Another fascinating book by Robert Matzen, unfortunately the last in his WWII Trilogy. 'Dutch Girl' covers the five years Audrey Hepburn spent in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands. The book is both a gripping history lesson as well as providing Hepburn-fans with a background about her youth and her family, with her mother being a Nazi-sympathizer early on.
Like with Jimmy Stewart (covered in Matzen's 'Mission'), you really fear for her well-being although of course you know she survived all right. Bombs, machine guns, starvation - Hepburn lived the life a lot of Europeans had to endure during WWII.
One of those books you race through, I enjoyed it not quite as much as 'Fireball' about Carole Lombard but this would have been a tall order. All three books by Matzen rank very, very high among my vast collection of film books. Highly recommended!

This is a really enjoyable and well researched book about both Audrey Hepburn's life and also about the occupation of Nazi's. I really enjoyed this novel and learning more about Audrey's life. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and world war 2 history buffs!

The book has been marketed as telling the story of Audrey Hepburn's young years during World War II in which she lived in Arnhem, developing her skills as a dancer and working as an agent for the underground. While this is true in parts, it primarily chronicles what life in that town (the town of "a bridge too far") was like for the inhabitants and the transformations wrought by invasion, occupation and liberation. Such devastating affect on Audrey and members of her family was truly immersive, but the author's obvious high regard for Audrey is apparent with every description and episode, imbuing all with a great deal of affection. Her mother's history was remarkable, being enraptured by Hitler, even meeting him in 1935 and being a believer until some time into the occupation. Later in life during interviews as an adult, Audrey didn't talk about this aspect of her family history. In fact, she sublimated a lot of the horror and deprivation and tamped it down inside. That changed in 1946 when she first came across Anne Frank's diary. The similarities she and Anne shared went straight to her heart, and provided her with what became her most important mission later in life, that of the protection and welfare of children via UNICEF. The reader thus comes away with a deeper understanding of why Hepburn projected such empathy especially for children,

However, I found the book on the whole to be quite repetitious in parts and much more of a history than a biography.

I was deeply disappointed in this bait-and-switch book aimed at fans of Audrey Hepburn. This was an overwhelmingly and excessively detailed book about WWII, specifically in the Netherlands, and oh, Audrey Hepburn was there too! If the author's goal was to impress us with all the minutia, then he succeeded. However, most people looking to read a book stated to be about Ms. Hepburn during the War aren't going to be impressed. They, like myself, are going to be angry. Additionally, for a book that is non-fiction, I was surprised at the assumptions Mr. Matzen made about what people were thinking, especially at moments right before they died and had no way to let others know. That sounds more like historical fiction than non-fiction. Another issue I had with the book was the writing style that many times felt immature and too casual for the topic. "Then came more good news. Food!" This doesn't sound appropriate when you are discussing people who have survived the Hunger Winter. I have other examples, but I hope only one is needed. The vast swings from casual story telling to in depth details about only tangentially related events (or events not even related other than they took place during the War), did nothing to improve my impression of the book. Either the book should be edited to about 40% of what it is now and truly focus on Ms. Hepburn, or it should be renamed something that does not imply Ms. Hepburn is the central theme. I debated giving this book 1 star; however, despite my disappointment with the book, it was very informative and I always like learning new things. I just expected to learn things about Audrey Hepburn not the entire history of the Netherlands.

Tells of the real Audrey Hepburn and of her Dutch name Adriaantje rather than the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

She was a very private person and wanted to forget the war and ‘do good’ in her life. Her true love was dancing and that is what got her through the war.

Historically interesting giving an overall background of what life was like. Learn about battles that weren’t famous but were a big part of winning the war for different parts of Europe.

Dutch Girl is an emotional book about Audrey Hepburn and her experiences during WWII. It tells about war in a more personal way, as books related to war often is more about mechanics and abstract concepts.

This book deals mainly with Audrey Hepburn's experiences during World War 2 in her native Holland. I love reading World War 2 history, biographies and Hollywood accounts so I expected to love this book and to race through it. The research is very well done and the book deals mainly with actual historical events that did occur such as the battle of Arnhem, the liberations the hostage taking and subsequent murders of Dutch prominent figures as reprisals for sabotage. The book also details the hunger that the Dutch endured towards the end of the war. I enjoyed reading this however I found it difficult to race through the book as I normally do with stories like this. The author I felt made a lot of presumptions on how Audrey perceived events and on how they impacted on her. Also the story felt stretched in places and I found myself skipping sections as I felt I had already read enough to get the gist of what the author was trying to convey. Audreys son Luca writes the foreword and praises the author for his work. I was left with a feeling that the son is looking for answers as to what troubled his mother and that WW2 has been settled upon to answer his questions. There were also comparisons drawn with Anne Frank' sufferings and Audreys which didn't seem appropriate to me.
Having said all that for the research, the look at Dutch history during WW2 through an iconic figure such as Audrey and the account of Audreys very interesting family I give this book 3 stars .

