1939: The Last Season
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Book Overview
A wonderful portrait of British upper-class life in the Season of 1939 - the last before the Second World War. The Season of 1939 brought all those 'in Society' to London. The young debutante daughters of the upper classes were presented to the King and Queen to mark their acceptance into the new adult world of their parents. They sparkled their way through a succession of balls and parties and sporting events. The Season brought together influential people not only from Society but also from Government at the various events of the social calendar. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain chaperoned his debutante niece to weekend house parties; Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary, lunched with the Headmaster of Eton; Cabinet Ministers encountered foreign Ambassadors at balls in the houses of the great hostesses. As the hot summer drew on, the newspapers filled with ever more ominous reports of the relentless progress towards war. There was nothing to do but wait - and dance. The last season of peace was nearly over.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0753816725
ISBN13:9780753816721
Release Date:May 2003
Publisher:Phoenix
Length:304 Pages
Weight:0.66 lbs.
Dimensions:0.9" x 5.0" x 7.8"
Customer Reviews
1 rating
An excellent account...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 16 years ago
of the "last 'Season'", the spring and summer of 1939. There was a strong sense among all layers of society that war with Germany was inevitable. Conflict had been staved off a year earlier with Chamberlain's "Appeasement" at Munich, which basically "gave" Czechoslovakia to Hitler. (As a side note, the "appeasement" did give the British {and French} another year in which to prepare for war.) De Courcy, an excellent writer, looks at all levels of society, while focusing on the royal family and the upper-classes, who went through the "Season" of horse races, debutante balls, cricket matches, rowing-at-Henley, etc. At the "Season's" end, September 1st, Hitler's troops invaded Poland at Danzig, bringing on war, which was formally declared on September 3rd. The nation's young men, whose fathers had gaily marched off in 1914 to The War To End All Wars, enlisted in THEIR war with more resignation and trepidation, knowing already the evils of war. And their "at home" families now knew that raids from the skies could bring destruction that Britain hadn't known in WWI, where France and other continental countries bore the brunt of four years of fighting. This is a very good book for history buffs.
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