Nella Last's War

The Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife, 49'

Nella Last, Richard Broad, Suzie Fleming

• Publisher: Profile Books
• Year: 2018
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781847654083
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

'Next to being a mother, I'd have loved to write books...' Nella Last, Oct 8, 1939

In September 1939, housewife and mother Nella Last began a diary whose entries, in their regularity, length and quality, have created a record of the Second World War which is powerful, fascinating and unique. When war broke out, Nella's younger son joined the army while the rest of the family tried to adapt to civilian life. Writing each day for the "Mass Observation" project, Nella, a middle-aged housewife from the bombed town of Barrow, shows what people really felt during this time.

This was the period in which she turned 50, saw her children leave home, and reviewed her life and her marriage - which she eventually compares to slavery. Her growing confidence as a result of her war work makes this a moving (though often comic) testimony, which, covering sex, death and fear of invasion, provides a new, unglamorised, female perspective on the war years.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Chapter Nine
• Chapter Ten
• Map
• Afterword
• Main People from Barrow
• Glossary
• Abbreviations
• Money, Wages and Prices
• Preparation of the Text
• The Mass Observation Archive