Hardcover: 608 pages
Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ) (March 27, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1780226594
ISBN-13: 978-1780226590
Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.9 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (173 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #437,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #151 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military > World War I #671 in Books > History > Military > World War I #1809 in Books > History > World > Women in History
I first read this book when I was not much younger than Vera Brittain was when she "viewed the outbreak of the First World War as an interruption of her plans", and I was immediately touched by her experiences. I have read (and re-read & re-read) this book many times. While I am not of the same social class that she was, I can relate to her desire to make something of her life, first through a university education (then restricted to many women) and later through finding meaningful work. (This is something that we all seek.) She fell happily in love, only to lose first her fiance, then her two male friends, and finally her beloved only brother in the carnage of the First World War. Her experiences as a V.A.D. (Volunary Aide Detachment) nurse in the war--from describing what the wards were like, to the frenzy she faced during a "push", to watching the Americans arrive in 1917, to her life on the hospital ship "Britannic", that's right, the sister ship to "Titanic"--both went down, are unforgettable. When she writes, she does not spare herself, nor seek to make herself look good--and she takes an unflinching look at her own difficulties (a word which does not even begin to describe it!!) adjusting to a post-war world which did not want the survivors. She tells of the difficulties she had fitting in (again, but this time older & wisher) at Oxford, of her mental near-breakdown, and of the bright light that was Winifred Holtby. I cannot recommend this book enough. It should be required reading in colleges and universities, and not just for history, English, and womens' studies majors. Perhaps those who do not understand what all the fuss over "women's lib." is all about should make this required reading as well (both male and female).
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