Pimpernel gold : how Norway foiled the Nazis /

When the Germans landed in Norway, King Haakon VII went into hiding and began a cross-country trek to meet up with Allied ships on the north coast which would take him to safety in England. Less safe was the gold of the Bank of Norway, bullion which had to be preserved if the country was ever to recover once the war ended. The Germans, of course, were eager to pounce on the gold, but quick, independent thinking by Norwegian officers got the bullion into some 30 lorries and vehicles and into temporary hiding at an inland bank. Soon, though, its whereabouts would be discovered, no matter how well it was hidden. So, it was taken at night by train to as close to the coast as a handful of youthful Norwegian volunteers could manage. While Norway's rifle clubs are shooting paratroopers and other Germans along the way, the secret train proceeds--at the hands of a drunken Swedish engineer. Several times Germans are met and disposed of by Norwegians in German uniforms. At last the train is left behind, the gold is transferred to lorries, and the trek continues by moonlight into pockets of armed resistance. The Norwegians have no idea where the Allied ship they hope to meet will be, but the final leg of the journey is made by ferry and the bullion's safety is assured. The whole true story is told with quick, dear crispness and striking immediacy, all of it bracing as akvavit. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.