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1939: The Last Season of Peace
First published in 1989, this is an account of the oldest of traditions. It was called the London Season, and for three centuries it had been a time of fashionable suppers and brilliant balls that introduced England's most aristocratic and eligible girls to society. Though by 1939 the stately gavottes and minuets had long since given way to waltzes and fox-trots, the cream of young womanhood still curtsied low before the Queen and then went out to dance the night away with the young men they would one day marry.But the Season of 1939 was it was to be the last. And like many a finale, it lives on in memory as a lovely, enchanted dream, all the more beautiful for the horror and destruction that would follow so soon.Based on a wealth of first-hand reminiscences, press clippings, and memorabilia, 1939: The Last Season of Peace is a fascinating portrait of this fairy tale about to end. It captures the end of an era as it recreates a world whose inhabitants still believed in empire and tradition. It is a vivid picture of a generation suspended in a brief moment of sunlit summer glory, before the gathering storm of World War II swept it all away.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionEbooks
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 28, 2011
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108 people want to read
About the author
Angela Lambert
21 books7 followersAngela Maria Lambert was a British journalist and author. She is best known for her novels A Rather English Marriage and Kiss and Kin, the latter of which won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 9, 2014
Having recently read Anne deCourcy's 1939: THE LAST SEASON, it was hard for me to imagine that another book with an almost identical title would have anything different to offer.
Lambert's work, however, takes advantage of its author's timeliness in finding these former debutantes back in the 1980s, when the ladies were still up and about in their late 60s, and interviews them extensively on their experiences and their lives. Where deCourcy relies on newspaper articles to interweave the history with the social narrative, Lambert gives us the ladies' own voices, and that makes the book.
They are charming, witty, self-possessed, and absolutely frank in discussing their families, friends, and doings in that summer of 1939. Some knew all about the coming war while others astonishingly were so sheltered as to know nothing whatever. To a woman, they remembered where they were when the war was announced. Unlike deCourcy, Lambert takes us a bit further than 1939 to tell us that part of their upbringing was to volunteer and to join, so that the volunteer services were very full of upper-class young women by the time the war started.
The book is packed with vignettes of that time, beautiful descriptions, conversations, and people from a time that is gone forever. An appendix lists the slang of the time so that you can competently speak with a 1939 debutante.
If you'd like to hear from some of the men and women in this book and of that summer, there is a fantastic documentary on them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISg0_...
Its charm is best summarized in the final words, quoting one of the debs speaking to her granddaughter: "You know, Sophie, I expect you're right about us. We were ignorant and selfish and spoilt; we saw nothing wrong in idleness. But I tell you this. We did our trivial things in the *most* satisfactory way!"
Lambert's work, however, takes advantage of its author's timeliness in finding these former debutantes back in the 1980s, when the ladies were still up and about in their late 60s, and interviews them extensively on their experiences and their lives. Where deCourcy relies on newspaper articles to interweave the history with the social narrative, Lambert gives us the ladies' own voices, and that makes the book.
They are charming, witty, self-possessed, and absolutely frank in discussing their families, friends, and doings in that summer of 1939. Some knew all about the coming war while others astonishingly were so sheltered as to know nothing whatever. To a woman, they remembered where they were when the war was announced. Unlike deCourcy, Lambert takes us a bit further than 1939 to tell us that part of their upbringing was to volunteer and to join, so that the volunteer services were very full of upper-class young women by the time the war started.
The book is packed with vignettes of that time, beautiful descriptions, conversations, and people from a time that is gone forever. An appendix lists the slang of the time so that you can competently speak with a 1939 debutante.
If you'd like to hear from some of the men and women in this book and of that summer, there is a fantastic documentary on them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISg0_...
Its charm is best summarized in the final words, quoting one of the debs speaking to her granddaughter: "You know, Sophie, I expect you're right about us. We were ignorant and selfish and spoilt; we saw nothing wrong in idleness. But I tell you this. We did our trivial things in the *most* satisfactory way!"
June 24, 2016
I enjoyed this social history so much. What a window on a by-gone world, and a world that none of us would have been a part of, even if we'd been there, age 17 or 18 in 1939. In light of all the period dramas we've seen on PBS, it's fascinating to read the descriptions and hear the memories of those who lived it. The descriptions of the parties, the clothes, the good girls and the bad (the bad ones might slip out to a nightclub for a stolen kiss or two but nothing more) are interwoven with stories of the war threatening on the horizon, getting closer and closer. . .until it put an end to that kind of life forever. Some of the debs are frivolous and spoiled; some are forgotten; and some were, even then, and in spite of extremely sheltered lives, thoughtful and insightful--many, many went into war work and continued to make some kind of positive contribution to the world that was left to them. I was sorry to read that Angela Lambert died at a relatively young age; I have enjoyed several of her books.
