Summary
Overview
This episode introduces Christina Skarbek, a Polish countess who became Britain's first and most daring female spy of World War II. After Nazi Germany invaded Poland, she volunteered for British intelligence and embarked on dangerous missions skiing through the Tatra Mountains, smuggling intelligence and propaganda between Nazi-occupied Poland and Hungary. Despite her aristocratic background and initial inexperience in espionage, her beauty, courage, and quick thinking made her a legendary operative—though her story would end in tragedy after the war.
The Spy Who Inspired James Bond's Vesper Lynd
The opening scene flashes forward to July 1944, showing Skarbek in southern France with her spy chief Francis Camar during a massive German offensive. As a Luftwaffe bomber targets their hotel directly, Skarbek refuses to take cover, choosing instead to face death standing and looking it firmly in the eye. This dramatic moment foreshadows her fearless character throughout the war. Her legendary status as Britain's most daring female spy, combined with her beauty and tragic post-war fate, inspired Ian Fleming's character Vesper Lynd in the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.
- The scene opens in July 1944 during a German aerial bombing campaign in southern France
- Skarbek had parachuted into France to help resistance chief Francis Camar
- As a bomb headed directly for their hotel window, Skarbek refused to crouch, choosing to meet death on her feet
- She was known as 'Vespreil' (evening star) as a child and became the first female British spy of WWII
- Her story of heroism and tragedy inspired Vesper Lynd in Ian Fleming's Casino Royale
" She will meet death on her feet, looking it firmly in the eye. "
Christina Skarbek Volunteers for British Intelligence
In December 1939, Christina Skarbek, a Polish countess married to a diplomat, forces her way into a meeting with MI6 officer George Taylor. Despite being a complete novice, she proposes an audacious plan to ski through the treacherous Tatra Mountains into Nazi-occupied Poland to deliver propaganda and act as a courier for British intelligence. Though initially skeptical, Taylor sees potential in her language skills and intimate knowledge of the terrain, ultimately agreeing to send her on the dangerous mission despite concerns about sending a woman behind enemy lines.
- Christina Skarbek arrived in London after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, determined to help the war effort
- She proposed skiing through the Tatra Mountains into Nazi-occupied Poland to deliver propaganda and act as a courier
- MI6 officer George Taylor worked in Section D, the Irregular Warfare Unit organizing sabotage behind enemy lines
- Taylor agreed to the mission despite concerns about sending a woman, as Britain needed willing volunteers
- Skarbek's husband Jerzy, 20 years older, supported her mission despite being rejected for military service
" I have skied through an avalanche in that area. I can handle the conditions. "
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