A very readable social history of the way Britons celebrated Christmas during, and despite, the Second World War. That's 6 separate occasions and the writer does seek out variety in her accounts. We meet people of all ages and backgrounds, city and country, at home and abroad. Despite the subtitle "True Stories of How Britain Came Together on the Home Front" there are tales of service people both in Britain and all around the world, but the majority of recollections are those of civilians trying to enjoy a festive season whilst enduring fear and shortages.
Caroline Taggart lets the individual voices of those people take centre stage as she weaves their stories into a meaningful tale. She uses contemporary diaries, letters, speeches and newspaper stories as well as memories written or spoken years after the events. All is well-researched and often moving as those difficult days come to life for the reader.
This will be a valuable resource for students and for anyone trying to reproduce those times for a novel, a play or a film. I also recommend it as a family read because people of different ages will remember those times or the stories told them by parents or grandparents. And young people will be interested in how different the lives and expectations of people living in the 1940s are to their own experience.
Caroline Taggart lets the individual voices of those people take centre stage as she weaves their stories into a meaningful tale. She uses contemporary diaries, letters, speeches and newspaper stories as well as memories written or spoken years after the events. All is well-researched and often moving as those difficult days come to life for the reader.
This will be a valuable resource for students and for anyone trying to reproduce those times for a novel, a play or a film. I also recommend it as a family read because people of different ages will remember those times or the stories told them by parents or grandparents. And young people will be interested in how different the lives and expectations of people living in the 1940s are to their own experience.