Jackdaws
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jackdaws is a World War II spy thriller written by British novelist Ken Follett. It was published in hardcover format in 2001 by the Penguin Group. It was reissued as a paperback book by Signet Books in 2002. The name is also used as a pangram in many fonts as "Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz."
[edit] Plot teaser
Follett wastes no time in getting the action started in Jackdaws, his return to the time period that made him famous with Eye of the Needle. Felicity "Flick" Clairet, British S.O.E. agent, and Michel Clairet, local Resistance leader, launch an attack on a telephone exchange, one vitally important for German military communication throughout the region. The defenders prove to be too much for the Resistance fighters; though Flick and Michel escape, the bulk of the Resistance circuit is either killed or captured. Despondent, she returns to her superiors in England. Given her past successes and the importance of the telephone exchange, she is given another chance. She airdrops into France one week before D-day, with the same objective, but this time leading an unprecedented all-female team - the "Jackdaws."
[edit] List of Characters
- Felicity "Flick" Clairet - S.O.E. agent
- Dieter Franck - Nazi Intelligence officer
- Willi Weber - Gestapo officer, Dieter's former colleague in the German police force
- Paul Chancellor - U.S. Army officer; aide to Gen. Bernard Montgomery
- Michel Clairet - French Resistance leader, Flick's French husband
- Mademoiselle Lemas - French Resistance sympathizer
- Flick's team, the Jackdaws
- Ruby Romain
- Diana Colefield, daughter of Flick's mother's employer
- Maude Valentine
- Lady Denise Bowyer - crack shot
- Geraldine "Jelly" Knight - explosives expert
- Greta Garbo - a crossdressed telephone engineer
- Percy Thwaite - Senior S.O.E. agent
