Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II Paperback – Import, 8 July 2021

“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.”Twenty-eight years after her passing, Audrey Hepburn remains the most beloved of all Hollywood stars, known as much for her role as UNICEF ambassador as for films like Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Several biographies have chronicled her stardom, but none has covered her intense experiences through five years of Nazi occupation in the Netherlands or her humanitarian work with UNICEF.I first read Warrior which follows her passionate journey with UNICEF. I was so incredibly moved reading Warrior that I had to know more about her early life. It prompted me to pick up Dutch Girl to understand how her struggle during the war shaped her experiences and decisions in later years.Robert Matzen’s research removes the glossy Hollywood filter and shows the woman before she tasted global fame. He not only tracks Audrey Hepburn’s journey but describes the events and history at the time to provide context. At some point I felt the book covered more about the war than Hepburn’s life. However, the parts of history collated from archives does add a multi-dimensional perspective.A visceral character sketch of a woman who refused to be broken by the war until her last breath, these capture an intimate account of Audrey Hepburn’s extraordinarily courageous life.For complete review, visit aquamarineflavours.wordpress.com