{"id":398,"date":"2015-11-13T11:43:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-13T11:43:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/13\/book-recommendations-british-home-front\/"},"modified":"2020-10-28T17:25:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T17:25:29","slug":"book-recommendations-british-home-front","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/13\/book-recommendations-british-home-front\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Recommendations: The British Home Front During WWII"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have mentioned a few times that I am very interested in the social history of WWII, especially in relation to the British home front. \u00a0I can’t really pinpoint what started this interest, probably a book at some time or another, that is how most of my interests start. \u00a0Whatever began it, I am just fascinated with the everyday life of people living through the war. \u00a0I like finding out what they thought, how they felt, what they did to stretch the rations, how they clothed their families, what they did for entertainment, how life changed and how life stayed the same. \u00a0Maybe it is just my nosy side coming out, maybe it is just a fascination with people in general. \u00a0Possibly this is why I also love people watching. \u00a0Whatever the case may be, I thought I would share some of my favorite books about that time period.<\/p>\n

\"books--Simon<\/a><\/div>\n

First of all, we have a trio of books by Simon Garfield. \u00a0They are We Are At War<\/i>, Private Battles: How<\/i> the War Almost Defeated Us<\/i>, and Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Post-War<\/i> Britain<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I bought the first of these books when I went to the Imperial War Museum in London. \u00a0We went to see an exhibition called A Family in Wartime<\/a>. \u00a0It was about the Allpress family in London and how the war affected them. \u00a0There are reconstructions of rooms in their house, photographs, and audio recordings. \u00a0It was fascinating. \u00a0I bought the book in the museum bookshop. \u00a0I started reading it that evening. \u00a0It was the first time I had heard of \u00a0The Mass Observation<\/a> organization. \u00a0It was a social research group that collected information about everyday life in Britain, including during the war years. \u00a0Diaries were kept, observers took notes on what people were doing and saying, and volunteers responded to written questions and other prompts about day to day life. \u00a0Garfield used the archives of this organization to compile fascinating accounts of life during the war. \u00a0In each book, he follows four or five people and their diaries, interspersed with a few explanatory notes. \u00a0It really brings the time period alive. \u00a0You are reading in someone’s own words what they thought and felt at the time. \u00a0I highly recommend all of the books.<\/p>\n

\"Book--How<\/a><\/div>\n

Next, we have How We Lived Then<\/i>, A history of everyday life during the Second World War by Norman Longmate. \u00a0This is a comprehensive history of exactly what life was like during the war. \u00a0It is extremely detailed but extremely readable. \u00a0He quotes extensively from individual accounts of the war. \u00a0This book really makes history come alive. \u00a0Plus it answers every question you didn’t know you had about what it was like to live then.<\/p>\n

\"book--Nella<\/a><\/div>\n

Nella Last’s War<\/i>, edited by Richard Broad and Suzie Fleming is probably the most well-known compilation of diaries from the war years. \u00a0It was made into a movie, Housewife, 49<\/i>. \u00a0I wasn’t wildly impressed with the movie but then, I frequently get annoyed with movies that are based on books. \u00a0Nella Last submitted her diary to the Mass Observation Organization. \u00a0This, and the two further volumes, are an interesting depiction of one woman’s viewpoint on life during the time.<\/p>\n

\"books--Mollie<\/a><\/div>\n

London War Notes<\/i> by Mollie Panter-Downes was recently reissued by Persephone Books not too long after I had spent a year stalking copies of it online, trying to find one that was affordable. Ah well, that’s life. \u00a0Panter-Downes wrote a column called “Letters from London” for the New Yorker. \u00a0There were over 150 columns over the years from 1939-45. \u00a0They gave Americans a window into the life of the British during the war. \u00a0This is intensely readable and absolutely fascinating. \u00a0(I feel like I am saying that about all of these books, but if I hadn’t enjoyed them I wouldn’t be writing about them now.)<\/p>\n

One Fine Day<\/i> is also by Mollie Panter-Downes. \u00a0It is a little different because it is a novel and it is set just after the war, but I included it because it gives a beautiful picture of one day in the life of a family living in a small English town after the war when they are trying to adjust back to a permanently changed life. \u00a0It is a quiet and lyrically written book. Do you ever read a book where the language almost makes you feel like you are listening to music? \u00a0I don’t know how else to describe it. I highly, highly recommend this book.<\/p>\n

