Ordinary People Who Stepped Up: World War II Spies in The Spy Keeper of Marseille

The Spy Keeper of Marseille is a historical fiction novel about Zelie, a widowed officer’s wife who becomes the leader of a prominent spy ring during World War II, and Marcel, a concert pianist–turned-spy.

Throughout the story, you’ll meet characters in the fictionalized Allied spy ring who put their lives at risk to defend their country, many of whom weren’t trained as spies and had everyday lives before war came to their country.

In this post, Roseanna M. White introduces you to the ordinary person and real-life spy who inspired Zelie and the story of The Spy Keeper of Marseille.