January 21, 2026
A lovely and insightful look at the British social scene of the last summer before WWII. Certainly reminds readers of a time that will never come again (and in many ways, should never come again). However, that doesn't detract from the narrative that depicts a magical world of fantastic balls, garden parties, "coming outs" and the feeling that nothing could ever be better. How soon the young women and men depicted in this book would be disabused of that notion, unfortunately. Author Angela Lambert does a masterful job of recording interviews from the persons involved and getting thoughts and reminiscences. One can look back and see the ridiculousness, and the excess, but that's the belief of a modern day. But oh, what fun it must have been!
November 15, 2012
Disappointing.
December 25, 2015
It was interesting even though I thought the author seemed to have problems staying within the point that was suggested by the title.
November 19, 2013
This is a most unusual book: part history, part personal memoirs, with undertones of gossip column. Many of the references seemed obscure to me as an American reader since I have little knowledge of members of the “English aristocracy” who were referenced in the book. That said, several anecdotes and tidbits of information intersected with books I have read recently. For example the stories about Ambassador Joseph Kennedy and the Kennedy family validated the depiction of that period of their lives as detailed in "The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys" by Goodwin. Having recently read "Requiem for a Wren" by Shute, I was interested in the transformation of the role of English women as they entered World War II. I was fascinated by the metamorphosis of the culture, away from the Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abbey society to a more democratic Great Britain.
October 14, 2015
A very interesting view of what was the last 'Season' for debutantes in England. The whole idea of 'Coming Out' as WW2 loomed seems ridiculous, but the aristocracy (and those wealthy 'trade' folks who aspired) were still maintaining this tradition - really a cattle call for eligible debs from the upper class.
The book is part history, part memoir, with much of it relying on the memories of the former debs of life during that last summer. It really is astounding how little these girls knew of the world and what was happening in Europe while they danced every night of the week. Thank goodness those days are gone!
The book is part history, part memoir, with much of it relying on the memories of the former debs of life during that last summer. It really is astounding how little these girls knew of the world and what was happening in Europe while they danced every night of the week. Thank goodness those days are gone!
November 1, 2015
Such a pity
This book is enjoyable up to a point. It is mystifying that an author would choose a group of people about which to write when that same author appears to loath her subject. Sour grapes? Envy? One wonders.
This book is enjoyable up to a point. It is mystifying that an author would choose a group of people about which to write when that same author appears to loath her subject. Sour grapes? Envy? One wonders.
September 8, 2013
Not an amazing book but an interesting look into the lives of the upperclass before WWII. It's a series of memories from the women of the season.
July 28, 2014
Very detailed look at what a Season was. A good read for fans of historical fiction.
December 9, 2019
This is the book I really wanted Anne de Courcy's 1939: The Last Season to be -- it is a deep dive into the reality of being a British debutante in 1939, with tons and tons of interviews with of the women (and some men) who were involved in that Season. Lambert is excellent at putting her topic into context; she explains about the evolution and purpose of the Season for debutantes, how the young women ended up involved, the role wealth played vs. family connections and tradition, and she draws on her primary sources to reveal the wide range of experiences the various women had -- all the while highlighting the reality of what was happening in Europe and the extent to which those with wealth and power closed their eyes to the plight of Jews who were desperate to escape Germany before war began. I recommend it highly to anyone who is interested in that sort of British high-society history with a conscience; I ended up buying it in hardcover from Powells and I am very glad to own it.
December 13, 2024
DNF at about page 230 because the ebook edition is a disaster. If you breathe on the link to a footnote it will take you there whether you like it or not; navigating back is nearly impossible. You have to remember what page you were on, which I don't notice when I'm reading.
What I was allowed to read was interesting. I got as far as the "phony war" and got tired of fighting with the footnotes I didn't want to see to find the text I did. That is why I marked it as "rather heavy going." I liked the voices of those who were there, but the ebook is a disaster. If I'd been able to read in comfort, I'd have given it a solid four, but it was just too difficult.
What I was allowed to read was interesting. I got as far as the "phony war" and got tired of fighting with the footnotes I didn't want to see to find the text I did. That is why I marked it as "rather heavy going." I liked the voices of those who were there, but the ebook is a disaster. If I'd been able to read in comfort, I'd have given it a solid four, but it was just too difficult.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews