The Enigma Girls: Teens, Ciphers and War

Lynn: Decades after the secret work at Bletchley Park, its long-hidden stories finally started to be revealed. I’ve read several accounts of pivotal people involved in cryptography but here, wonderfully, in The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win WWII (Scholastic, March 2024) veteran author Candace Fleming focuses on the ordinary young women who made it all happen.

Stressing the extreme youth of the girls, most of whom were still teenagers, Fleming weaves together the stories of 10 young women in particular. They were listeners, translators, Colossus operators, cryptographers, and more. They did the everyday grinding work in terrible conditions with long hours and enormous stress. Sworn to secrecy, they shared the story of their work with no one—not even each other.

Going into fascinating detail, Fleming describes the numerous small parts of the work that required many steps, many people, and meticulous attention to detail. A mistake could kill and they all knew how crucial, if often mind-numbing, their work was. Interspersed with the girls’ stories are the steps to codes, ciphers, and the art and science of breaking them. Using short chapters and clear straight-forward text, Fleming creates an accessible and vivid portrait of an amazing effort by so many.

Careful research and documentation are provided along with archival photographs. Read in galley, so some of the back matter was not finished. This is a must-purchase for middle school collections. Also recommended for high school collections to offer an excellent WWII nonfiction for readers needing simpler text.