Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis

Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis will be published by Dutton (Penguin) in April, 2025. For more information, visit here.

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Praise:

“A deeply researched and sublimely cinematic tale about regular people making a difference and standing up to fascism, Women of War is an inspiring read that’s also highly relevant today. I stand in awe of the bravery of these tenacious women and of Cope’s skill in telling their incredible stories.”—Olivia Campbell, New York Times bestselling author of Women in White Coats and Sisters in Science

“Suzanne Cope has uncovered the gripping accounts of brave female partisans whose efforts in Italy during the Second World War made a crucial difference between victory and defeat. These women's stories are a critical addition to the war narrative, and through her dogged research, Suzanne has brought them vividly to life.”—Julie Satow, New York Times bestselling author of When Women Ran Fifth Avenue

“Vivid and heart stopping. Suzanne Cope has brought the astonishing stories of these brave women to life in a rollicking, interlocking narrative that reads like a novel. These women are right on time to speak to us today, and to everyone who wonders how far they would go to fight for freedom.”—Sarah DiGregorio, author of Taking Care: The Story of Nursing and Its Power to Change Our World 

 

“Suzanne Cope has written a riveting true story of resistance, about four intrepid young women who fought with extraordinary wile, unblinking resolve and great courage against Nazis and fascists in Mussolini’s Italy.”—Nina Willner, author of Forty Autumns and The Boys in the Light

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“Woman of War offers a fascinating revision to the male-dominated history of Italian resistance during World War II. Cope’s riveting narrative accelerates from a murmuring simmer during Mussolini’s reign to a furious boil under Nazi occupation—an exhilarating and inspiring read.”—Michael Wolraich, author of The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

“In this thoroughly researched, dramatic narrative, we see the women take thrilling risks that could have landed them in jail, or even worse. Even in the depths of despair, the women clung to hope and held fast to a belief that they could make the world a better place. What a timely reminder for us today.”—Rachel Hanel, author of Not the Camila We Knew

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About WOMEN OF WAR:
The gripping, true, and untold history of the Italian anti-fascist resistance during World War II, told through the stories of four spectacularly courageous women fighters

From underground soldiers to intrepid spies, Women of War unearths the hidden history of the brave women who risked their lives to overthrow the Nazi occupation and liberate Italy. Using primary sources and brand new scholarship, historian Suzanne Cope illuminates the roles played by women while Italians struggled under dual foes: Nazi invaders and Italian fascist loyalists.

Cope’s research and storytelling introduces four brave and resourceful women who risked everything to overthrow the Nazi occupation and pry their future from the fascist grasp. We meet Carla Capponi in Rome, where she made bombs in an underground bunker then ferried them to their deadly destination wearing lipstick and a trenchcoat; and Bianca Guidetti Serra who rode her bicycle up switchbacks in the Alps, dodging bullets while delivering bags of clandestine newspapers and munitions to the anti-fascist armies hidden in the mountains. In Florence, the young future author of Italy’s new constitution, Teresa Mattei, carried secret messages and hid bombs; while Anita Malavasi led troops across the Apennine Mountains. Women of War brings their experiences as underground resistance fighters, partisan combatants, spies, and saboteurs to life.

Essential and original, Women of War offers not only a reexamination of the elision of women from vital WWII history but also a valuable perspective on the ongoing fight for gender equality and social justice. After all, these were the women who launched a feminist movement as they fought for the future of their country, and what that could mean for its women, all while under Nazi and fascist fire.

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Recent and Upcoming Work & Accolades

She was a Visiting Faculty Fellow in summer 2023 at NYU Florence in support of this research.

 

 Recent publications include:

"Activist Mothering" in Los Angeles Review of Books

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"Today's Far-Right Rise Echoes Mussolini's a Century Ago" in The Washington Post

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"Why International Women's Day Matters" in The Washington Post

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Suzanne is the host of the podcast Survival Pending Revolution, in production with Whetstone Media.