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Review
'Matthew Sweet's curiosity and sense of fun pulls back the heavy baize curtains on what we thought we knew about the war. As intoxicating as a glass of champagne at the Cafe de Paris.' --Linda Grant
'A scandalously enjoyable account of lives, losses and inconsiderate love-making, 'The West End Front' boasts a visitors' book like no other. From the egregious con man Sir Curtis Lampson to the louche inhabitants of the 'Pink Sink' bar, Fifth columnists, communists, spies, spivs, charlatans and deposed monarchs, they're all here, somehow keeping their crumpets buttered and their dignity intact during the worst excesses of the Ritzkrieg. Delightfully gossipy and often moving, it shines an affectionate search-light on an entirely forgotten chapter of World War Two.' --Mark Gatiss
'A scandalously enjoyable account of lives, losses and inconsiderate love-making, 'The West End Front' boasts a visitors' book like no other. From the egregious con man Sir Curtis Lampson to the louche inhabitants of the 'Pink Sink' bar, Fifth columnists, communists, spies, spivs, charlatans and deposed monarchs, they're all here, somehow keeping their crumpets buttered and their dignity intact during the worst excesses of the Ritzkrieg. Delightfully gossipy and often moving, it shines an affectionate search-light on an entirely forgotten chapter of World War Two.' --Mark Gatiss
Book Description
A sumptuous, witty and eye-opening history of the eccentrics, stars, aristocrats and criminals living in London's grand hotels during the Blitz.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
53 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
During World War 2, London's grand hotels, the Ritz, the Savoy, the Dorchester and Claridge's, were home and shelter to an eclectic collection of spies, stars, aristocrats, deposed royals, criminals and politicians, who, behind the walls of these reinforced buildings sought safety, refuge and an arena for their often clandestine activities.
Using interviews with first-hand witnesses, letters, memoirs and newly declassified government papers, Matthew Sweet unveils a fascinating world that few of us know anything about, and he brings alive the intrigue, scandal, tragedy and the simply bizarre that went on behind the discreet doors of these luxury hotels. Like the occasion when a suite at Claridge's was declared Yugoslav territory for just one night so that Crown Prince Alexander could be born on Yugoslav soil - with a little box of earth under the bed.
The enormous amount of research that Matthew Sweet has done is evidenced in the detailed background to every character, incident and anecdote, and sometimes this mass of detail threatens to overwhelm the reader. It is, perhaps, a book to be savoured in bite-size pieces than in one indigestible chunk, but he has nevertheless done a fantastic job in bringing this almost forgotten aspect of war-torn London life onto the page, and I recommend the book to individuals and book groups alike.
Using interviews with first-hand witnesses, letters, memoirs and newly declassified government papers, Matthew Sweet unveils a fascinating world that few of us know anything about, and he brings alive the intrigue, scandal, tragedy and the simply bizarre that went on behind the discreet doors of these luxury hotels. Like the occasion when a suite at Claridge's was declared Yugoslav territory for just one night so that Crown Prince Alexander could be born on Yugoslav soil - with a little box of earth under the bed.
The enormous amount of research that Matthew Sweet has done is evidenced in the detailed background to every character, incident and anecdote, and sometimes this mass of detail threatens to overwhelm the reader. It is, perhaps, a book to be savoured in bite-size pieces than in one indigestible chunk, but he has nevertheless done a fantastic job in bringing this almost forgotten aspect of war-torn London life onto the page, and I recommend the book to individuals and book groups alike.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book looks at the wartime secrets of London's grand hotels, such as the Ritz, the Dorchester and the Waldorf. It begins very well, with Victor Legg, a phone operator at the Ritz eavesdropping on a call to Randolph Churchill informing him that Germans are to bomb Poland that morning. When Legg tries to tell a friend at the BBC about the impending war, he is interrupted by a voice telling him to be carful what he repeats. Legg, who spent half a century working at the Ritz, spends the night in London - the only man outside of the government who knows war is about to be declared.
The author then leads us through many different elements of hotels during wartime. They housed not only those from the government, but deposed royalty, spies, military leaders, governments in exile, writers, artists, musicians, prostitutes and homosexuals. They were a hotbed of suspicion, interrogations, decadence and wealth. Sweet sometimes stretches the link between hotels and characters too far, in order to unravel an interesting story, but overall this is an excellent read.
