Under Siege: Literary Life in London, 1939-1945

by Robert Hewison

Hardcover - first American very good, in good jacket, the latter slightly edgeworn, chipped a little at spine ends, with a repaired tear of around one-and-a-half inches on lower edge. Pages are clean and sound; all text is clear. TS

230 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the title refers to 'literary life', Hewison also examines the role of art and music during the Second World War. He covers a wide range of material, but he does assume that the reader will already have fairly extensive knowledge of art and literature from that era - for example, more than once, he refers to one author's work as being a more accurate portrayal of a situation than another author's work, which is not that helpful unless you know something about both books!

I was also a bit annoyed by the way he kept using 'London' and 'Britain' interchangeably. The title of the book refers to life in 'London', but the blurb on the inside cover refers to a "brilliant recreation of Britain's cultural life". In the foreward, the author excuses his interchangeable use of London and Britain on the basis that "there was little literary life outside London", but if that's the case, why talk about it at all? Just stick to what is happening in London. But it's really rude to refer to literary work taking place in Scotland, Wales or rural England as being in London!

Recommended to those with an interest in the topic who already have a reasonably broad knowledge of 1930s/40s writers and artists.

[Nina Becket · Rating 3 out of 5]

Historical, slightly boring but also very very interesting. No Oxford comma….