668 Book and Dagger - The Scholars and Librarians Who Became Spies and Fought the Nazis (with Elyse Graham) | Jane Austen Turns 250

The History of Literature

When the U.S. joined the war in the 1940s, it had a problem: its military had virtually no intelligence service. Enter the librarians! In this episode, Jacke talks to Elyse Graham about her work Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II, which tells the story of the efforts to recruit academics and train them for espionage. PLUS a look at some of the upcoming festivities being planned for Jane Austen's 250th birthday.

Additional listening:

• 444 Thrillers on the Eve of War: Spy Novels in the 1930s (with Juliette Bretan)
• 380 Ian Fleming | PLUS The Black James Bond
• 114 Christopher Marlowe: What Happened and What If?

The music in this episode is by Gabriel Ruiz-Bernal. Learn more at gabrielruizbernal.com.

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