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Disappointing.
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1939: The Last Season of Peace
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It was called the London Season, and for three centuries it had been a time of fashionable suppers and brilliant balls that introduced England's most aristocratic and eligible girls to society. Though by 1939 the stately gavottes and minuets had long since given way to waltzes and fox-trots, the cream of young womanhood still curtsied low before the Queen and then went out to dance the night away with the young men they would one day marry.
But the Season of 1939 was it was to be the last. And like many a finale, it lives on in memory as a lovely, enchanted dream, all the more beautiful for the horror and destruction that would follow so soon.
Based on a wealth of first-hand reminiscences, press clippings, and memorabilia, 1939: The Last Season of Peace is a fascinating portrait of this fairy tale about to end. Itcaptures the end of an era as it recreates a world whose inhabitants still believed in empire and tradition. It is a vivid picture of a generation suspended in a brief moment of sunlit summer glory, before the gathering storm of World War II swept it all away.
But the Season of 1939 was it was to be the last. And like many a finale, it lives on in memory as a lovely, enchanted dream, all the more beautiful for the horror and destruction that would follow so soon.
Based on a wealth of first-hand reminiscences, press clippings, and memorabilia, 1939: The Last Season of Peace is a fascinating portrait of this fairy tale about to end. Itcaptures the end of an era as it recreates a world whose inhabitants still believed in empire and tradition. It is a vivid picture of a generation suspended in a brief moment of sunlit summer glory, before the gathering storm of World War II swept it all away.
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Genres
historynonfiction
235 pages, Hardcover
First published September 28,2011
This edition
- Format
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235 pages, Hardcover
- Published
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January 1, 1989 by Grove Pr
- ISBN
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9781555842437
- ASIN
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1555842437
- Language
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English
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Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 11 votes)
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11 reviews All reviews
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Not an amazing book but an interesting look into the lives of the upperclass before WWII. It's a series of memories from the women of the season.
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This is the book I really wanted Anne de Courcy's 1939: The Last Season to be -- it is a deep dive into the reality of being a British debutante in 1939, with tons and tons of interviews with of the women (and some men) who were involved in that Season. Lambert is excellent at putting her topic into context; she explains about the evolution and purpose of the Season for debutantes, how the young women ended up involved, the role wealth played vs. family connections and tradition, and she draws on her primary sources to reveal the wide range of experiences the various women had -- all the while highlighting the reality of what was happening in Europe and the extent to which those with wealth and power closed their eyes to the plight of Jews who were desperate to escape Germany before war began. I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in that sort of British high-society history with a conscience; I ended up buying it in hardcover from Powells and I am very glad to own it.
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Very detailed look at what a Season was. A good read for fans of historical fiction.
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Having recently read Anne deCourcy's 1939: THE LAST SEASON, it was hard for me to imagine that another book with an almost identical title would have anything different to offer.
Lambert's work, however, takes advantage of its author's timeliness in finding these former debutantes back in the 1980s, when the ladies were still up and about in their late 60s, and interviews them extensively on their experiences and their lives. Where deCourcy relies on newspaper articles to interweave the history with the social narrative, Lambert gives us the ladies' own voices, and that makes the book.
They are charming, witty, self-possessed, and absolutely frank in discussing their families, friends, and doings in that summer of 1939. Some knew all about the coming war while others astonishingly were so sheltered as to know nothing whatever. To a woman, they remembered where they were when the war was announced. Unlike deCourcy, Lambert takes us a bit further than 1939 to tell us that part of their upbringing was to volunteer and to join, so that the volunteer services were very full of upper-class young women by the time the war started.
The book is packed with vignettes of that time, beautiful descriptions, conversations, and people from a time that is gone forever. An appendix lists the slang of the time so that you can competently speak with a 1939 debutante.
If you'd like to hear from some of the men and women in this book and of that summer, there is a fantastic documentary on them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISg0_...
Its charm is best summarized in the final words, quoting one of the debs speaking to her granddaughter: "You know, Sophie, I expect you're right about us. We were ignorant and selfish and spoilt; we saw nothing wrong in idleness. But I tell you this. We did our trivial things in the *most* satisfactory way!"
Lambert's work, however, takes advantage of its author's timeliness in finding these former debutantes back in the 1980s, when the ladies were still up and about in their late 60s, and interviews them extensively on their experiences and their lives. Where deCourcy relies on newspaper articles to interweave the history with the social narrative, Lambert gives us the ladies' own voices, and that makes the book.
They are charming, witty, self-possessed, and absolutely frank in discussing their families, friends, and doings in that summer of 1939. Some knew all about the coming war while others astonishingly were so sheltered as to know nothing whatever. To a woman, they remembered where they were when the war was announced. Unlike deCourcy, Lambert takes us a bit further than 1939 to tell us that part of their upbringing was to volunteer and to join, so that the volunteer services were very full of upper-class young women by the time the war started.
The book is packed with vignettes of that time, beautiful descriptions, conversations, and people from a time that is gone forever. An appendix lists the slang of the time so that you can competently speak with a 1939 debutante.
If you'd like to hear from some of the men and women in this book and of that summer, there is a fantastic documentary on them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISg0_...
Its charm is best summarized in the final words, quoting one of the debs speaking to her granddaughter: "You know, Sophie, I expect you're right about us. We were ignorant and selfish and spoilt; we saw nothing wrong in idleness. But I tell you this. We did our trivial things in the *most* satisfactory way!"
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It was interesting even though I thought the author seemed to have problems staying within the point that was suggested by the title.
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Such a pity
This book is enjoyable up to a point. It is mystifying that an author would choose a group of people about which to write when that same author appears to loath her subject. Sour grapes? Envy? One wonders.
This book is enjoyable up to a point. It is mystifying that an author would choose a group of people about which to write when that same author appears to loath her subject. Sour grapes? Envy? One wonders.
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DNF at about page 230 because the ebook edition is a disaster. If you breathe on the link to a footnote it will take you there whether you like it or not; navigating back is nearly impossible. You have to remember what page you were on, which I don't notice when I'm reading.
What I was allowed to read was interesting. I got as far as the "phony war" and got tired of fighting with the footnotes I didn't want to see to find the text I did. That is why I marked it as "rather heavy going." I liked the voices of those who were there, but the ebook is a disaster. If I'd been able to read in comfort, I'd have given it a solid four, but it was just too difficult.
What I was allowed to read was interesting. I got as far as the "phony war" and got tired of fighting with the footnotes I didn't want to see to find the text I did. That is why I marked it as "rather heavy going." I liked the voices of those who were there, but the ebook is a disaster. If I'd been able to read in comfort, I'd have given it a solid four, but it was just too difficult.
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