Last Hope Island

Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War

By: Lynne Olson

Narrated by: Arthur Morey, Kimberly Farr

A groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler, from the New York Times bestselling author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days

When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over continental Europe in the early days of World War II, the city of London became a refuge for the governments and armed forces of six occupied nations who escaped there to continue the fight. So, too, did General Charles de Gaulle, the self-appointed representative of free France.

As the only European democracy still holding out against Hitler, Britain became known to occupied countries as “Last Hope Island.” Getting there, one young emigré declared, was “like getting to heaven.”

In this epic, character-driven narrative, acclaimed historian Lynne Olson takes us back to those perilous days when the British and their European guests joined forces to combat the mightiest military force in history. Here we meet the courageous King Haakon of Norway, whose distinctive “H7” monogram became a symbol of his country’s resistance to Nazi rule, and his fiery Dutch counterpart, Queen Wilhelmina, whose antifascist radio broadcasts rallied the spirits of her defeated people. Here, too, is the Earl of Suffolk, a swashbuckling British aristocrat whose rescue of two nuclear physicists from France helped make the Manhattan Project possible.

Last Hope Island also recounts some of the Europeans’ heretofore unsung exploits that helped tilt the balance against the Axis: the crucial efforts of Polish pilots during the Battle of Britain; the vital role played by French and Polish code breakers in cracking the Germans’ reputedly indecipherable Enigma code; and the flood of top-secret intelligence about German operations—gathered by spies throughout occupied Europe—that helped ensure the success of the 1944 Allied invasion.

A fascinating companion to Citizens of London, Olson’s bestselling chronicle of the Anglo-American alliance, Last Hope Island recalls with vivid humanity that brief moment in time when the peoples of Europe stood together in their effort to roll back the tide of conquest and restore order to a broken continent.

Praise for Last Hope Island

“In Last Hope Island [Lynne Olson] argues an arresting new thesis: that the people of occupied Europe and the expatriate leaders did far more for their own liberation than historians and the public alike recognize. . . . The scale of the organization she describes is breathtaking.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Last Hope Island is a book to be welcomed, both for the past it recovers and also, quite simply, for being such a pleasant tome to read.”—The Washington Post

“[A] pointed volume . . . [Olson] tells a great story and has a fine eye for character.”—The Boston Globe

Always great books

Lynne Olson cannot write anything but a wonderful book! This is now my sixth book that I had the pleasure to read or hear. Somehow each one seems even better.

Provides a more complete understanding of WWII

Especially enlightening with regard to the contributions and tragedy of the Poles, but also those of the Dutch.

A worthy & unique view of WW2

The author doesn’t try to flatter the big 3 allied powers of WWII but instead presents the bare knuckled view of the governing, warring, and negotiating behind the scenes. There are stories and insights I’ve never heard but ones that need voice. Definitely a worthy listen.
The reader too often sound plodding and measured. After a while I adapted to it but I felt the material deserved a better presentation.

great for historical backstory

I really listened to it when travelling to see my mother in a nursing home. I think that the actual reading of it would have put me to sleep. very factual, but with great warmth in many of the stories concerningthe Dutch.

Very enlightening and timely.

I've read a number of accounts of WWII; but Last Hope Island ties them together, and, for me, connects them to the present.