I have a lot more books on my shelves about this time period. \u00a0I find it endlessly fascinating. \u00a0Currently, I am looking for more novels set during the war years. \u00a0Does anyone have any they suggest?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have mentioned a few times that I am very interested in the social history of WWII, especially in relation to the British home front. \u00a0I can’t really pinpoint what started this interest, probably a book at some time or another, that is how most of my interests start. \u00a0Whatever began it, I am just fascinated with the everyday life of people living through the war. \u00a0I like finding out what they thought, how they felt, what they did to stretch the rations, how they clothed their families, what they did for entertainment, how life changed and how life stayed the same. \u00a0Maybe it is just my nosy side coming out, maybe it is just a fascination with people in general. \u00a0Possibly this is why I also love people watching. \u00a0Whatever the case may be, I thought I would share some of my favorite books about that time period. First of all, we have a trio of books by Simon Garfield. \u00a0They are We Are At War, Private Battles: How the War Almost Defeated Us, and Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Post-War Britain. I bought the first of these books when I went to the Imperial War Museum in London. \u00a0We went to see an exhibition called A Family in Wartime. \u00a0It was about the Allpress family in London and how the war affected them. \u00a0There are reconstructions of rooms in their house, photographs, and audio recordings. \u00a0It was fascinating. \u00a0I bought the book in the museum bookshop. \u00a0I started reading it that evening. \u00a0It was the first time I had heard of \u00a0The Mass Observation organization. \u00a0It was a social research group that collected information about everyday life in Britain, including during the war years. \u00a0Diaries were kept, observers took notes on what people were doing and saying, and volunteers responded to written questions and other prompts about day to day life. \u00a0Garfield used the archives of this organization to compile fascinating accounts of life during the war. \u00a0In each book, he follows four or five people and their diaries, interspersed with a few explanatory notes. \u00a0It really brings the time period alive. \u00a0You are reading in someone’s own words what they thought and felt at the time. \u00a0I highly recommend all of the books. Next, we have How We Lived Then, A history of everyday life during the Second World War by Norman Longmate. \u00a0This is a comprehensive history of exactly what life was like during the war. \u00a0It is extremely detailed but extremely readable. \u00a0He quotes extensively from individual accounts of the war. \u00a0This book really makes history come alive. \u00a0Plus it answers every question you didn’t know you had about what it was like to live then. Nella Last’s War, edited by Richard Broad and Suzie Fleming is probably the most well-known compilation of diaries from the war years. \u00a0It was made into a movie, Housewife, 49. \u00a0I wasn’t wildly impressed with the movie but then, I frequently get annoyed with movies that are based on books. \u00a0Nella Last submitted her diary to the Mass Observation Organization. \u00a0This, and the two further volumes, are an interesting depiction of one woman’s viewpoint on life during the time. London War Notes by Mollie Panter-Downes was recently reissued by Persephone Books not too long after I had spent a year stalking copies of it online, trying to find one that was affordable. Ah well, that’s life. \u00a0Panter-Downes wrote a column called “Letters from London” for the New Yorker. \u00a0There were over 150 columns over the years from 1939-45. \u00a0They gave Americans a window into the life of the British during the war. \u00a0This is intensely readable and absolutely fascinating. \u00a0(I feel like I am saying that about all of these books, but if I hadn’t enjoyed them I wouldn’t be writing about them now.) One Fine Day is also by Mollie Panter-Downes. \u00a0It is a little different because it is a novel and it is set just after the war, but I included it because it gives a beautiful picture of one day in the life of a family living in a small English town after the war when they are trying to adjust back to a permanently changed life. \u00a0It is a quiet and lyrically written book. Do you ever read a book where the language almost makes you feel like you are listening to music? \u00a0I don’t know how else to describe it. I highly, highly recommend this book. I have a lot more books on my shelves about this time period. \u00a0I find it endlessly fascinating. \u00a0Currently, I am looking for more novels set during the war years. \u00a0Does anyone have any they suggest?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,11,68,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-london","category-mollie-panter-downes","category-wwii"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2913,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions\/2913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holdsuponhappiness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}