The West End Front
and over 900,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
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
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The West End Front,
By
This review is from: The West End Front: The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels (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.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating nuggets of WW2 London Life,
By
This review is from: The West End Front: The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels (Hardcover)
This book has such a great title - with shades of All Quiet on the Western Front, that I feared the text would not live up to it. I was wrong. Sweet has done a fantastic job with research and this does offer something new to the vast cannon of work on the Second World War.The text revolves around goings-on backstairs in London's big hotels during the Second World War, however it encompasses far more than this since it documents lives of everyday people and their experiences in the most fascinating way. It's beautifully written. Sometimes Sweet makes you smile. He relates musical comedian Arthur Askey dressed as an Italian waiter opining 'Please forgive the potatoes being so black, it is a mark of respect for our head waiter: he died this morning.' There are also poignant moments. I was particularly moved to read of the plight of many Italian restaurant workers who, after giving many years of loyal service to British hotel customers, were interned for years on Churchill's say-so simply because they were Italian. This is a fascinating read for the layperson and academic alike. It would be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of anyone interested in the period since it offers a fascinating social history of the time.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Glamour, gossip and intrigue,
This review is from: The West End Front: The Wartime Secrets of London's Grand Hotels (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.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Search Customer Discussions
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
