Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II is a fascinating read. The author obviously did extensive research for this book. It was interesting to read Audrey's early years growing up during the Nazi occupation. Especially, reading about her parents. Which I found to be unexpected and surprising. I believe many readers who like to read history would enjoy this book and want to learn more about Audrey Hepburn's life. I give it five stars. Most definitely worth a read.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

Icon. Muse. Activist. We all think we know the story of Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn. But this book, released on April 15th, just weeks before what would have been her 90th birthday, adds fighter, survivor and heroine to that list of superlatives, in this fascinating never before told story of her life during WW2.

Bestselling biographer Robert Matzen goes into great detail in this meticulously researched book. Even Audrey's son, Luca Dotti says the book is a "true gift".

Audrey was a shy and awkward ten year old when the war broke out. She lived her teenage years throughout the war which affected her greatly. But it also gave her empathy and a great understanding to protect children in one of her most satisfying roles, that of a UNICEF ambassador in later life.

During the war in the Dutch town of Velp, she witnessed unbelievable horrors that no young girl should see. Her and her family suffered great malnutrition and risked their lives helping a soldier hide in their home. 

This aspiring ballerina who would go on to be an Academy Award winner ate tulip bulbs to survive and helped her local doctor tend to the wounded as bombs flew over head.

105,000 Dutch Jews died at the hands of the Nazi's. One of the most interesting chapters for me was Death Candidate where we are told the story of Audrey's beloved Uncle Otto, who would not survive the war.  This is a story of war in all its brutal truth. It just so happens our heroine turns into one of the greatest leading ladies on and off screen we have ever seen. Making her triumphs even more extraordinary.
Thank you Netgalley and Smith Publicity for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Audrey Hepburn has always been one of my favorite actress of all time, so I was very eager to read this biographical account of her life after the German invasion and the subsequent course of Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during WWll. She was ten when the war began and 15 when it ended. Her son Luca Dotti wrote the Foreword to this book thanking the author for writing the book. The book is well researched and gives a vivid insight into the personal tragic experiences, near starvation and other horrors she and her family went through during the war. Yet, they were resilient and courageous and were involved with the Dutch Resistance. Audrey became very involved in dance and ballet. She participated in ballet performances in order to help raise money for the Dutch resistance. I highly recommend this book.

I've been a fan of Audrey Hepburn's work since I was very young. I remember growing up with her movies and loving her style. This book isn't the first I've read about her life, not even the first that's touched on her childhood. However, this book provides such a unique perspective.

Before reading this book, I was unaware of the experiences that she'd had during the war. Which made this book incredibly appealing to me.

The depth that this book goes into was incredible. It provides an interesting and honest look into the early life of one of the worlds most loved stars, and the inclusion of photographs adds a whole extra layer.

I found myself falling into this book, wanting to know more and more.

I've always had an interest in wartime experiences, which made this book even more compelling to me, and I was interested in the parallels between Audrey and Anne Frank.

This book gave a lot of information and was written in an interesting way, that kept me turning the pages.

I'd say, even if you've read other books about Audrey's life. This one is definitely worth a read as it goes into areas that a lot of other books hadn't touched.

Dutch Girl by Robert Matzen tells the story of a young Audrey Hepburn, more specifally 1940-1945. She lived in the Netherlands during World War 2 and all the struggles that come with it. This book is extremely well researched and in my opinion Matzen has a very good grip of this time period and the Dutch people, it is very accurate (as far as I know, but I do know a lot). This story reminded me a lot of how my grandparents experienced the war, though Audrey has her own very specific challenges. However, this book can be a bit dry because it definitely is non fiction and a lot of facts and names are dropped. But if you are a fan of Audrey or if you are interested in this time period it is definitely worth the read, it is very interesting.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, Netgalley.com and GoodKnight Books. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review.

In the only biography approved by her son, Mr. Matzen has carefully retold the story of Audrey Hepburn's past that she kept very closely hidden. Well written and thoughtful, we met Ms. Hepburn before she met the cameras.

