Muriel’s War: An American Heiress in the Nazi Resistance

Available now from Palgrave Macmillan

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The captivating story of a courageous woman who left a life of privilege for a world of danger and international espionage

Born into a wealthy meatpacking dynasty in Chicago and educated at Wellesley, raven-haired beauty Muriel Gardiner renounced her family’s materialistic lifestyle and as a young woman left the United States. First studying at Oxford, then attending the University of Vienna medical school, Muriel befriended Anna Freud and studied the fledgling science of psychoanalysis just as the dark clouds of Hitler’s war were moving across Europe. During this tumultuous time, she married twice, had a daughter and, in Vienna, fell in love with a leader of the Austrian underground.. When Germany finally annexed Austria in March of 1938, Muriel began to help Jews and anti-fascists escape, smuggling forged documents across borders and risking her own life. Eventually, she left Europe for New York—but using her wealth and vast network of connections, continued to rescue many still trapped behind enemy lines.

Here, for the first time this electrifying woman who impressed everyone she met with her intelligence and powerful personality, receives her due. An American heiress turned resistance hero, Muriel went on to become an eminent psychoanalyst, and was a founder of the International Rescue Committee. Drawing from Gardiner’s unpublished writings and interviews with those who knew her best, Sheila Isenberg offers Muriel’s astonishing story of moral courage and humanistic zeal. With all its twists and turns, this inspiring account reveals a heroic woman who lives on as a legend of her time.

Hear: Sheila discuss Muriel’s War on WAMC

Read: Women’s History Month Profile: Muriel Gardiner

Reviews:

Pennington Post – “Author chronicles amazing life of Watershed Association benefactor Muriel Gardiner Buttinger” – 1/19/11

Princeton Online – “Watershed Associations Hosts Special Author Event – Reveals Muriel’s War at Princeton Public Library on Feb. 5″ – 1/26/11

The Princeton Packet - “Watershed celebrating publication of Muriel’s War” – 2/1/11

Hopewell Express – “Remembering one woman’s fight against evil” – 2/11

Times of Trenton – “Startling life of heiress finally told” – 2/5/11

Times of Trenton – “High Risk Humanitarian Lead Double Life” – 2/6/11

What people are saying about Muriel’s War:

“A fabulous, fantastic book.  should be required reading of any one living in the U.S today, given the attack on leftists and trade unions. Thank you so much for writing it, what a fantastic effort on your part. I would love to know what has happened to her daughter, Connie.  Is she involved in politics at all? Thank you again for a exquisite and heartbreaking  book.”
- Gloria Norton