Crossing by Night [Hardcover]

David Aaron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1993

Selected by the British Secret Service to crack Enigma, the Nazi's unbreakable coding machine, a beautiful young American travels from Berlin, through Prague, to Warsaw to complete her mission. 100,000 first printing. $50,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fact and fiction create a winning combination in former deputy national security advisor Aaron's ( Agent of Influence ) romanticized account of real-life spy Elizabeth Thorpe Pack, the young American wife of stodgy British diplomat Arthur Pack, during the Spanish Civil War and at the beginning of WW II. Elizabeth's honeymoon announcement that they're going to have a baby sooner than propriety dictates makes Arthur fear for his career. After using Elizabeth's beauty and social status to meet Vita Sackville-West, Winston Churchill and others above his station, he puts their newborn son up for adoption and takes Elizabeth to Spain, where she behaves "like a mad debutante" and falls for Antonio Zaragoza. In the summer of 1936, she catches the eye of the SIS by rescuing the besieged British embassy in San Sebastian. Flying into Madrid during the bombing, she locates Zaragoza and frees 18 men from a Valencia prison. When Arthur is later posted to Warsaw, the British recruit Elizabeth to steal Polish copies of the Enigma, the Nazi encoding device. Relishing her work, Elizabeth pursues handsome intelligence officer Count Michael Lubienski and uncovers Poland's complicity in Hitler's acquisition of Czechoslovakia. Then Churchill asks her to engage in yet another risky, heroic act of espionage, which brings the book to a riveting denouement. In Aaron's capable hands, Elizabeth is an irresistible heroine and her story is the stuff of highest adventure. BOMC alternate; major ad/promo; optioned by Republic Pictures for a TV miniseries.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Aaron ( State Scarlet , LJ 3/15/87; Agent of Influence , Putnam, 1989) has written a fictional account of the adventures of World War II spy Elizabeth Pack (code name: Cynthia). Crossing by Night chronicles Cynthia's brave and heroic deeds in 1930s Europe, climaxing in her plot to smuggle the famed Enigma coding device out of Hitler's Germany. At great personal risk, Pack "left the comfortable world of a Washington debutante and diplomat's wife to lead the life of a spy." Real-life characters include her passionless husband, Arthur Pack; the romantic Count Michael Lubienski; and spymaster William Stephenson. While entertaining and fast-paced, this work presents a rather simplified view of the acquisition of Enigma by the British SIS. Neither the plot nor the characters are deeply developed or explored. Nevertheless, this action-packed, engaging novel will appeal to fans of romantic historical fiction and World War II adventure yarns. Recommended for larger collections. BOMC alternate; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/93.
- Stacie Browne Chandler, Plymouth P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 363 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow & Co; 1st edition (May 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688092969
• ISBN-13: 978-0688092962
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Historical inaccuracies mar an otherwise great read, September 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Crossing by Night (Paperback)

This is a refreshing change of pace both as to the historical setting and the main characters. I have to agree with a prior review that some parts do stretch credulity but that is the nature of fiction. However, historical innacuracies can be jarring: they alert the reader to read more carefully and thus detract from the fun of reading the story itself. One would not expect to see rumrunners off New York in July, 1935, nearly two years after repeal. And if George VI ascended the throne of Britain in late March, 1937, who filled in from December, 1936 when Edward VIII abdicated? Neither of these examples is essential to the story, but littering the story with this sort of thing does detract from it. Still, a good read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fast moving spy novel., June 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Crossing By Night (Bookcassette(r) Edition) (Audio Cassette)

I was not familiar with the story of Elizabeth Pack, so I was continually wondering how closely it followed history. Believability was stretched in the recruitment of Elizabeth, but overall, a good, solid read.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly eloquent, but sticks with you, May 29, 2003

By 

Krystle (Little Rock) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossing By Night (Bookcassette(r) Edition) (Audio Cassette)

I'll tell you the saving grace of this book, and it is simply this: when you're finished with the book, you will find yourself thinking about Elizabeth Pack days afterward. The book isn't incredibly great, and you can tell that it's written by a man, but reading about bravery is always a great thing. I thought it was quite hilarious that the author insistently speaks about Elizabeth's "scent," if you know what I mean...I mean, I started to think the girl must be incredibly smelly. I also don't care much at all about history, and therefore got the names and titles of many of the officers and soldiers mixed up throughout the book, but luckily there was always enough love story going on throughout the book to keep me going. Hey, I finished it, and learned a bit in the process. I'd recommend it as a quirk read.