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

This one was just ok for me. I picked it up on a whim and it was a pretty good read. The author did do a good job of tying everything together.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2787491253

CEELEE'S REVIEW OF DUTCH GIRL: AUDREY HEPBURN AND WORLD WAR II by Robert Matzen

When I was 10 years old my parents were watching "Breakfast St Tiffany's" while i sat in another part of the room reading a book. I started paying more attention to the movie than my book especially at the end when she and George Peppard were out in the rain on the streets of New York looking for Cat. (I love kitties!). I thought she was amazing and I immediately had a tween girl crush on her! I read all the articles I could find about her in the movie magazines and I know when i got older I read a couple of biographies about her but most of them glossed over her life in general and her childhood in particular. That is why I was so intrigued when I saw the ARC available on NetGaley and I was thrilled when I was picked to read it!

Let me first say this book is not for a casual fan or one who only wants to know about her career in the movies. This is a serious work covering not only her life but also the history that she lived through before and during World War II and how it affected her all her life. If you aren't interested in discussions of the history of the times skip it. If yew want to learn the history that helped shape the lives of people who lived through WWII including Audrey Hepburn then you might find the book both interesting and enlightening. I think learning about the history that a person experienced helps to understand the persons because it contributes to making them who they are.

Audrey's parents were pro-Nazi. Her father was a British agent who betrayed his country and her mother, Ella van Heemstra, who was a social climber, became friends with the Mitford sisters from a British aristocratic family, who influenced her fascism particularly Unity who had become a friend of Adolf Hitler and Ella met him a few times when Audrey was a toddler. In 1937 Ella moved herself and her children to Arnhem in the Netherlands and lived on the family estate there. Audrey was a quiet introverted child who discovered dancing and it became her first love next to her family. She loved reading and animals and the family felt safe in The Netherlands and even after the Nazis came and occupied the town no one believed they would do any harm until things slowly started to change with essential food items becoming unavailable and they faced harsh winters with no heat when coal; was not available to properly heat their homes. . The turning point was when Audrey's uncle Otto was murdered along with four other innocent men, executed as an "example" to the Dutch people. Ann Frank even mentions the murders in her diary. She and Audrey were the same age and lived in different towns not far from each other. After the war she met Ann's father (the only survivor in the family) but she wold never consent to play his daughter in a movie. There is a picture of them together in the book as well as photos of Audrey's family and pl;aces important to her life. Her mother soon changed her mind about Hitler but it was to late and they suffered war on their own doorstep and over their heads. Throughout this Audrey had her dancing and became Arnhem's most famous ballerina. She also worked in the Resistance as an assistant to a doctor.

Audrey never talked about her life at that time much and I can understand why. My father was an ex-POW who was held in a German prison camp for 21 months 1943-45 and he didn't talk much about his experiences either but internalized it like Audrey did and 50 years later he would still wake up screaming. I can only imagine what kind of dreams he had or that Audrey must have had because of her own tragic war experiences.

Author Robert Matzen does talk a lot about the history of WWII in the book which some people might not like for whatever reason but to understand Audrey, or anyone really, as a person there is no way he couldn't talk about it. She was there. She lived it. She was fortunate to have survived and made a success of her life despite it but always had that shadow of the war hanging over her. I find her an extraordinary woman and I am so glad we were able to learn something about her history and it makes me love her even more! I also give tremendous respect to the author for bringing her story to us. Well done!

Many thanks to NetGalley, author Robert Matzen and Paladin Communications publisher for giving me the opportunity to read the fantastic book!

An intriguing biography of Audrey Hepburn's formative years during WWII. I had absolutely no idea about her family and her work for a member of the Dutch Resistance. The amount of research that must have been carried out is phenomenal, yet the author writes in an accessible manner. If you are expecting lots of detail about her film career, then this is not the book for you, but if you want to learn what made Hepburn such an extraordinary person, then you will find this book fascinating.

Thanks to NetGalley & publishers, GoodKnight Books, for the opportunity to review an ARC.

A very interesting read. I didn't know anything about Audrey Hepburn's past. It's nice to know the story behind the talented actress.

I started out wanting to read this book because an interest in Audrey Hepburn and her connection to The Netherlands, where I was born and now live again, but this book was so much more than a biography.

Besides finding out more about an icon, this book tells the story of a war, of a small area, in a country I grew up in. Of course much time was spent on WWII in school. I remember being moved and touched by documentaries about the war shown during history lessons, the images of stacks of dead people, the horrors of concentration camps are still burnt into my heart, as they should be. In a way, this was a different kind of WWII story. It still brought the horrors of war home, but from the perspective of a small area and the people that lived there.