I am a history buff and love old Hollywood, so I enjoyed this book. The research that was done to put this book together was extensive. It is very detailed and so very interesting. Audrey Hepburn was shaped by the events of her childhood and WWII. As a teen in German occupied Netherlands, she learns the greatest of life lessons that she carries with her throughout her life. As her son points out in the foreword, this is the Audrey Hepburn he knew growing up. She lived with this as her guide rather than allowing Hollywood to change her.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I will definitely suggest this to friends and family.

If you have ever admired Audrey Hepburn or her movies or just know who she was you will be easily engaged by this book. Until I read Last Hope Island by Lynne Olson I never knew that Audrey Hepburn was a teenager in the German occupied Netherlands during WWII. She mentioned Audrey in her book as one of the peripheral characters that she uses so well to draw in her readers and it made me wonder what her life was like during that time. Robert Matzen has done a nice job of filling in much if not all of her story.
Audrey Hepburn was born to an Englishman and an upper class Dutch woman. Her parents were also Nazi sympathizers, a position her father never gave up and her mother only well after the invasion of her homeland. This personal history made Audrey fairly reticent about many details of her life and through determined research and help from many Dutch survivors he has pieced together much of Audrey's childhood and adolescence. Born in 1929, Audrey was 11 when the Netherlands were invaded. She lived in Arnheim, close to the German border, and although the entire war was difficult the final year from the Market Garden invasion in September 1944 to the end in April 1945 was particularly brutal. Perhaps the author's main theme is that Audrey's experiences in WWII not only never left her but formed her into the person she would become.
This is the story of Audrey Hepburn but it is also a history of what was happening as she was growing up so there are asides in which the history overtakes the story of Audrey's life. It appears to be well documented (the endnotes are extensive as they explain where the author got his information). If you are interested in WWII history and know about Audrey Hepburn you will enjoy this book.

One of the best biographies I've read in a long time. This beautifully researched and written book chronicles the early life of actress/dancer Audrey Hepburn in the Netherlands in World War II. Though she spent some of her early years in England, she returned to Velp and Arnhem in the Netherlands right before the German occupation. Towards the end of the war, Audrey and three relatives took refuge in the cellar as one of the last major battles of the war raged right above them.

"Dutch Girl," in one sense, is a tale of one small Dutch town's experiences during the Nazi occupation. Historians and those who enjoy historical case studies will find this book riveting. The fact that the "main character" of the book turns out to be an A-list Hollywood actress is almost an aside. Nevertheless, the book insightfully shows how war affects children and young people for the rest of their lives - emotionally, psychologically, and physically.

While this book give in depth details of Audrey Hepburn during World War 2 it also tells of the Netherlands during the invasion of the Germans and Nazi Rule. Interesting to read how Audrey was influenced by the war. Well researched and documented about a sad part of history.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from the publisher and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Dutch Girl Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen

A treasure for historians, this is more a book about the Netherlands during WWII than it is of Audrey Hepburn. Doggedly researched, this book is a very detailed history lesson. Names, places, and even addresses blur as the author relates one event after another. The account of Audrey’s rise to fame as an actress is a very small part of this book. We only read a brief section of her post-war life in the last ten percent or so of the story.

As the author explains, the German invasion of the Netherlands disrupted the well organized, happy life the Dutch knew. Audrey’s mother Ella was initially sympathetic to the Nazis, and found Adolph Hitler especially charming in the early 1940s. That changed over time, but the truth of her politics followed her the rest of her life.

Most dramatic for the Dutch was the lack of food, and overcrowding as nearby towns evacuated to Velp, Audrey’s village. Malnutrition was the norm and they were always cold. All suffered coal shortages, along with the lack of blankets, clothing and anything else of value because the Germans took all available food and supplies. They also imposed strict curfews. Many citizens, including Audrey’s Uncle Otto, disappeared to be shot or died of starvation.