There is the story of hotel workers, many of whom were Italian, who were arrested and interned, despite being British citizens and working in the UK for over twenty years. Although the original plan had been to distinguish between citzens of enemy countries who were a danger to the British state and those who posed no threat, apparently Churchill decided it was safer to "collar the lot!" One of the most interesting events was when demonstrators invaded the Ritz, asking for shelter - a situation which led the government to open the underground and allow people to have somewhere to go during air raids. London's hotels were a locus of resentment, with the privilege of safe underground shelters and good food being available to the few and not the many.
Many of the stories are sad - girls who died of botched abortions, for example. Many are funny - one lady who was interrogated as a possible Nazi spy had such a filthy mind and language that interrogators failed to report on much of her conversation, describing it as having such a "filthy nature" that it was unrepeatable! Overall, this is a very entertaining and interesting account of London during the war. Not the typical war stories, but of the characters which made up a more decadent section of Society, where socialites defied Hitler by 'lunching for England' and the wealthy clung to their privileged world against all the odds. Lastly, I read the kindle edition of this book and the illustrations were included.
The author then leads us through many different elements of hotels during wartime. They housed not only those from the government, but deposed royalty, spies, military leaders, governments in exile, writers, artists, musicians, prostitutes and homosexuals. They were a hotbed of suspicion, interrogations, decadence and wealth. Sweet sometimes stretches the link between hotels and characters too far, in order to unravel an interesting story, but overall this is an excellent read.
There is the story of hotel workers, many of whom were Italian, who were arrested and interned, despite being British citizens and working in the UK for over twenty years. Although the original plan had been to distinguish between citzens of enemy countries who were a danger to the British state and those who posed no threat, apparently Churchill decided it was safer to "collar the lot!" One of the most interesting events was when demonstrators invaded the Ritz, asking for shelter - a situation which led the government to open the underground and allow people to have somewhere to go during air raids. London's hotels were a locus of resentment, with the privilege of safe underground shelters and good food being available to the few and not the many.
Many of the stories are sad - girls who died of botched abortions, for example. Many are funny - one lady who was interrogated as a possible Nazi spy had such a filthy mind and language that interrogators failed to report on much of her conversation, describing it as having such a "filthy nature" that it was unrepeatable! Overall, this is a very entertaining and interesting account of London during the war. Not the typical war stories, but of the characters which made up a more decadent section of Society, where socialites defied Hitler by 'lunching for England' and the wealthy clung to their privileged world against all the odds. Lastly, I read the kindle edition of this book and the illustrations were included.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a hugely enjoyable, entertaining and fantastically well-researched book. It has a good balance of gossipy stories, wartime history and moving and evocative firsthand accounts from those who were actually there. It uses the backdrop of the hotels to create a varied portrait of London life during the war, with tales of spies, exiled royals, politicians, strikers, bandleaders, journalists, chefs and cocktail waiters..
Overall, really fun to read as well as informative. I found it thoroughly absorbing.
Overall, really fun to read as well as informative. I found it thoroughly absorbing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Could have been better
This could have been so much better. The author has a annoyingly smug writing style, and wanders off down tangent boulevard on many occasions. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Steve
Too much confusing detail left me feeling disappointed
I really looked forward to, and wanted to like this book, but as I read it, I became increasingly disillusioned with it and started to skip large swathes of it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Madame Cholet
A muddled book
Ostensibly about the role of London's grand hotels during the Blitz, this book - to its credit - actually covers much more gound, creeping into the East End and beyond. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dr. RAE North
West End Front
Great book, well worth reading if you are interested in war-time London. Rather too many "hunkered down's" but that may be the writer's favourite phrase.
Published 3 months ago by PlanMan
Well researched gossip
This is a well-researched work, including oral history from people still alive. It is full of bizarre people like the Yugoslavian prince who liked pop music and who later has to be... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. D. P. Jay
Hanky Pank in the top London Hotels
This book is fascinating. During the Second World War, all sorts of dicey people, some well-known, were living it up in the Ritz, The Savoy and Claridges. Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. Harlech
Not for me
I found this a hard read and gave up after 140 pages.I feel it will appeal to avid Guardian readers and people who believe the BBC does not have a left wing bias. Read more
Published 3 months ago by mountiekindle
Not so quite on West End Front
Not a book I would have picked up myself but a well received Christmas present. This book challenges our cosy view of the wartime home life with quotations of all being in it... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mike M0
WEST END FRONT
Fascinating read, informative and entertaining. Quite astonishing the way the super rich lived in London smart hotels during the war. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Richard Ide
An interestingly different WW2 book
I was attracted to this book following it's serialisation on BBC Radio 4. Such a very interesting account of London Hotel life in the dark days of WW2! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kent Earner
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