Through Audrey’s story and the story of her family, we find out what life was life for everyone living through the war; the suffering, the uncertainty, the fear, the hunger.

It all paints a picture of the girl Audrey was and the woman she was to become. Robert Matzen did a great job piecing the facts together with a bit of artistic licence here and there. I think this book is very well written and very coherently tells of a complicated time in history and the effects it had on people. I particularly found Audrey’s mother Ella fascinating character.

This book reiterates the fact that although I do not like reading WWII based fiction, I do really appreciate a well written non-fiction book on the subject and this one showed a different perspective from any other book I have read on WWII. This is not so much a biography as a historical portrait of Arnhem and Velp during the war.

Highly recommended if you are interested in either Audrey Hepburn or WWII.

Audrey Hepburn captivates audiences whether she appears on the silver screen or on the written page. Robert Matzen’s book about Hepburn’s survival during the Nazi’s occupation of the Netherlands is no exception. Although some chapters have minor defects in the writing style, e.g. use of the word “which” when “that” would have been better, and the occasional use of vague descriptors such as “mercurial” or “boom” when examples would have provided a clearer picture of the person or the scene, the writing somehow works. The book is entirely well-researched. Matzen walked where Hepburn walked, read diaries of those sharing Hepburn’s experiences, and combed through archives, interviews, and news articles. Reading even the list of source materials at the end of the book was interesting. Hepburn’s resilience, poise, and advocacy for a world where children do not face the horrors of war that she faced ended far too soon.

Thank you to Hepburn’s sons for sharing their amazing mother with us, and thank you to the author, the publisher, and to Netgalley for sharing an ARC in exchange for this honest review.

You may think you know Hollywood superstar Audrey Hepburn, but this biography is of her early life, about growing up during World War II and the role that living through World War II had over the entire rest of her life.
Ms. Hepburn didn’t like talking about that time, and frankly, who can blame her. She lived through a horrific time in our history. Her father was accused of being a spy and arrested, her mother loved Hitler, meeting him numerous times and also writing about him for a fascist magazine, and her beloved uncle was killed by the Germans. Living under German occupation, she was subjected to bombings by Allied Forces and starvation. She and her family camped out in the cellar, hoping for survival. To go from that type of situation to reigning Hollywood royalty a few years later took a lot of determination and courage. This book is in-depth and detailed, definitely worth the read if you like biographies. You’ll learn a lot of information about Ms. Hepburn and become even more of a fan than you already are. At least I did. A very thought provoking and moving account of a young lady who would become a goddess of the silver screen.

Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Dutch Girl” “Audrey Hepburn and World War 11” by Robert Matzen, April 15, 2019

Robert Matzen , Author of “Dutch Girl”; Audrey Hepburn and World War 11″ has written an intriguing and intense biography with tremendous historical background on the life and times of Audrey Hepburn. Most of this centers around the 5 year period that the Nazis occupied The Netherlands. At that time Audrey lived with her mother and family in the Netherlands.

When I decided to read this book, I thought I would be reading more of Audrey Hepburn’s life , and it turns out I read about her Mother’s life. some of her father’s life and her family life, and much information about Germany and World War Two. I would have preferred to read more about Audrey Hepburn’s life.

The information provided by the author was interesting. Audrey had gone to school in England, and did speak English. She treasured dancing, and always wanted to be a ballerina. The five years of German occupation was traumatic and deadly for the Dutch people. Audrey did help as much as she could, and emotionally had the scars from this tragic timeline.

I appreciate that the author describes Audrey as a sympathetic and empathetic person who wants to do good in this world. I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy reading about World War 11 and German History.

A fascinating recounting of Ms Hepburns wartime experience along with her family's history. A wonderful depiction of life in Holland under the Nazi's and how it affected the famous movie star.

When I saw Dutch Girl on NetGalley, a book about Audrey Hepburn’s years in Holland/the Netherlands during WWII, I was intrigued by the idea of a different perspective on the war, and on Audrey Hepburn. Having read one or two biographies on her before, I knew the war years are generally skimmed over: born in Belgium, moved to Holland, danced ballet, lived in Velp during the war...The reason for that is there just isn’t that much information available, especially since Hepburn herself hardly ever talked about the war. I had hoped Robert Matzen had been able to find new sources of information, especially since he had gotten the blessing of Hepburn’s sons, but that was not the case.

