The Wartime House


Book Description

What was it like to live in Britain during the Second World War? What kind of house did the average family live in? How did people cope with the ever-present threat of air-raids, not to mention the hardship of food and clothes rationing? How was a typical suburban home built? What were the choices open to householders when it came to interior decoration and furnishing? How did the war affect the domestic routines of an average household? The demands of a nation at war had many other far-reaching effects on the average home. How did women cope with bringing up a family single-handedly after their husbands were conscripted for military service? How did they use the rations and keep up their families spirits? What was it like to 'Make do and Mend' or 'Dig for Victory', or to sleep in an Anderson shelter? By looking at the lives of ordinary people who inhabited the semi-detached world of suburbia, Mike Brown and Carol Harris have painted a vivid picture of daily life on the Home Front in wartime Britain.




War Housing


Book Description




My Father's House


Book Description

As a young girl growing up in the 40s on a vast estate near Munich, Trixi Ost lives a life that is charmed by talent and privilege yet scarred by place and time. Everyday routine is upended as the estate becomes temporary home to friends, family, Prussian royals, Polish peasants and others displaced by the war. In one eerie scene, a band of Serbian gypsies arrive in tattered red-and-orange rags - escapees from Dachau. Rendered with insight, humour and acute visual lyricism, Ost's memoir is a unique exploration of the lasting influence of childhood.




An Untouched House


Book Description

“Profoundly unsettling . . . haunt[s] the mind for long afterwards.” —The Sunday Times “The kind of book that stays with you forever.” —The Guardian “Hugely entertaining." —The Scotsman A Sunday Times Book of the Year: A brooding meditation on violence set during World War II—from a classic Dutch writer who has drawn comparisons to Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut In this mesmerizing, dark meditation on the legacy of war, an interloper and opportunist makes a grand house of his own in the chaos of a war-torn countryside—only to find himself involved with occupying forces and enraged locals.




War Housing Program


Book Description




Lincoln's White House


Book Description

Lincoln's White House is the first book devoted to capturing the look, feel, and smell of the executive mansion from Lincoln's inauguration in 1861 to his assassination in 1865.




The 1940s House


Book Description

“ The 1940s House Activity Book” aims to be an engaging and inspiring approach to the history of the 1940s for children and about children, with a wide range of activities through which they can learn about life in Britain during World War II.




Jambusters


Book Description

The compelling true story that inspired the hugely successful major ITV drama series HOME FIRES – now in its second season. The Second World War was the WI's finest hour. The whole of its previous history - two decades of educating, entertaining and supporting women and campaigning on women's issues - culminated in the enormous collective responsibility felt by the members to 'do their bit' for Britain. With all the vigour, energy and enthusiasm at their disposal, a third of a million country women set out to make their lives and the lives of those around them more bearable in what they described as 'a period of insanity'. Through archive material and interviews with many WI members, Julie Summers takes us behind the scenes, revealing their nitty-gritty approach to the daily problems presented by the conflict. Jambusters is the fascinating story of how the Women's Institute pulled rural Britain through the war with pots of jam and a spirit of make-do-and-mend.




The Home Front in World War Two


Book Description

This book brings an era to life with vivid stories and information from those who were there. During World War Two, 90% of the British population remained civilians. The War affected daily life more than any other war had done before. The majority of British people faced this will fortitude, courage and determination and this is their story, the telling of events and situations that forced their ingenuity and survival instincts to rise. Make do and mend came to mean so much more than reworking old clothes and this book describes the enterprise that went on and has long been forgotten. From the coasts and the countryside, this is how those at home faced and fought the war passively, particularly women whose job it was to keep the home fires burning. These ordinary people were crucial to the war effort; without their courage and inventiveness, the outcome could have been very different. Packed with interviews, photographs and other firsthand information, this book will appeal to all those who were there, but even more for those with little or no experience of World War Two, who will gain insights into the humor, strength and creativity that emerged in the face of hardship and tragedy. The book explores how people lived in Britain during times of fear, hardship and uncertainty; how they functioned and supported those away fighting and how they dealt with the enormous challenges and adversities




The Wartime Sisters


Book Description

For fans of Lilac Girls, the next powerful novel from the author of Goodreads Choice Awards semifinalist The Two-Family House about two sisters working in a WWII armory, each with a deep secret. "Loigman’s strong voice and artful prose earn her a place in the company of Alice Hoffman and Anita Diamant, whose readers should flock to this wondrous new book." —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale "The Wartime Sisters shows the strength of women on the home front: to endure, to fight, and to help each other survive.” —Jenna Blum, New York Times and international bestselling author of The Lost Family and Those Who Save Us Two estranged sisters, raised in Brooklyn and each burdened with her own shocking secret, are reunited at the Springfield Armory in the early days of WWII. While one sister lives in relative ease on the bucolic Armory campus as an officer’s wife, the other arrives as a war widow and takes a position in the Armory factories as a “soldier of production.” Resentment festers between the two, and secrets are shattered when a mysterious figure from the past reemerges in their lives. "One of my favorite books of the year." —Fiona Davis, national bestselling author of The Dollhouse and The Masterpiece "A stirring tale of loyalty, betrayal, and the consequences of long-buried secrets.” —Kristina McMorris, New York Times bestselling author of The Edge of Lost and Sold on a Monday