Michelle Young is an award-winning writer and journalist, and the author of the narrative non-fiction book The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland, which is longlisted for the 2025 American Library in Paris Book Award. In today’s episode, Annmarie and Michelle talk about Rose Valland, an unsung hero of the French war effort, and how an unlikely heroine infiltrated the Nazi leadership to save the world’s most treasured masterpieces.

Episode Sponsors:

McNally Jackson – Independent booksellers with locations in Nolita, Williamsburg, Seaport, Rockefeller, and Downtown Brooklyn. To find your next great read, drop by or shop online at www.mcnallyjackson.com

Bluestockings – A collectively-run NYC activist center, community space and feminist bookstore that offers mutual aid, harm reduction support,    non-judgemental resources, and a warming/cooling place that is radically inclusive of all genders, cultures, expansive sexualities and identities. Bluestockings seeks to empower all people to challenge oppression and participate in creating a society which is equitable, cooperative, and free, and we strive to empower our worker-owners through non-hierarchy,   cooperation, and consensus-based decision making, providing an example of the society we are working toward. Stop by or shop online at bluestockings.com.

Titles Mentioned in This Episode:

The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of WWII Resistance Hero Rose Valland, by Michelle Young

The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon, by Laurie Gwen Shapiro, the aviator and the showman

Here’s the trailer for the 1964 film, The Train, starring Burt Lancaster. 

Follow Michelle Young:

Instagram: @michelleyoungwriter

Threads: @michelleyoungwriter

Twitter/X: @michelleyoungny

Bluesky: @‪michelleyoung.bsky.social

michelleyoungwriter.com

**Writing Workshops and Wish Fulfillment: 

If you liked this conversation and are interested in writing abroad, consider joining Annmarie for a writing retreat in Italy in September, 2025.

You can travel to a beautiful place, meet other wise women, and write your own stories. We’d love to help you make your wishes come true. 

This will sell out. Act now and join us!

Or for women interested in an online Saturday morning writing circle, you can sign up here or message Annmarie to learn more.

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