London 1945: Life in the Debris of War

London 1945: Life in the Debris of War
Maureen Waller
RRP:
NZ$ 41.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 34.64
Paperback
h198 x 129mm - 528pg
30 Apr 2020 UK
International import eta 10-19 days
9781529338157
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
LONDON at the outset of war in 1939 was the greatest city in the world, the heart of the British Empire. By 1945 it was a drab and exhausted city, beginning the long haul back to recovery. The defiant capital had always been Hitler's prime target. The last months of the war saw the final phase of the battle of London. The enemy unleashed its new vengeance weapons, the flying bombs and rockets. They were terrifying and brought destruction on a vast scale, but fortunately came too late to dent morale seriously . The people of London were showing the spirit, courage and resilience which had earned them the admiration of the world during a long siege. In the harshest winter for fifty years, they were living in primitive conditions. Thousands were homeless, living in the Underground and deep shelters. Women queued for whale meat and were lucky to obtain one egg a month. They besieged emergency coal dumps. Stockings and new shoes were things of the past. Everyone longed for peace. The bright new world seemed elusive. As the victory celebrations passed into memory, there were severe hardships and all the problems of post-war adjustment. Women lost the independence the war had lent them, husbands and wives had to learn to live together again, and children had a lot of catching up to do. Yet London's loss has often been its opportunity. Its people had eagerly embraced plans for a modern metropolis and an end to poverty. They voted overwhelmingly for a Labour government and the new, fairer, social order that was their reward for all they had endured. The year of victory, 1945, represents an important chapter in London's - and Britain's - long history. Acclaimed historian Maureen Waller draws on a rich array of primary sources, letting the people tell their own story, to re-create that moment, bringing to it the social insight at which she excels.
'She writes with a great affection for London ... a compelling picture of the life of the ordinary Londoner' -- The Spectator 20040501 'An enjoyable read and meticulously researched' -- The Guardian 20040516 'Convincing, humane and highly readable' -- Telegraph 20040516 'A wholly compulsive read ... outstanding' -- Hampstead and Highgate Express 20040430 'A triumph' -- Western Daily Press 20040506 'Maureen Waller ... brings to her work a remarkable level of industry' -- London Society Journal 20041101 'Waller delivers a vivid portrait of London, showing the stoicism and good humour in adversity that made London the beacon of hope for freedom-loving peoples around the world.' -- Waterstone's Book Quarterly 20041101 'Using vivid witness accounts, Waller [gives].. a compelling account of a crucial year' -- Women and Home Magazine 20041101 'For anyone who wants a fuller picture of what life was really like during those dark days, Maureen Waller's superb social history provides the answer.' -- Focus 20041101 'Touching on almost every aspect of daily life towards the end of the war, from the kitchen to the workplace, she imbues the era with a sense of immediacy which few other histories of the subject can match' -- Sunday Times 20041101 'Waller has written an immensely powerful history.' -- The Good Book Guide 20041101 'An ambitious enterprise, and Waller brings it off admirably - a sort of Bayeux Tapestry' -- The Times 20040501 'A wonderfully vivid panorama of a thrilling time' -- Scotsman 20040501 'Meticulously researched account imbues the second-world-war era with a matchless sense of immediacy' -- Sunday Times 20040501 'Magisterial ... a fine account in which sober analysis is combined with a mass of memorable and emotive information' -- Daily Mail 20040514 'Fascinating, impressive and meticulously researched ... a treasure trove' -- Daily Express 20040430 'This copiously researched, anecdote-filled book is one of the best [titles focusing on particular dates or periods in London's history]' -- Sunday Times 20041205 'You can't help reading this and thinking: this is what it was really like' -- Guardian 20050409 'A wonderfully vivid and evocative portrait' -- Sunday Telegraph 20050410 'Maureen Waller's social history of the capital in the final year of war is utterly gripping in its portrait of a population that "could not be talked down to."' -- Telegraph 20050402 'One of the many strengths of Waller's engrossing survey of London life through the long twilight of war and the chilly dawn of peace is her attention to the rough times, not rosy nostalgia.' -- Independent 20050429 'Waller vividly recreates the city during those 12 months of transition between war and peace and provides a compelling account of how Londoners reacted to destruction and deprivation and prepared to rebuild what had been lost.' -- Sunday Times 20050424 'This is a rich, evocative protrait of London amid the death throes of war.' -- Daily Mail 20050422
Maureen Waller read Medieval & Modern History at University College, London and took a Master's at Queen Mary College, London. She is the author of 1700: Scenes from London Life and Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole their Father's Crown. She lives in London.
Status: No local stock, title imported to order
ISBN-13: 9781529338157
Published: 30 Apr 2020
Published In: United Kingdom
Imprint: John Murray Publishers
Publisher: John Murray Press
Format: Paperback
Height: 198mm
Width: 129mm
Pages: 528

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