Chronicle of Youth: The War Diary, 1913-1917

by Vera Brittain, Alan Bishop (Editor)

Vera Brittain's bestselling Testament of Youth was based on her actual diaries-which have far greater intimacy and immediacy than the book extracted from them. Beginning in the carefree summer of 1913, she follows the shocking onset of war, and the tragic loss of her brother, her fiancé, and most of their young set in the horror that was WWI. Vera herself abandoned Oxford to train as a nurse, and spent the rest of the War tending the wounded-including German POWs. Written in London, Malta, and France, they capture all the war's horrors and Brittain's emergence as a committed pacifist. "One of the rare books which are a landmark for a whole generation."-- Times Literary Supplement .

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War I, Memoir, Biography, Diary, War

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1981

About the author

Vera Mary Brittain was an English writer and pacifist, best remembered as the author of the best-selling 1933 memoir Testament of Youth, recounting her experiences during World War I and the beginning of her journey towards pacifism.

Her daughter is Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, who is a British politician and academic who represents the Liberal Democrats.

Reviews

[eleanor · Rating 2 out of 5]

this was okay. i just feel really uncomfy reading people’s private diaries - there’s something about it that feels so intrusive and wrong. i liked the exploration of wartime romance and different types of wartime romance; the waiting for any kind of communication from soldiers made my heart go🥺 but i just couldn’t connect with her at all and found her voice so annoying lmao💀

[Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is it--the book I'd been searching for that would express World War I as it was felt by romantic young people meeting death on the verge of life.

Well that sounds like a bit of purple prose but this book is a bit like purple prose for real. Beyond that, its almost like an interactive role-playing game where the reader has almost virtually the same romantic experience as the author because much of the interaction between the author and her love is via their letters. And letters from the World War I front are still only letters whether read days after they were written, or one hundred years later.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Testament of Youth was a bit better than this one, but Testament is considerably longer and more detailed. So if you want something more accessible and less time-consuming, this one might work well for you.

[Diane Dreher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very moving account of Vera Brittain's life during WW I, her hopes, her dreams, her love and tragic loss. A great follow up to Testament of Youth.

[Morning Glory · Rating 5 out of 5]

So true. I can’t believe her bravery as her life falls apart and she keeps going on with hope! She has a piercing observation of everyone, and what stood out the most this time was how her notes of little tiny acts of love made a difference. You can live on a few looks and embraces. Also Victor is always the best and loving Roland with all his imperfections!! Continuing my Vera Brittain phase and really enjoying the ride.

“I tried to work to-day, & with some success, realising that if I could not feel interested in my work I must do it without feeling interested. Such is the only form of courage I can practise.” 164 needed!
“The iron has entered into my soul & I can’t get it out.” 241
“He looked away from me a moment & dragging out his handkerchief furtively drew it across his eyes. I hadn’t realised until then that this quiet & self-contained person was suffering so much…. To me it seems that while women make a great fuss about little things, when something happens that really matters we have absolute control of our emotions, but with men it is the other way about.” 263
“They both looked tall and fine and knightly, with their handsome faces grave with sorrow-like courtiers without a king…Sir Galahad was like Victor -one who follows in simplicity and humility the ideal that is set before him.” 301

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic supplement to Brittain's memoir. This gives you a better idea of what it was like living day-to-day during the first two or so years of the war. Poor girl, the waiting and waiting and waiting to hear back from loved ones on the Front, with letters arriving days after being sent out, was clearly unbearably agonizing. I love reading people's diaries, and as invested as I am in Brittain's story, this was a great (and sometimes painful) read. I'm looking forward to reading the full text of the letters soon.

One comment: Brittain and Leighton come across as being completely unaware of their class, and as a reader it's easy to forget how privileged they were, but some times it comes across in bits and pieces. In one of Leighton's letters to Brittain, he compares members of the lower classes to plant life. Really.

"He liked the Sonnets, & the nearness of two graves, a private's & a Major's, made the ones on 'The Dead' seem more real. 'I cannot help thinking of the two together & of the greater value of the one. What a pity it is that the same little piece of lead takes away as easily a brilliant life & one that is merely vegetation. The democracy of war!'" (201-202)

[Tom Bantle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Testament of Youth is one of the all time great books. This diary as a supplement is interesting but ends considerably before Testament does. It does show Brittain was an extraordinary writer early in life. She feels and thinks deeply.

In light of what we now know about her brother: that he was gay. It provides a different shade to the relationships between him and the other males that he introduced to Vera. Interesting to consider although at this point in her life it is probable that Vera didn't really know that such a thing existed.

I'd only suggest reading this after you've read Testament of Youth.

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always wanted to know more about education at Oxford and feel I got a good deal of information from this book, aside from the WWI story of a young woman who examined her feelings and the feelings of others very closely during the cataclysm.

[Judy Gresham · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching Temptations of Youth I wanted to read Vera Brittain's diary. The diary obviously gives me a more in depth look at what life was like for a middle class young woman in England just before WWI. Book is good. She was a gutsy woman.

[Susan Grimshaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking insight into the hopes, fears and sorrows of a young girl fated to lose all she loved in the cruelty of WWI.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been dipping in and out of this for a while. She was an incredible woman

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harrowing to read how much was truly lost.

[Breezy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is fascinating. To hear the stark contrast of pre-WWI England vs war-time England is awesomely depressing. Beginning with January 1913, Vera's life is quite golden. She's a bit of a romantic idealist; discussing feminism and ideas of immortality. Her disbelief in the destruction of a cathedral in Belgium - "the whole world mourns at the loss of such historical beauty and art" (early 1914), says it all. This is before her world is rocked by the death of her fiance subsequently followed by two close friends and finally her only brother. The diary is a wonderful peak into history.

As for the writing itself, I appreciate her summaries very much. Entries are to the point, and subject of most entries very interesting though not very funny. Vera is a brilliant narrator, though you do realize early on that her brilliance must've been exhausting. She draws you into her world and illustrating very cleverly the atmosphere that was England at that period. After the death of her fiance, she becomes very critical and rightfully so depressing; as if for the first time she realizes exactly what this war was about and "all that France is". It ends rather abruptly in 1917, but in all honesty you're ready for it to end.

[Sareene · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rated down. Having read _Testament of Youth_ this was a bit redundant to me. However, it was interesting to read the day-to-day reality of an Edwardian, middle-class, young woman struggling to find a feminist identity. Even though the constant "Beloved" language when discussing Roland reminded me a teenager's diary, I was still nervous as I got closer to December 1915 knowing what was to come. I guess, unbeknownst to me, I got more sucked in the diary than I thought it would. I'm not sure this is a necessary read for anyone who has already read _Testament_, but the difference in her tone can be interesting to read.

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit heavy going at times as it was written for herself rather than an audience but very interesting all the same. Being a diary made it very immediate and real because she didn't know the tragedies to come.

[Michelle Muench · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very long book that kind of dragged on. I would not reccomend it but i also dont regret reading it. The ending was a bit dissapointing. She stoppped writting regulalrly by the end.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very affecting. I think I would have fallen in love with this book had I read it first as a teenager.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It started slow, but you get sucked into Brittain's writing before you know it.