1939: The Last Season
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1939: The Last Season
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Narrated by:
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Maggie Ollerenshaw
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By:
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Anne de Courcy
About this listen
A wonderful portrait of British upper-class life in the season of 1939 - the last before the Second World War.
The season of 1939 brought all those 'in Society' to London. The young debutante daughters of the upper classes were presented to the king and queen to mark their acceptance into the new adult world of their parents. They sparkled their way through a succession of balls and parties and sporting events.
The season brought together influential people not only from society but also from government at the various events of the social calendar. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain chaperoned his debutante niece to weekend house parties; Lord Halifax, the foreign secretary, lunched with the headmaster of Eton; cabinet ministers encountered foreign ambassadors at balls in the houses of the great hostesses. As the hot summer drew on, the newspapers filled with ever more ominous reports of the relentless progress towards war. There was nothing to do but wait - and dance. The last season of peace was nearly over.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©1989 Anne de Courcy (P)2021 Orion Publishing GroupListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about 1939: The Last Season
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Robert
- 15-11-21
A Dangerous Time Well Described
This was a good to very good listen I should say, with one or two avoidable pronunciation howlers and some very dodgy working class accents, verging on the
gor blimey/t'coal 'ole type. That said, the narrator reads with brio and thoughtful intonation for the most part.
More importantly, the book provides a well researched glimpse in to social history and a world about to be changed irrevocably by war. Framed within tales of debs, parties and 'the season', the author's reach is much wider than that, providing the reader/listener with a real sense of how life in the UK (from a largely London-centric POV) was conducted in that last summer of peace for several years. Wel worth listening to if 20th century history's your bag.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Hibley
- 02-09-21
Exceeded my Expectations
This book is about lots of aspects of 1939 - not just about debutantes. It is very interesting if you like social history as it covers topics like servants, fashion and food in the run up to the start of WW2.
Well read too by a good narrator.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Fabfab
- 05-06-23
Disappointing
I enjoy hearing about the glamorous and wealthy society people of the 20’s and 30’s. Debutants, artists, writers. This was a blow by blow account of events with not enough story. The brief introduction you can listen to before buying does not always give a clear idea of content.
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