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Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Postwar Britain
 
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Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Postwar Britain (Paperback)

by Simon Garfield (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
RRP: £6.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 544 pages
  • Publisher: Ebury Press; New edition edition (7 April 2005)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0091897335
  • ISBN-13: 978-0091897338
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 33,434 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #51 in  Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Customs & Folklore > Customs

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Product Description

Review

"'I love these diaries. They have the attraction of being stories, but Real stories... Better than any novel.' Margaret Forster; 'A lovely book. It will appeal to... anyone who appreciates the richness and diversity of human experience.' Tony Benn; 'Utterly engrossing, better than any kind of reality TV.' Gavin Esler; 'Funny, vivid, touching, angry, thoughtful - every page is a delight. This is definitely no. 1 on my present list to give to everyone in the coming year.' Jenny Uglow, author of The Lunar Men"


Jenny Uglow

"Funny, vivid, touching, angry, thoughtful – every page is a delight" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Our Hidden Lives: The Remarkable Diaries of Postwar Britain
64% buy the item featured on this page:
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Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife, 49' 4.8 out of 5 stars (25)
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Nella Last's Peace: The Post-War Diaries Of Housewife 49
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Nella Last's Peace: The Post-War Diaries Of Housewife 49 4.4 out of 5 stars (19)
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We are at War: The Diaries of Five Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times 4.5 out of 5 stars (6)
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
95 of 95 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating insight, 18 April 2005
As a history enthusiast, I'm always very interested to find out about the social dimension which is all too often overlooked in favour of purely political perspectives on the past. This book, I am pleased to say bridges the gap magnificently.
Its basis lies in the Mass Observation excercises carried out in the 1930s and 1940s in which volunteers were asked to fill in diaries detailing their daily lives. It was hoped that this would give an insight into the lives of ordinary people to readers in the future.
With this in mind, the editor of this book has taken 5 respondents and published extracts from their diaries dating from 1945 to 1951, an often overlooked period in UK history. The Respondents chosen are widely varied, from B. Charles a gay antiques dealer from Edinburgh to Edie Rutherford, a socialist housewife from Derby through to Herbert Brush, a pensioner form South London.
The diaries outline all kinds of detail we don't normally associate with history books for example, the best types of household cleaning products and the horrors of continued spam dinners! More importantly they give truly fascinating insight into the issues of the day (Labour Government, continued rationing, the outcome of Nuremburg etc...) with heart and from personal perspectives.
I found this aspect intriguing. In retrospect the Attlee government is roundly deified for creatinf the NHS and the Welfare State. However, from these diaries it is obvious that the far sightedness of that adminsitration was not shared by the public at large. Indeed the NHS is looked upon by many as abhorrent!
Social attitudes to race at the time are also highlighted. Attitudes to Jews are not at all favourable. Indeed, the husband of Edie Rutherford's one regret was that the "Nuremberg thugs were stopped before they finished the job" Heavy Stuff!
However, the book's highlight for me are the entries of Herbert Brush. A slight eccentric, his entries are always amusing and often quite surreal. His Poetry is often hilarious and i found myself giggling at his fruitless attempts to find a book giving prime numbers from one to five million!
In all, a fascinating insight into the lives of ordinary folk at a period in history which is often forgotten.
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars All in all a strangely compelling book, 22 Jun 2005
By A Customer
One of the interesting facts to be found in this book is that the lives of people worsened after the end of the war with further rationing, shortages and restrictions making people fearful of the future.

The comments on crime, worsening manners, and young people amongst other things sound little different from the comments we hear today.

All in all a strangely compelling book that draws you in and keeps you reading to the end.

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32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Insight in Post-War Britain, 17 Jun 2005
I think this book is absolutely amazing and can't wait for the next one to come out! To anyone interested in social hsitroy and people then this is the book for you. It provides a wonderfully intimate insight into the private thoughts of people who were still living in diffciult times and coping with rationing and prejudice that was unleashed on british society during the second world war. I would heartily recommend this book to anyone. It really grabs your interest and I couldn't put it down and have since reread it a few times. Buy it, Buy it, Buy it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Our Hidden Lives - Explore them
I wasn't sure what to expect when I began this book. I knew it would be diary entries made by people who had contributed to the mass observation project, but I didn't know if the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. Cooper

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but
This is a very interesting insight into the lives and attitudes of ordinary people during this period of history. Read more
Published 6 months ago by L. J. Anderson

5.0 out of 5 stars An riveting insight into an under researched time in post- WW2 Britain
This book just draws you right into this little known period right after WW2. The writings of all the diarists are so revealing of contemporary attitudes, opinions and the... Read more
Published 12 months ago by bookhead

5.0 out of 5 stars Our hidden lives - revealed
I am a voracious reader of anything to do with the lives of ordinary people during and immediately after the post war period and this is an absolutely fascinating book. Read more
Published 17 months ago by J. Glen

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
You wouldn't think that the diaries of five people commenting on shopping trips, gardening, their health and jobs could be much of page turner, but somehow this is. Read more
Published 22 months ago by J. AINSWORTH

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
I really enjoyed this book, I read it over a long period but was deeply engrossed into it each time I picked it up. Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2007 by Sally

5.0 out of 5 stars Non Airbrushed History
I could not put this fascinating book down . I am sorry that some readers have have found references to anti-semitism & black people offensive ( I too was taken aback st times by... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2006 by Mrs. C. J. E. Lockie

1.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing
This book is a selection of entries from a number of diaries kept by the Mass Observationists during the 1940s. Read more
Published on 8 Sep 2006 by Inga Joseph

5.0 out of 5 stars Everybody's history
I loved this book. The diarists are brilliantly selected, and one's only wish is that they might have written more or that one could know more about their lives. Read more
Published on 9 Feb 2006 by helen

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