historical-figures, historical-places-events, history, family-dynamics, fan-atic, bravery, British, rescue, opera-stars*****
Ida Cook (1904 to 1986) was a British campaigner for Jewish refugees and a romance novelist as Mary Burchell. Ida Cook and her sister Mary Louise Cook (1901–1991) rescued Jews from the Nazis during the 1930s. The sisters helped 29 people escape, funded mainly by Ida's writing. In 1965, the Cook sisters were honoured as Righteous among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority in Israel. Between 1936 and 1985, Ida Cook wrote 112 romance novels as Mary Burchell and in 1950 she wrote her autobiography, We Followed Our Stars.

Bear all this in mind as you read about two ordinary young sisters in England who determined to do some very outrageous things in the 1920s, such as saving up from their ordinary jobs to go to see a fantastic opera singer in NYC by taking the latest steamship there and back! They continued to do so repeatedly until Hitler began destroying people and countries.
Once the need to help people escape their terrorists, the sisters devised and implemented plans to help where they could with no thought for themselves.
This a great and memorable tale written by a simple and unassuming woman. Don't miss it! And it would be nice if you bought one for your local library as well.
I requested and received a temporary ebook copy from HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada)/Park Row via NetGalley. Thank you! ( )

Mary Burchell was a popular Mills & Boon/Harlequin author in the mid-20th century. Mary Burchell was the pseudonym for Ida Cook, whose own story proves the old adage “truth is stranger than fiction.” Ida and her sister, Louise, came of age between the wars. Working girl Louise's purchase of a gramophone and opera recordings led to the sisters' lifelong love of opera. Their lives revolved around opera season. Ida began collecting snapshots of opera stars as she and Louise queued for gallery seats. This led to acquaintances and then friendships with many of the major opera stars of the early to mid-twentieth century, including Amelita Galli-Curci, Rosa Ponselle, Ezio Pinza, Elisabeth Rethberg, Maria Callas, and conductor Clemens Krauss and his wife, soprano Viorica Ursuleac. It was their friendship with Krauss and Ursuleac that led to the defining period of their lives, when they aided refugees escaping from Nazi Germany and other countries under their control.

The British government accepted refugees under a guarantee system whereby accepted refugees would not be a financial burden to the social system. Ida and Louise raised funds to provide guarantees for refugees, many of whom were Jewish. The sisters also smuggled valuables belonging to refugees out of German controlled areas, since the refugees weren't allowed to leave with money or valuables. Their love of opera provided a perfect cover for their clandestine activities. The authorities viewed them as eccentric but harmless opera aficionados. Cook's writing career took off just as their rescue work commenced, and most of her new-found wealth went to the rescue efforts. Ida and Louise Cook were honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous among the Nations, and are credited with helping 29 Jews escape from Germany and Austria. ( )

Quick read but deeply moving. Glad to see that passion for opera help so many people and the proof that opera singers are just normal people ( )

Ida Cook is the real name of Mary Burchell, a prolific author of Mills & Boon / Harlequin romances between the 1930s and 1980s. I used to really like some of her romances when I was young, but they are less appealing to me now because they lean pretty heavily towards domineering men who are forgiven everything because they are geniuses and therefore can't be held up to the same standards as ordinary mortals. When I heard that she had written an autobiography which included the work she had done rescuing Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, I was intrigued, because it just seemed so far removed from her usual, exceedingly light, romantic writing.

Ida and her sister Louise were opera superfans, as obsessive as some teenagers today who idolize young rockstars. The first 100 or so pages of the book is a gushing tribute to the opera stars of the 1920s and 30s. This part of the book does provide insight into the personalities and backgrounds of the author and her sister, and really interesting information about the lifestyle of young working women between the wars. There was just a little too much adulation for my taste. Having no interest in opera, I was finding it rather tedious, and was on the verge of giving up. Fortunately I persevered, because once she reached the part about their pre-war refugee work, the book became fascinating. It was at its best when detailing some of the individual people and families who they rescued. She tells it all very matter-of-factly—they saw a job that needed to be done, and did it to the best of their abilities, exhausting all of the resources that they had available to them. They knew they couldn't save everyone, so they helped as many as they could, and deeply regretted having to leave so many behind. Once the war begins, her descriptions of life in London during the Blitz and after are riveting.

The portion of this book that is World War II memoir is excellent. For a reader who happens to love opera, the whole book would be perfect. For the rest of us, I can only advise perseverance through the first six chapters until finding the heart of the book.

A favourite line: When telling about how she started writing romances, she says that at first it would wound her when people would come up to her and say, ”Of course, I don't read your sort of stuff." But in later years, "I just look them in the eye and say, "No? And you can't write it either, can you?”

"You never know what you can do until you refuse to take no for an answer." That comment by Ida Cook would have applied to any number of situations in her and her sister Louise's lives.

This was a wonderful read, as inspiring as it was uplifting. However, anyone who picks up this book expecting a tale of rescue missions and resistance will be disappointed. The first 100 or so pages don't mention any of this, instead it's all about - opera. When this was first published in 1950, the title was We Followed Our Stars, which was far more suitable. Louise and Ida Cook become opera lovers quite by chance, but it's a love that came to define their lives. These days, it's not unheard of for people to follow their favourite band/sports stars/football team around the world, but picture yourself if you will in London in the mid-1920s and ask yourself if you're prepared to get on an ocean liner for the princely sum of £38 (keeping in mind your weekly wage is £3) to cross the Atlantinc, just to go to the opera in New York. This was the beginning of the travels of the Cook sisters in pursuit of opera. Along the way, they managed to befriend many of the superstars of the opera world of the day, most of whom have passed from memory by now. It's these connections that lead them, many years later, to helping Jewish refugees to relocate to England under the Guarantee system.

It's an interesting and surprising autobiography and memoir, but I'd like to point out that the current title is rather misleading in my opinion, as the sisters' refugee work makes up only around a third of the book.
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