Our first Real Magic Weekend event at the library and one for all the history fanatics. Madam V is already receiving lots of press attention and Matt Eaton is also a local writer and Real Magic patron.

‘Meticulously researched and appropriately entertaining, Madam V dances through the history of ENSA with a light, rapid, airborne step.’ Clare Mulley, author of Agent Zo

In 1939, at the outbreak of war, 46-year-old Virginia Vernon was recruited to bring morale-boosting entertainment to British troops overseas. With fluent French, a Parisian education and a successful Broadway career behind her, she was the ideal candidate to oversee the welfare of ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association) performers. But as she quickly discovered, ‘welfare’ would come to mean far more than she imagined.

Grieving after the loss of her husband, Vernon battled entrenched sexism within the military, endured punishing journeys through the most inhospitable places, and took on responsibilities that stretched far beyond her role. From arranging performances under fire to safeguarding the lives of artistes in peril, she became a formidable force and earned the respect of generals, royalty and some of the biggest stars of the age. Known as ‘Madam V’, she gained a well-earned reputation for achieving the impossible.

This gripping new account traces her extraordinary wartime journey, from Arras in 1939 to VJ Day in Rangoon: a story of resilience, courage and the unyielding power of hope in the darkest of times.