This is a book that brings alive the early life of Audrey Hepburn and it is also an account of how the Netherlands suffered during the invasion in World War 2 . I found it fascinating, as someone who has visited the area around Arnhem countless times over the last 30 years. The reader learns of Audrey’s mother Ella, Baroness van Heemstras and after a failed first marriage she married Robert an Englishman and Audrey born in England spent her early life enjoying an English school and beginning ballet, which was to be the love of her life. Later her parents, deeply interested in Hilter left the children, Audrey and her two half brothers to enjoy the Nazi inner circle and in Ella’s case write about the greatness of the Nazis, which was to haunt her later in life. As her parents marriage breaks up it is in Arnhem that she begins to enjoy family life with grandpa, the Baron and her circle of van Heemstras and their connected noble families.The beginnings of her dedication to learning ballet starts and then the invasion by Germany happens.At first her mother Ella is keen to keep her friendships with the invaders setting up Audrey to dance for the German soldiers at a concert and performing a masque to celebrate Bach. Then as the war develops they find themselves in Arnhem as life gets more difficult and the beloved Uncle Otto is seized probably in retaliation for Queen Wilhemia’s speech in New York and after an Resistance incident, it is he and four other prisoners who are executed as a reprisal.
The terrible conditions the family suffer when they move to Vip to one rented house where they worry about the hidden English soldier whilst Germans use an attic for thei4 radion. Here we learn of the terrible events of Market Garden and then the aftermath. The family as well as all Holland suffer starvation, grinding up bulbs to make flour and then face the bombing by the Allies who realise that tanks are based nearby plus the V1 and V2 rockets fired on England but landing local. Audrey plays her part by teaching ballet classes, working with the hospital and delivering Underground newsletters. This part of her life is carefully researched and the young teenager’s life with the regime even her illness from malnutrition is explained. The suffering of all is clear. Whilst touching on her films and her two marriages and her dedication to her two sons the majority of the story is the war and her life post war. Her later life as a UNICEF Ambassador for children brings the story full circle when she is able to identify the suffering of the children in the war torn areas she visited with her own war time e periences. This is a thoroughly engaging book that I feel all should read to show the futility of war.

People probably like this book will probably be more interested in World War II than Audrey Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn lived through and experienced major episodes of World War II which ended when she was fifteen. However, the book needed to make a better connection Audrey Hepburn's childhood and her adult. Also, the book has a more information about Holland and World War II than is strictly needed for a book that is mainly about Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn lived through some of the major incidents of World War II. Both her parents were early supporters of Hitler and Fascism (her mother continue to support the Germans two years into Germany's occupation of Holland). Her father left her when she was a small child. Audrey Hepburn's mother brought Audrey Hepburn back to Holland at the beginning of World War II believing that Holland would be safe from the Germans. Some of Audrey Hepburn's early education in ballet and theatre was helped because her mother was friendly with the Germans.

In about 1942, two years into the German Occupation of Holland, Audrey Hepburn's mother seems to have changed and at least not actively helped the Germans. Audrey Hepburn had an uncle that was shot by the Germans. Her family lived in Velp which saw some of the most intense fighting during the war. The area also experienced severe hunger. Audrey Hepburn and her family helped both the British and the Dutch resistance. The area had many hidden Jews..

The book barely touches on Audrey Hepburn's later life. One would be interested to find a more direct connection between Audrey Hepburn's later life and her war experiences.

The more interesting parts of the book are about Audrey Hepburn's mother worked with the Nazi’s until 1942. Her mother was on some Dutch watch lists for being pro-Nazi. My mother fled Nazi Germany so I know that anyone who had what appeared to be voluntary Nazi sympathies could be intensely hated by victims of the Nazis. Audrey Hepburn's mother seem to have a talent for being able to reinvent herself and could hide her Nazi past.

Audrey Hepburn seems to have taken some care to hide her mother's Nazi sympathies. Also, Audrey Hepburn herself had to keep quiet that some of her performances that she when she was ten to twelve were done with German sponsorship when she gave talked about her childhood in Holland.

It would have been helpful to know how Audrey Hepburn's war experiences affected her adult life. The author seems to assume that people have in depth knowledge about Audrey Hepburn’s later acting career and about her humanitarian activities which many people nowadays don’t have.