I was looking to get a new perspective on Audrey Hepburn; if the first years of a person are formative, then an experience of having grown up during WWII in the middle of the fighting must have molded Audrey Hepburn in the person she was. The war certainly formed her, and while Dutch Girl certainly makes a valiant effort, this book does not nearly enough to show us how and why.

I enjoyed reading this book, but not as a biography on Audrey Hepburn, but as a history of what life was like during WWII in occupied Holland. The book starts of well, detailing the life of her mother and father and their dealings with the Nazis during the thirties, but as the story moves along it seems details and information becomes less and less available and the author has to rely on, not so much Audrey Hepburn’s story, as the lives of the people around her and the events happening in the war.

There just isn’t that much information available on this subject, as the author says himself, and some of the embellishments make the book come across as creative nonfiction in certain parts (also acknowledged in the notes by the author that certain thoughts and actions ascribed to Hepburn in the book are what he assumes to be the case based on his research). Hepburn never wrote a diary like Anne Frank did, another major character in the book and an indirect influence on Hepburn’s life.

There is quite a bit of repetition and pointless filler, with a few crumbs of Audrey Hepburn thrown in which does make the book worthwhile. The story of her uncle drives home the ruthlessness of the Nazis, while the small acts of kindness such as Hepburn helping out at the hospital or teaching ballet to the local children, show the resilient spirit of the Dutch.

Parts of the story come across as contrived, and the beginning of each new chapter starts with a description of Hepburn’s later life and how it seems the war influenced her at that point. This doesn’t really work for me, as there is never any real, hard evidence that was how Hepburn really felt. She hardly ever talked about the war, and she was an intensely private person. One other thing which consistently interrupted the flow of the story: the use of Dutch words where it was totally unnecessary. I understand Dutch and it bothered me, so I can only imagine not knowing the language, how annoying it must be to read sentences such as: “the assembled gijzelaars, or hostages,” and “there was a hint of autumn - herfst as the Dutch called it.”

All in all a good read, as long as you start reading with the knowledge that you won’t learn as much about Audrey Hepburn as the title makes you think you will.

It's an interesting idea, telling the story of part of World War II from the point of view of someone who was growing up in occupied Holland during the War. When the person in question is Audrey Hepburn, it's even more interesting.

Hepburn was 11 when her country was overrun by the Nazis and 16 when it was liberated. During the War she lived first in Arnhem and then in a village outside it. She witnessed first-hand Market Garden, lived in her family's cellar for months, suffered malnutrition, and helped the Dutch Resistance. Her story and the story of the country during the war is compelling and Matzen makes it interesting and moving.


His meticulous research not only makes the book a great addition to history, it also sets the record straight on her activities and those of her family during the War. It's something virtually all other biographers have gotten wrong.

There is a lot to like about this book. The subject, for one -- I mean, Audrey Hepburn! And the approach: Author Robert Matzen has written eight books, Dutch Girl being the third in a trilogy on well-known actors and World War II.

There's no question that the book was exhaustively researched. There is so much information that was new to me about Hepburn's aristocratic family and their role in the fight against fascism (or, in some cases, for it.)

Still, despite intriguing material and meticulous cross-referencing, the book was hard to read. Occasionally the alternating timelines got in the way. More often, reading Dutch Girl reminded me of what I dislike about televised true crime shows, where snippets of dialogue or graphic images are repeated so often that it feels like 15 minutes of content were "crammed into" a 43-minute (plus commercials) production.

Dutch Girl had lots of repetition and a good bit of rambling. It felt as if the author felt he had to honor his (undeniably good) material by casting and recasting it in a different setting.

This book is worth reading, and much of it is memorable. It simply cried out for a rigorous edit. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance readers copy.

This story was very interesting and I actually learnt so much about WWII from the Dutch perspective. I also never realised the parallels between Audrey's & Anne Frank stories either.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

This book is amazing!! I read it in 2 days and totally loved it!! Robert's research is perfect!! If you are a fan of Audrey Hepburn -- this book is definitely for you!! If you aren't sure -- read this book!! My respect for Audrey has increased tenfold and I'm so thrilled that I was able to read it!! Even if you aren't a fan of Audrey's and you are just a history buff - I think you will still get so much out of this book.