Machine guns and bombs from overhead required the family to stay indoors for very lengthy periods of time. The author knows every shot and shell blasted, bomb dropped and the times of day the barrage took place. He recounts nearly every battle fought near Velp. His research is mind boggling.

Little Audrey (Adriaantje) had a disjointed childhood living in one place and then another with one relative or another. Her mom, Ella, had a flair for drama and her father was rarely seen. Audrey’s Aunt Meisje was more a mother to her. She played and cuddled with Audrey, while Ella was the rule enforcer who very rarely showed her children affection. Ella did, however, see that Audrey received ballet lessons throughout the good and the bad times, as ballet was Audrey’s true passion. It eventually transported her to a life she couldn’t have imagined during the war.

But no matter how awful, Audrey recalls some good times from the war, mostly her dance which she loved, and the stories everyone told at night in the dark to keep themselves entertained. Throughout her life, Audrey looked for the good in any situation, but as an adult, she refused to divulge any stories of her experiences during the war.

Wow, I really didnt realise how interesting the WW2 / Audrey Hepburn combo would be when I first picked up this book. I'm pretty shocked at some of the things I have read.

Audrey's parents were particularly interesting, her father was British and was considered a traitor and spent most of the war in a British prison. Her mother, Dutch, actively supported and met Hitler on many occasions, and even wrote about it in a fascist newspaper, something that followed her for a lifetime and had many implications.

What really struck a cord with me though was the connection to Anne Frank. Anne and Audrey were born weeks apart, the same age, just 60 miles away from each other and how different their lives were. I was amazed that Anne wrote in her diary an event in which Audrey's uncle was murdered. Audrey was called upon many a times to play Anne is various films which she always turned down.

Overall I enjoyed this however in true non fiction style it's a dry read.

Many of us know Audrey Hepburn as the extraordinarily waifish, pixie-like actress who played Gigi, Holly Golightly and Eliza Doolittle in our favorite movies. In her later years, she was a devoted UNICEF Ambassador and her love and care for children was at the forefront of her life until her death. Audrey was a very private person, did not usually give lengthy interviews and never answered questions regarding her childhood or teenage years. Most people thought she was "aloof" and too high society to do much socializing and wondered why. Robert Matzen's DUTCH GIRL is the story that provides answers as to what Audrey Kathleen van Heesmstra Hepburn-Ruston's life growing up was like. And growing up during World War II, life was anything BUT a movie.

Taking the reader back in time, we are there with Audrey as she is raised with her two step brothers by a mother who is too caught up in travelling in the limelight of the Nazis and Hitler and leaving her daughter behind with relatives. Bereft of a mother's love, Audrey develops a great love of ballet and because her mother had always dreamed of becoming a famous dancer herself, Ella does all she can to provide dance lessons and teachers for Audrey and lives vicariously through her daughters dancing triumphs.
But war takes its toll on everyone and as more threats develop the van Heemstra family must do whatever they can just to survive for five harrowing years.

Bringing snippets of Audrey's later years in Hollywood with glimpses of interviews with Audrey, her casting directors, co-stars and her two sons, Sean and Luca, we see how her years in wartime had a life-long affect on how she continued to live her life and relate to others.

For anyone who has loved and admired Audrey Hepburn, this book is an eye-opening homage to a legendary actress and humanitarian.

This month I'd tried to make an effort to read a few non-fiction things and I went into this expecting heavy reading. My knowledge of WWII is fairly limited as to what I was taught in school with focus more on the United Kingdom and Germany. Then there was the remarkable Anne Frank, whose diary I've read countless times and cried until I couldn't stop. This novel is a great insight into life in the Netherlands during WWII with Audrey Hepburn and her relatives lives as a focus. And oh, Audrey, how you have suffered and persevered. 'Dutch Girl' does a great job convincing you just how integral Audrey's experiences of WWII were to her later life, how her parents' actions and decisions shaped her very being, the things in life Audrey never wished to discuss (understandably so). I truly don't know what else to write as my heart aches for the childhood that many in WWII never got to have, the countless lives lost not just in the duration of the war but the trauma forever held afterwards. Audrey might never have been the greatest actress of her generation but her charm and grace resonated with many, and I think will for many years to come.

What I was able to read was phenomenal. I had an unfortunate case of serious errors while trying to read this, which definitely took away from being able to enjoy it. I couldn't even get to the end.
However I can't fault the book for technological error that has nothing to do with its content.
What I read was well written, engaging and informative. There was never a point where I felt it was slow, or lacking pace; filled in with random input to fill page counts. I thoroughly look forward to being able to purchase this upon release, and being able to read it without system freezing and being sent back to page 5 no matter how far I was.
Over all five stars for the work itself and the amazing information it divulged.

