Austerity Britain, 1945–51
Read Austerity Britain, 1945–51 Online
Authors: David Kynaston
Praise for
Austerity Britain,
1945–51
‘One of the most vividly imagined, brilliantly researched and hugely entertaining books of social history I have ever encountered and I can’t wait for the next volume in the series’ Rupert Christiansen,
Spectator
Books of 2007
‘Narrative history at its best – thoughtful, compassionate, quirky, with immense, rich quotations’
Richard Davenport-Hines,
Sunday Telegraph
Books of 2007
‘Kynaston’s improbably entertaining history made enterprising use of unusual sources and was an unexpected popular success’
Philip Hensher,
Spectator
Books of 2007
‘Kynaston writes brilliantly and readably’
Mark Bostridge,
Independent on Sunday
Books of 2007
‘Tuck into David Kynaston’s
Austerity Britain
, a hugely enjoyable history of the Attlee years and definitely one to bring back memories both fond and wistful’
Dominic Sandbrook,
Daily Telegraph
Books of 2007
‘This was a vintage year for history books, none better than Kynaston’s
Austerity Britain
, a cracking read with powerful resonances for those of us born under the Attlee Junta’ Geoffrey Wheatcroft,
Spectator
Books of 2007
‘Gloriously vivid . . . flavours its democratic vision of post-war Britain with tantalising foretastes of celebrity culture, by supplementing Mass Observation-style oral history with snippets from famous people’s diaries’
Ben Thompson,
Independent on Sunday
Books of 2007
‘A marvellous new book . . . Reading it, I found myself increasingly unable to answer a simple question about life in this country: why are we less human and less kind when prosperous than we managed to be when we were poor? No washing machines, no Starbucks, no computers, no television – but people evidently knew how to listen in a spirit of fairness’
Andrew O’Hagan,
Daily Telegraph
‘In this appealing slice of social history, Kynaston doesn’t so much sprinkle his text with first-hand testimony as drench it. Mixing recollections from the famous (Fay Weldon, Joan Bakewell and Doris Lessing all chip in with memories) with extracts from Mass-Observation reports, his giant book summons up in vivid brushstrokes both the actuality of life in staple-starved post-war Britain and the state of the nation’s morals and attitudes . . . a triumph’
Andrew Holgate,
Sunday Times
‘An object lesson for social historians in how to blend chronological flow and thematic attack into a single, seamless narrative’
D.J. Taylor,
TLS
‘This is a classic; buy at least three copies – one for yourself and two to give to friends and family. It is a classic because its portrayal of that unheroic, slightly shabby yet formative era that was Attlee’s Britain is utterly convincing – and more than that, evocative. No one born in this country between 1939 and 1959 will fail to recognise what is being described . . . a plum-duff of a book for both the historian and the general reader’
John Charmley,
Guardian
‘This is a must-read history, an intimate picture of a country trying to pick itself up after the war . . . magnificent’
Sue Baker, Book of the Month,
Publishing News
‘A masterly account . . .
Austerity Britain
has a marvellous flowing sweep to it. Kynaston does not press his opinions on us, but they emerge sharply enough from the weight of evidence he marshals and the expertise he deploys as a leading historian . . . unfailingly evocative’
Ferdinand Mount,
Times Literary Supplement
‘A skilful blend of statistical data, personal testimony and obscure but entertaining detail, it is remarkable for the freshness of the materials on which it is based . . . This is social history fashioned into narrative on the grand scale . . .
Austerity Britain
is an outstanding portrait of an age’
Paul Addison,
Literary Review
‘This wonderful volume is only the first in a series that will take us to 1979 and the election of Margaret Thatcher. When complete, Kynaston’s skill in mixing eyewitness accounts and political analysis will surely be one of the greatest and most enduring publishing ventures for generations. It is very hard to praise the author too highly. . . unputdownable’
Brian Thompson,
Observer
‘The book is a marvel . . . the level of detail is precise and fascinating . . . If the succeeding volumes can sustain this quality, Kynaston will have written the fullest, deepest and most balanced history of our times’
John Campbell,
Sunday Telegraph
‘Magnificently refulgent take on the immediate post-war years . . . A couple of months before the Attlee landslide, Evelyn Waugh published
Brideshead
Revisited
, that bestselling high-Tory paean to a lost age. A couple of years after Margaret Thatcher took office, a TV adaptation made Waugh’s vision of a sweet and innocent past more popular than ever. Nearly 700 pages long,
Austerity Britain
is only the first in a projected series of books that will take us all the way from
Brideshead
to
Brideshead
. I, for one, can’t wait’
Chris Bray,
New Statesman
‘Kynaston’s book is not only a blood-draining record of wide-scale misery but an absorbing history with surprises for young and old . . . Kynaston’s achievement is great, and the facts and views and values here will give us much to think about’
Rhoda Koenig,
Evening Standard
‘Truly brilliant social history of Britain in the immediate post-war years, Kynaston depicts a country battered but hopeful . . . Rarely has a book’s title been more at odds with the sheer pleasure derived from reading it’
Elizabeth Jenkins,
London Paper
‘A moving read, not least for anyone whose parents came of age in the era’
Greg Neale,
BBC History Magazine
‘The sheer ambition of the project is breathtaking . . . Peering through the grey pall that characterises the public imagination of these years, Kynaston sheds light on both the hardships and lighter moments . . . It will be a determined nostalgic who can get through this book without once thanking their lucky stars for the comforts of today. It will also be a rare social historian who will not be looking forward to the next instalment’
Sarah Warwick,
Family History Monthly
‘A glorious bran-tub of a book . . . full of miscellaneous information about the post-war habits of the British people . . . it is written with a wit and sparkle that makes it a pleasure to read’
Vernon Bogdanor,
Financial Times
‘A wonderful evocation of post-war Britain . . . this is a convincing picture of the profound cultural conservatism of post-war Britain, an antidote to nostalgia accounts of the Attlee years’
Pat Thane,
History Today
‘
Austerity Britain
calls on a dazzling array of contemporary voices, many of them writing in private diaries, to chart the emergence of today’s Britain from VE day to 1979’
Martin Waller,
The Times
‘A magnificent, rich and moving social history that grips as firmly as any great novel, with the mouth-watering promise of much, much more to come in the not too distant future’
Manchester Evening News
AUSTERITY BRITAIN
1945–51
David Kynaston
First published in Great Britain 2007
Copyright © David Kynaston
This electronic edition published 2010 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
The right of David Kynaston to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
All rights reserved. You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 36 Soho Square, London W1D 3QY
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
eISBN: 978-1-40880-907-5
www.bloomsbury.com/davidkynaston
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