''The Girl Who Fell from the Sky'' (as published in the UK by

Little, Brown and Company Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

) or ''Trapeze'' (as published in the US by

Other Press Other Press is an independent publisher of literary fiction and non-fiction, based in New York City. Founded in 1998 to publish academic and psychoanalytic titles, Other Press has since expanded to publish novels, short stories, nonfiction, poet ...

) is a historical novel written by

Simon Mawer Simon Mawer ( ; 18 September 1948 – 12 February 2025) was a British author who lived in Italy. Early life and work Born in England and educated at Millfield School in Somerset and at Brasenose College, Oxford, Mawer took a degree in zoology a ...

, published in 2012. It follows a woman during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

whose ability to speak French and propensity for riskMessy, duplicitous, violent – and so alluring
Baltimore Brew, June 1, 2012. attracts the attention of the

Special Operations Executive Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a British organisation formed in 1940 to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe and to aid local Resistance during World War II, resistance movements during World War II. ...

and eventually leads her to be an agent operating in

occupied Europe German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

before she is twenty years old. The American title was changed to avoid confusion with the 2010 novel by Heidi W. Durrow. In June 2012, Mawer was the guest on a radio broadcast of ''

The Diane Rehm Show ''The Diane Rehm Show'' was a call-in show based in the United States that aired nationally on NPR (National Public Radio). In October 2007, ''The Diane Rehm Show'' was named to the Audience Research Analysis list of the top ten most powerful na ...

'', where he talked about his new book.

Reception

The book was reviewed in a number of news sources in the UK (including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'') and USARoyal Young
Undercover, Between the covers: Simon Mawer on 'Trapeze'
Interview Magazine, May 1, 2012. (including the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'').‘Trapeze,’ by Simon Mawer
Washington Post, June 11, 2012.

References

External links

Other Press webpage on ''Trapeze''

2012 British novels Novels set during World War II Little, Brown and Company books Other Press books {{2010s-WWII-novel-stub