IF you take a stroll around London, you’re likely to spot a few of English Heritage’s iconic blue plaques, which mark the homes of famous writers, artists and other notable people, from military leaders to scientific innovators. Each year, a handful of new names is added to this impressive roster and, in March, English Heritage announced that this year’s list includes two leading female spies, who risked their lives on top-secret missions.
Christine Granville was Britain’s longest-serving female agent during the Second World War and her daring exploits read like something from an adventure novel. Born Krystyna Skarbek, the daughter of a charming, but dissolute Polish aristocrat and a Jewish heiress, she grew up on a country estate in Trzepnica, riding horses, roaming the fields and sledging in winter. She was clearly both beautiful and precocious—she was placed in a national beauty pageant and was expelled from her boarding school for setting fire to a priest’s cassock (when the priest was still in it).
However, when her family went bankrupt in the 1920s, the young Granville suddenly had to support herself. On the outbreak of war, she sailed to London and, with characteristic determination, became a secret agent two years before the Special Operations Executive officially recruited women.
Denne historien er fra June 10, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra June 10, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