Audrey Hepburn on war: " I wouldn't have missed it for the world-anything that happens to you is valuable."

Thank you, Sarah, from Smith Publicity for sending the ARC of Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II by Robert Matzen. Just like her movies, this book flew by like a motion picture with me seeing myself as Audrey's imaginary friend. The next time I watch any of her superhit movies, I won't be able to stop thinking about this book. I am sure, Audrey might be giving Dutch Girl a thumbs up from heaven.

Robert Matzen records the life of Audrey Hepburn, a movie star who was known for her humanitarian work beyond Hollywood. This book starts with a touching note from Audrey's daughter, Luca Dotti. The write-up describes Audrey as a doting mother who didn't let her superstar status affect her kids. Luca warmly remembers her mother's knack of turning her wartime anecdotes into bedtime stories. As we read further, the book starts slightly before Audrey's birth as the author fleshes out her family's history.

Audrey was born in Belgium to Baroness Ella van Heemstra and Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston. Contrary to her mother's outgoing personality, Audrey was a shy and reticent child. Her childhood was uprooted when she was sent to boarding in England away from family. Soon after her birth, her parents separated due to which she rarely met her father. However, her maternal grandfather filled up that role in her life. Growing up alongside her older stepbrothers, she was a moody child. During that time, Hitler's control over Europe was mushrooming along with Audrey's growth, At a tender age, she witnessed her motherland come under Hitler's rule, overnight. Although her mother wasn't an overly emotional parent, they still connected. In fact, it was Ella who watered Audrey's interest in ballet and after a few months of practice, she gained popularity as a ballet star. This also became a base for her acting career at a blooming age of 21.

Dutch Girl has deep dived into Audrey Hepburn's personality beyond just the image that the world witnessed on the big screen. Not many of us recognise her as an empathetic and caring human that she was. More importantly, growing up in the wartime moulded her in adulthood. The author also describes the traumas and successes of Audrey's life, making the readers feel as if they are witnessing it in front of their eyes.

This is a troublesome little book.

Matzen explains in the introduction that very little has been written about Audrey Hepburn's years in the Netherlands during WWII, largely because there are few fruitful sources. Hepburn herself rarely spoke of that time in her life, and of course, by the time Matzen is writing, first-person sources have all but died out. Matzen assures the reader he has set out to fill this void in the biographical record.

To some extent, he has. Matzen goes into great detail about (his best guesses at) Hepburn's involvement with the Dutch resistance and her family's entanglement with Nazis. I was particularly struck by his examination of the effect Hepburn's early adolescence had on her relationship with food for the rest of her life, which certainly complicates our image of an effortlessly chic, fashionably thin young woman.

However, even with the power of the internet and a great deal of legwork, Matzen still runs up against the source limitations of previous biographers. Without enough information to go on about Hepburn herself, he pads the book with details about the war itself (of which we have a mountain of sources and scholarship). In this way, the book is less a biography than it is a survey of certain aspects of WWII, framed around the life of one person.

I didn't find the writing compelling at all. Matzen's style is very dry and lifeless, but it doesn't have the academic rigor I'd expect to get in exchange for lack of enjoyability. All together, a perfectly fine three-star read.

A corking read! If you are only familiar with Audrey Hepburn onscreen, you need to read this detailed and harrowing account of her life in the Netherlands under Nazi occupation. Matzen's book chronicles the years with detail, harrowing detail. How this period of her life shaped the woman who became the woman Audrey Hepburn is set out with care and scholarship that is admirable. His style of writing is exciting and also elegant. Knowing of Hepburn's long work for UNICEF, this book makes you understand why. Her work as a child in the resistance, amazing. Those brave souls. When I thought I could not admire this woman more, this book gives ample reasons why she is an inspiring figure 20+ years after her passing. A must read.

I enjoyed this book immensely. While I love biographies and memoir-type books, it is a rare treat to find an author who can write said book and keep it interesting. While the subject matter itself might be enough to hold the reader's interest, I tend to find myself with a pile of unfinished biographies, because the writing style was putting me to sleep. But Robert Matzen did a brilliant job of not only holding my interest, but keeping Dutch Girl running through my head each time I had to walk away from the book to tend to adulthood. A new fan of this author and a definite recommend for Dutch Girl.