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To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45
 
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To War with Whitaker: Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-45 (Paperback)

by Hermione Ranfurly,Countess of Ranfurly (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Mandarin; New edition edition (16 Oct 1995)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0749319542
  • ISBN-13: 978-0749319540
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 41,046 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Product Description

Review
When World War II broke out, Dan and Hermione Ranfurly had been married less than eight months. Defying the War Office, who had decreed Yeomanry wives could not accompany their husbands to war, the Countess set off in pursuit of her much-loved husband and their cook-butler, the Whitaker of the title, beginning an adventure that falls squarely in the 'truth is stranger than fiction' category. Her escapades throughout the Middle East and Africa, working as a secretary for diplomats, generals and secret organizations and dodging the authorities who wanted to pack her off back to England, read like something out of a James Bond novel. An excellent read - entertaining, moving and quite riveting. (Kirkus UK)

Product Description
In September 1939, the young Lord and Lady Ranfurly's idyllic holiday in Scotland was brought to a premature end when war broke out. Dan Ranfurly, with his faithful valet Whitaker, were sent to North Africa. When her husband was taken prisoner, his wife bluffed her way to the Middle East and stayed there, against all the rules, until her husband escaped. Meanwhile she gained a foothold in officialdom and rose from one confidential position to the next, with her only ally the indomitable Whitaker. Countess Ranfurly's diaries of this time give a witty, charming and compulsive insight into the problems of a young woman at war.

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent primer on the war-time Middle East, 25 Jan 2001
By A Customer
This is an almost daily diary of a courageous woman who goes to great lengths to travel to the theatre of war to which her husband is posted. It is clear, concise and witty, and is sprinkled with several references to the major (and not so major) players in the Middle East in WW2. It also gives the reader a surprisingly good feel for the mood of the region in this difficult time. Whitaker, the manservant, is a peripheral figure, while the fact that the author is a Countess emerges only rarely. This book is a must for students of WW2, and it nicely complements the many political and military volumes written on the subject of the Middle East at war in the 20th century.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One to cheer the soul, 18 Oct 2001
This book is a pearl. To buy it for the wonderful insight into a world of changing social lifestyles and a unique view of events shaping the modern world is a mistake. Buy it because it is beautifully written, bringing the emotion of the moment to life like few other books. This is a rare treat guaranteed to put a smile on your face!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb account of one of the small players in WW2, 7 Oct 2000
By A Customer
This is a book you can't put down. Ms.Ranfurly's highly personal perspective on the war combines both historical detail of the second world war and the autobiography of one of the many closely involved. This is history without pomposity. Countress Ranfurly has a light and accurate touch in desribing many of the famous names of the desert war and many places in North Africa and the Middle East which have now changed irrevocably.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars To 'War with Whitaker
This is such a great book well written, very funny in parts, and gives a fantastic insight into how Countess Ranfurly got around the daft military rule which said that ordinary... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Williamina M. Gardiner

5.0 out of 5 stars moving and rewarding
This is the wartime diaries of the countess of Ranfulry, who when women were sent back to england during the second world was because they could not be with their husbands, the... Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2002 by garysthomas

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