The 1930s Home

by Greg Stevenson

In the 1930s Britain underwent the most profound economic crisis of the twentieth century, with high unemployment, wage cuts, benefit cuts and a deterioration in living standards. It was a decade remembered for its austerity, yet out of the recession loomed many positives. Industrial output saw remarkable growth between 1935 and 1938 and a housing boom brought smart new houses to replace slums. Communities benefited from cheaper commodities and improved social services, and more diverse leisure activities were possible due to new technology, transport improvements and the provision of paid holidays. 1930s Britain will provide a realistic portrait of a very diverse, and always fascinating, decade in British social history.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Architecture

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Camilla Tilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

For such a short little book, only 40 pages long, it was very informative. It gave me food for thought as to what kind of dollhouse to buy, when I want to create a WWII house. Of course I would have loved more details about interior design, but I still got a good feel for how people decorated their houses right before the war. And more over, how they felt about different designs and looks. I felt that this book was a good start for further reasearch in to specific areas which I want to know more about. The down side of the book are the illustrations. Because the book is so short, they have made the photos very, very small and many are black- and white so details are even harder to discover. The text points out, to look at this and that feature, but the photos being small, dark and somewhat blurry in some cases, it is almost impossible to discover what the author is trying to make you notice. That is why I can not give it five stars. They could have let some of the interior design photos be bigger, even if it would have made the book thicker and more expensive.

[Liselotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I read a lot of Shire Library books, so I know these aren't very in-depth, but that doesn't mean that they have to be boring. This one, however, is really boring. The writing seemed like the author wasn't too enthusiastic about writing this book, which made it incredibly difficult to finish it. It was informative, but just really dry and boring. I did learn a few things from this book, and that's why I read Shire Library books. Luckily it isn't very long, so that makes the boring writing bearable.
If you are REALLY interested into 1930s architecture, you should read this, if you aren't or if you think this is more about interior design, skip this one, this isn't for you!

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most of the Shire guides, a helpful introduction which looks at key themes and comes to clear conclusions - here, that although they were widely mocked, the twee but popular 'cottage' style houses of the period still sell well, while things which were too 'modern' don't survive.

[David Bisset · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful study of a neglected period.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of exactly what you'd expect from the title. Interesting info about design trends, consumer patterns, critical reception, etc. of interwar British homes.

[Fran Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little intro into the topic. Recommend reading at the back for further info into more specific topics, some of which I've purchased. I love 1930s homes and have always lived in them, the prevalence of them in UK has always fascinated me. agree with other reviewers comments that the pictures were a bit small and dark.