Wartime : Britain 1939-1945

Half the British Army never left Britain during the Second World War and became, with the civilian population, the Home Front. In Wartime the danger, courage, deprivation, exhaustion, fear, humour and, sometimes, boredom that the population endured for six years is vividly brought to life through the voices of those who lived through them. From the vituperative and funny diary of a Sheffield housewife through the letters of an artist killed at Monte Cassino to the experiences of four Liverpool children and their hostile mother billeted on a Cheshire family, the everyday hardship, frustration and sadness of the war vibrate off the page. Many of these stories have not been told before; many of the letters and diaries have never been published. Juliet Gardiner has had access to a staggering wealth of rich, new material which covers all aspects of the conflict from conscription, rationing, propaganda and censorship to the plight of separated families, lack of money, entertainment and victory. This is a truly authoritative, comprehensive and involving perspective of the war years at home.