBook was published in 2019 (April) and was written by Robert Matzen (https://robertmatzen.com). Mr. Matzen has published three books.

I categorize this novel as ‘G’. The book tells about the mostly early life of actress Audry Hepburn paying special attention to the years 1940-45 when she lived in the occupied Netherlands. 

This book gives an entirely different look at Hepburn. Much is told of her life as an eleven to sixteen-year-old in the German-occupied Netherlands. Then in 1944, the life of she and her family take a turn for the worst when the Allies undertake Operation Market Garden. They were living in Arnhem and were in the middle of days of battle between Allied and Nazi forces. 

The months, nearly 200 days, following Market Garden were not much better as they had to survive in damaged housing and with almost no food until they were finally liberated by the Allies on April 16, 1945. 

I enjoyed the 8 hours I spent reading this 400-page biography. I thought that this was an interesting story of survival by a young girl who developed into an international movie star. I found it interesting that Hepburn was such an enthusiastic and talented ballet dancer before and during the early years of the war. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 5 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

This book provides a lot of detail about the early life and war years of Audrey Hepburn and her family, but even more details about the German occupation of the Arnhem area where Audrey spent most of her early years. There was almost too much detail of various events, and sometimes I felt that the story lost sight of Audrey. Nevertheless, it was an interesting read.

This is a book that brings alive the early life of Audrey Hepburn and it is also an account of how the Netherlands suffered during the invasion in World War 2 . I found it fascinating, as someone who has visited the area around Arnhem countless times over the last 30 years. The reader learns of Audrey’s mother Ella, Baroness van Heemstras and after a failed first marriage she married Robert an Englishman and Audrey born in England spent her early life enjoying an English school and beginning ballet, which was to be the love of her life. Later her parents, deeply interested in Hilter left the children, Audrey and her two half brothers to enjoy the Nazi inner circle and in Ella’s case write about the greatness of the Nazis, which was to haunt her later in life. As her parents marriage breaks up it is in Arnhem that she begins to enjoy family life with grandpa, the Baron and her circle of van Heemstras and their connected noble families.The beginnings of her dedication to learning ballet starts and then the invasion by Germany happens.At first her mother Ella is keen to keep her friendships with the invaders setting up Audrey to dance for the German soldiers at a concert and performing a masque to celebrate Bach. Then as the war develops they find themselves in Arnhem as life gets more difficult and the beloved Uncle Otto is seized probably in retaliation for Queen Wilhemia’s speech in New York and after an Resistance incident, it is he and four other prisoners who are executed as a reprisal.
The terrible conditions the family suffer when they move to Vip to one rented house where they worry about the hidden English soldier whilst Germans use an attic for thei4 radion. Here we learn of the terrible events of Market Garden and then the aftermath. The family as well as all Holland suffer starvation, grinding up bulbs to make flour and then face the bombing by the Allies who realise that tanks are based nearby plus the V1 and V2 rockets fired on England but landing local. Audrey plays her part by teaching ballet classes, working with the hospital and delivering Underground newsletters. This part of her life is carefully researched and the young teenager’s life with the regime even her illness from malnutrition is explained. The suffering of all is clear. Whilst touching on her films and her two marriages and her dedication to her two sons the majority of the story is the war and her life post war. Her later life as a UNICEF Ambassador for children brings the story full circle when she is able to identify the suffering of the children in the war torn areas she visited with her own war time e periences. This is a thoroughly engaging book that I feel all should read to show the futility of war.

People probably like this book will probably be more interested in World War II than Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn lived through and experienced major episodes of World War II which ended when she was fifteen. However, the book needed to make a better connection Audrey Hepburn's childhood and her adult. Also, the book has a more information about Holland and World War II than is strictly needed for a book that is mainly about Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn lived through some of the major incidents of World War II. Both her parents were early supporters of Hitler and Fascism (her mother continue to support the Germans two years into Germany's occupation of Holland). Her father left her when she was a small child. Audrey Hepburn's mother brought Audrey Hepburn back to Holland at the beginning of World War II believing that Holland would be safe from the Germans. Some of Audrey Hepburn's early education in ballet and theatre was helped because her mother was friendly with the Germans.

In about 1942, two years into the German Occupation of Holland, Audrey Hepburn's mother seems to have changed and at least not actively helped the Germans. Audrey Hepburn had an uncle that was shot by the Germans. Her family lived in Velp which saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The area also experienced severe hunger. Audrey Hepburn and her family helped both the British and the Dutch resistance. The area had many hidden Jews..

The book barely touches on Audrey Hepburn's later life. One would be interested to find a more direct connection between Audrey Hepburn's later life and her war experiences.

The more interesting parts of the book are about Audrey Hepburn's mother worked with the Nazi’s until 1942. Her mother was on some Dutch watch lists for being pro-Nazi. My mother fled Nazi Germany so I know that anyone who had what appeared to be voluntary Nazi sympathies could be intensely hated by victims of the Nazis. Audrey Hepburn's mother seem to have a talent for being able to reinvent herself and could hide her Nazi past.

Audrey Hepburn seems to have taken some care to hide her mother's Nazi sympathies. Also, Audrey Hepburn herself had to keep quiet that some of her performances that she when she was ten to twelve were done with German sponsorship when she gave talked about her childhood in Holland.

It would have been helpful to know how Audrey Hepburn's war experiences affected her adult life. The author seems to assume that people have in depth knowledge about Audrey Hepburn’s later acting career and about her humanitarian activities which many people nowadays don’t have.

Again, this book more a book about people interested in World War II than Audrey Hepburn the movie star.
I received a free copy of this book from Negalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a disappointing read. I was hoping to read more about Audrey Hepburn's life during WWII whereas this felt more like a history book. .

Don't get me wrong, I love history books, but I like to choose them for myself. I was expecting more of a biography.

Dutch Girl documents the life of Audrey Hepburn during her years in the Netherlands which includes the torrent episodes of World War 2. At times the book comes across as a history book about the Netherlands and WWII and the story of a would be actress who would steal the hearts of the world in her adulthood.

The novel does not really go into her films or life after she had become a star. It does however document an important part of world history and the part she played in these events and her family, mainly her mother’s role with Nazi’s and the change of attitude once the Germans invade the Netherlands. It is a very interesting novel and I was captivated by the way Matzen is able to weave the two stories together. The story of the Netherlands is more interesting and tends to overshadow the story of Hepburn.

The novel can be described as a thinly disguised book selling on the life of a movie star but delivering a historical account of Germany and Netherlands. I personally found it to be about a family and their involvement during the War and it gave the war a personal face through their experiences. This is where the novel does amazingly well.

There will be a bit of disappointment who are expecting a straightforward biography. This will probably be the thorn in the books side because this is more a book about the war and a girl who will grow to be one of the most iconic film stars of her generation. This is really an extraordinary book that if it was dressed up as a WW2 book, I probably would have bypassed it on the shelves but as it was a biography, it kept me interested and engrossed in the history. I learned about an awkward girl and her family during a terrible time in history, I was able to empathise with life during this time period.

My hats are off to Matzen and it is pure ingenious on how he was able to give me a history lesson disguised as a biography of a film star and show me the human story behind historical events. This is a winner and one of the hardest reviews to write. Highly recommended.