Again, this book more a book about people interested in World War II than Audrey Hepburn the movie star.
I received a free copy of this book from Negalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a disappointing read. I was hoping to read more about Audrey Hepburn's life during WWII whereas this felt more like a history book. .

Don't get me wrong, I love history books, but I like to choose them for myself. I was expecting more of a biography.

Dutch Girl documents the life of Audrey Hepburn during her years in the Netherlands which includes the torrent episodes of World War 2. At times the book comes across as a history book about the Netherlands and WWII and the story of a would be actress who would steal the hearts of the world in her adulthood.

The novel does not really go into her films or life after she had become a star. It does however document an important part of world history and the part she played in these events and her family, mainly her mother’s role with Nazi’s and the change of attitude once the Germans invade the Netherlands. It is a very interesting novel and I was captivated by the way Matzen is able to weave the two stories together. The story of the Netherlands is more interesting and tends to overshadow the story of Hepburn.

The novel can be described as a thinly disguised book selling on the life of a movie star but delivering a historical account of Germany and Netherlands. I personally found it to be about a family and their involvement during the War and it gave the war a personal face through their experiences. This is where the novel does amazingly well.

There will be a bit of disappointment who are expecting a straightforward biography. This will probably be the thorn in the books side because this is more a book about the war and a girl who will grow to be one of the most iconic film stars of her generation. This is really an extraordinary book that if it was dressed up as a WW2 book, I probably would have bypassed it on the shelves but as it was a biography, it kept me interested and engrossed in the history. I learned about an awkward girl and her family during a terrible time in history, I was able to empathise with life during this time period.

My hats are off to Matzen and it is pure ingenious on how he was able to give me a history lesson disguised as a biography of a film star and show me the human story behind historical events. This is a winner and one of the hardest reviews to write. Highly recommended.

Straightforward focus on particular aspect of this really fascinating woman's life, more complex and international than maybe people think .. her background surely influenced not only her life choices, but the grit we feel in her performances ..not only for fans! For anyone wanting a different angle on how women specifically survive and achieve ..

I found this book interesting both as a childhood biography of Audrey Hepburn, giving some context to her later life as a UNICEF ambassador for children, and as a history of the Netherlands in World War Two. The author had obviously done a lot of research to unearth some of the stories deliberately hidden from previous biographers, such as Audrey's mother's early Nazi sympathies. There was also a great deal of detail about one of the most famous episodes in World War Two military history (Operation Market Garden) and about the experiences of ordinary people under Nazi occupation. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in the history of World War Two in Europe, especially the civilian experience, as well as fans of Audrey Hepburn.

I gave this book a 4 out of 5 star review. It was an enjoyable and I would recommend. to others. Generously provided to me through NetGalley

I previously read Robert Matzen's book about Jimmy Stewart and was looking forward to this one about Audrey Hepburn. I felt however that she was rather incidental to the story. The main focus of the book seemed to be "what happened to Holland in WW2". As with the other book there was a lot of detail about armaments, battle lines, etc but perhaps this is easier to find than personal information, especially about someone so private about her early life. The book was still interesting though as I hadn't realised how much Holland suffered, how many were killed or used as slaves by the Nazis, or simply starved to death. Provided that you don't expect too much detail about Audrey, this is well worth reading.

This book has both nothing and everything to do with Audrey Hepburn. The story is largely about the Nazi occupation in the Netherlands and all of the famine and violence that it brought. There is so much to Audrey's demeanor that was never understood during her lifetime and this book sheds light on the trauma and devastation that she faced with her family. There were some shocking moments to the book but I don't wish to provide spoilers.

If you aren't "into" war books, as I was, this book may at times feel daunting - but Matzen is really pushing a realistic look of The Netherlands at war. I pushed through those particular sections and feel like stories like these shed light on the darkest days of our humanity, and how we can transcend them.

Definitely an autobiography rather than a novel. I was fascinated to read about the life, especially early years of Audrey Hepburn, who I admire as an actress. Lots of detail here but it is rather long winded and can be a dull read at times. Cut it back by a third and have it written less like a history text book in places and it will be more suitable for sale to the masses.

Audrey Hepburns childhood autobiography- it’s a part of her life which is not talked about. Reading this it shows just what a rough / tough childhood she actually had. It describes what she went through.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Goodknight Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

An autobiography of Audrey Hepburn. Most people knew her as the star of many famous films but behind that facade was a girl who lived a troubled and tragic childhood that she kept hidden. This is an account of her life approved by her son.