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Subtitled, "A Social History Of Britain Between The Wars". Thought-provoking book, exploded some of the accepted myths, instead presenting a fresh perspective on the often misunderstood years between the wars. 'A lively, tactile history of inter-war Britain' "The Times"
Synopsis
Bounded by the Great War on one side and by the looming shadow of the Second World War on the other, the inter-war period has characteristically been portrayed as a time of unremitting poverty, rising crime and mass unemployment. This work shows how the British people reacted to the privations of wartime by indulging in leisure activities.
Book Details
Publisher:
VINTAGE
Publication Date:
02-Jul-2009
ISBN:
9781844139231
Guardian review
Not all doom and gloom
Ian Pindar the guardian Fri 10 July 2009
The British left was out of power for most of the period covered by this book - 1918 to 1939 - but as Martin Pugh points out, it dominated the literary and cultural scene, with works such as George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier shaping our perception of the era. Yet as this revisionist history shows, it wasn't all doom and gloom (provided you didn't work in industry or agriculture). Many people saw their disposable income rise, and during the interwar period we became a nation of "obsessive consumers". Orwell described the age as "restless", and so is Pugh as he examines in detail every aspect of the times, public and private. It's an impressive performance. This was an era in which women had more freedom than ever before, although divorce was difficult and infidelity indulged ("Men get these attacks like kiddies get measles," advised Woman's Own). The first world war politicised people and, quietly, in the wings, the main political trend of the time was the rise of the Labour party, preparing the way for the electoral landslide of 1945.
