Enigma, by Robert Harris

Excellent tense thriller set at Bletchley Park during WWII.

Few Eggs and No Oranges, by Vere Hodgson

This was an absolutely incredible diary by a woman living in London throughout WWII- it was astonishing in the courage that people had during unimaginable terror and deprivation, and breathtaking in how seriously wonderful the English spirit was during those times. Long- 624 pages- but I could not put it down. Her daily entries breathed with life, and the detail with which she recorded the progress of the war taught me more about WWII than I have ever known. Stunning. Everyone should read this.

Henrietta Sees It Through, by Joyce Dennys

Part 2 of the Henrietta letters. Fictionalized letters from Henrietta, a doctor's wife, to a friend named Robert, who is fighting in France, about life during wartime.

Housewife, 49

This was a wonderfully done movie. Based on Great Britains' Mass Observation Project, wherein which Britons were asked to keep diaries of their experiences from 1939 onwards, this was a look at Nella Last- a brave, loyal, fantastically good woman who found strength during the war through her war work through the WVS, and whose experience in some ways informed the London staff of the project of what life was like during the war in quasi-rural, ship-building areas like Barrow-in-Furness, where Nella lived.
This was so good, it can't be explained why it isn't better known- apparently, it did win things:
"It won two British Academy Television Awards in 2007: "Best Single Drama", and Victoria Wood won "Best Actress" for her portrayal of Nella Last."
Beautifully done, and heartbreaking.

Saplings, by Noel Streatfeild

It has been said that Noel Streatfeild's genius is in understanding a child's perspective on the world, and this seriously adult novel exhibits that exact magic. Unlike her books for children, however, Saplings (1945)  paints a much darker view of the world than in the strive-and-you-shall-succeed Shoes books- this book could, in fact, be (vulgarly) summarized by Philip Larkin's 1971 poem "This Be The Verse":

This be the verse




They fuck you up, your mom and dad

They may not mean to, but they do.

They fill you with the faults they had

And add some extra, just for you.



But they were fucked up in their turn

By fools in old-stylen hats and coats,

Who half the time were soppy-stern

And half at one another's throats.



Man hands on misery to man

It deepens like a coastal shelf.

Get out as early as you can

And don't have any kids yourself.


A look at the disintegration of a middle-class family through WWII, the book contains references to sex, drinking, drug use, infidelity, sex out of marriage- a blistering variety of topics that come as startling to a reader used to the camping-holidays everying-is-jolly tone of her childrens' books, but her voice is in no way diminished, and in fact, the domestic horrors are all the more shocking for the simple, affectless narraration. The 4 children at the heart of the book, the saplings of the title, grow into a world that stunts them, and the ending pages have an almost clumsy ironic weight- maybe a tiny bit heavy handed, but for a writer who had intended to write for adults, and then found herself a star of childrens' literature, maybe the chance to make a point was irrisistable.

When The Sirens Wailed, by Noel Streatfeild

Another wonderful Noel Streatfeild, this one about a family separated when the children are evacuated from London during bombings. Beautifully written, tragic losses but with such a sense of love and humanity and a glimpse into something that was such a common experience but is hard to find books about.

Mrs. Tim Carries On, by D.E. Stevenson

As wonderful and light in tone as Mrs. Tim Christie was, this book took the diary of Mrs. Tim to a much deeper level. This one is set during WWII, and while Hester is still very amusing, life is much more serious now. Tim himself is on the French front, and becomes involved in the retreat at Dunkirk, while other familiar characters are similarly serving in active duty. The courage to face each day with bombs raining down and even more, to be able to make light of the damn bombs fills me with awe.
As good as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was, what it's really left me with is a new and massive appreciation for the women who really did what the fictional Juliet in Guernsey did- write amusing columns to keep up spirits in wartime. D.E. Stevenson has my heart at her feet, as does Joyce Dennis. I've just ordered Joyce Dennis' Henrietta's War, and am waiting for a copy of Mrs. Tim Gets a Job. Can't say how much I enjoy these, and how I admire them for being able to write them.