Women of War is Suzanne Cope’s (<https://www.suzannecope.com>) second published book and the 45th title I’ve completed reading in 2025.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence and mature situations, I categorize this book as R.

This nonfiction work tells the story of four courageous young Italian women who risked their lives to resist fascism during World War II. Each came from a different region of Italy: Carla Capponi from Rome, Teresa Mattei from Florence, Bianca Guidetti Serra from Turin, and Anita Malavasi from Reggio-Emilia. They were all united in their commitment to the partisan cause - fighting the Italian Fascists and Nazis.

In addition to looking at these girls in depth, the book also provides an overview of the war in Italy from mid-1943 through the end of the war. The actions of Mussolini’s Fascist regime and their impact on the populace are described. After Italy surrendered, Germany occupied Italy, making conditions even worse.

They were all single and in their early twenties. They believed in the social reforms advocated by the communists and socialists. The girls took various parts in the resistance movement. They carried messages, weapons, bombs, and supplies to partisan bands. They wrote and distributed publications informing Italians of the progress of the war and inciting them to resist. They were also involved with protests and strikes held by the Italian workers to contest their working conditions. Sometimes they even took up arms themselves using bombs or guns. Several short stories of their exploits and missions are included.

The Fascists and Nazis did not at first consider the young women much of a threat, so they were able to move about much more freely than men. What they often carried hidden under their dress or in their baskets would have caused them to be thrown into prison, if not executed on the spot, if caught. They were each stopped on several occasions, but often a flirtatious smile or word got them past the young German soldiers. On one occasion, one of the girls was arrested, interrogated, tortured, and repeatedly raped over several days - yet she never betrayed her comrades. The girls undertook audacious missions, often just barely evading death for their cause.

Despite their daring accomplishments and heroism, recognition was slow in coming. After the war, these women were often dismissed, even slandered, for their participation. The women who fought beside the partisans were often thought of as whores because they wore pants instead of dresses and and slept in the field alongside male fighters. Too much of Italian society gave little credit to the abilities of women. All of them fought in their own ways for women to get equal treatment during and after the war.

I enjoyed the 8.5+ hours I spent reading this 479-page WWII-era history. The book is full of historical information, but it is very readable. The cover art fits the period and the women covered in the book. I give this book a rating of 4.2 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

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Thank you for letting me read this book. I will recommend it to friends that I think will also value it. Unfortunately, I do not think most of my followers are in that category so I will not blog about it.

Women of War by Suzanne Cope does an excellent job of pulling readers into an engaging narrative. The chapters are broken down into different individual povs with the occasional chapter focused on general history at the time. Cope manages to bring all the women to life in such a way it felt as if I were watching a spy thriller as I explore dark corners of place such as Rome or Florence with them. While the book is successful in building empathy and excitement for each woman, there were a few major flaws.

One of them was the geographical focus of the book. A lot of space was given to Carla in Rome along with the women traveling in and out of Rome. Following Rome's liberation, it felt as if the book should end there but it continues on for awhile. Since the core focus felt like it was in this area, I wanted the book to be over by then. Yet following Rome's liberation is when different women such as Anita and Bianca get to shine. They're events take place as the Nazi's retreat. It would've helped to have the book structured in a different way allowing for the focus on a geographical region letting us live there for a bit to build a deeper understanding of what is going on. While we focus on Carla, it feels confusing at times because of how much we jump around.

In addition, there was never clear information about the rest of Italy. At times, different areas would be mentioned and I wish the title better defined the focus on the novel being more on parts of Northern Italy. It needed to be clearer in that area because I kept waiting for information to be introduced to better cover parts of Italy. At one point, near the middle of the book, it mentions the majority of Nazi forces were stationed in this area, but does that then mean other areas are not occupied?

Overall, I'm glad to have read this book. I used to work at the United States Holocaust Memorial Musum where I helped create lesson plans for schools. This struck me as a great book to recommend for adults and high schoolers. The writing is simple enough that you can pick it up at any age or location to read.

You hear often of the men who won the war, but this book is a well-researched, well-written account of how women were so very important to the outcome of a war. It is engaging.