August 30

The Spy Wore Red (1987)
By Aline, Countess of Romanones

This memoir had me looking over my shoulder as I read through Countess Aline's adventures as an undercover agent in wartime Spain.  Aline Griffith, born in New York, was just 21 and employed as a model, when she declared her desire to help the Allied cause during World War II.  She was recruited by the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in 1943 and assigned to work in Spain.  Her mission was to infiltrate Madrid's society to try to discover who had links to the Nazi regime.  She leads a glamorous life, attending balls and dinners, mingling with the highest levels of Spanish society, all the while listening for incriminating gossip and looking for suspicious behavior among the other guests.  The important thing is that, as a spy, she can let herself trust no one.  Even those who purported to represent the Allies could be double agents.  It's a very dangerous assignment, and Aline survives some narrow escapes.  It's worth noting that some reviewers have suggested that she may have "embroidered her exploits as an American spy".  In any case, the book is suspenseful reading and provides a window into the dangerous but crucial work of secret agents.  Aline went on to write several more books, including two others about her work as a spy, an account of her work to restore her husband's ancestral home, and a novel.

After the war, Aline married Luis Figueroa de Perez y Guzman, Count of Quintanilla, later the Count of Ramanones upon the death of his grandfather.  Aline became famous as a socialite, entertaining the likes of Jackie Kennedy, the Duchess of Windsor, Audrey Hepburn, and Salvador Dali, and garnered a place on the best-dressed list in 1962.  She died last December at age 94.