I enjoyed the characters, many of which are loosely based on real people, as per the author note, and the way in which they interacted with each other and the bureaucracy above them. It’s a story charged with moral ambiguity and highlights the many ways in which women, both officially and unofficially, contributed to the war effort.
It follows a contingent of OSS operatives based in Rome in the final months of the war and details their efforts with disseminating ‘black propaganda’ to destabilise an already unstable enemy as the Allies and the Soviets swept closer and closer to victory. I found this to be an utterly fascinating read of an aspect of WWII history that I was unfamiliar with. As can often be the case when you take a break from something, you can return to it with fresh vigour, and that’s what has happened here, with this book, The Lipstick Bureau. I used to read a lot of fiction set during the World War II era, but in recent years, I have found myself fatigued by the topic, so my consumption has dwindled down to almost nothing. Loosely inspired by real-life OSS operative Barbara Lauwers, The Lipstick Bureau is about a woman challenging convention and boundaries to help win a war, no matter the cost. But one step out of line, one mistake, could mean life or death… But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband.Īs the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she’s been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart.
One of the OSS’s few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she’s tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers.ĭespite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others - now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau - find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy’s capital.
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