Zeppelin Nights: London in the First World War

Description

A unique look at London during the First World War, seen through the eyes of the people who lived there by an acclaimed writer who 'is to London as Boswell is to Johnson' 'Zeppelin Nights is social history at its best... White creates a vivid picture of a city changed forever by war' The Times 2018 marks the centenary of the end of the First World War. In those four decisive years, London was irrevocably changed. Soldiers passed through the capital on their way to the front and wounded men were brought back to be treated in London's hospitals. At night, London plunged into darkness for fear of Zeppelins that raided the city. Meanwhile, women escaped the drudgery of domestic service to work as munitionettes. Full employment put money into the pockets of the poor for the first time. Self-appointed moral guardians seize the chance to clamp down on drink, frivolous entertainment and licentious behaviour. Even against a war-torn landscape, Londoners were determined to get on with their lives, firmly resolved not to let Germans or puritans spoil their enjoyment. Peopled with patriots and pacifists, clergymen and thieves, bluestockings and prostitutes, Jerry White's magnificent panorama reveals a battle-scarred yet dynamic, flourishing city. 'Jerry White's name on a title page is a guarantee of a lively, compassionate book full of striking incidents and memorable images... This is a fast-paced social history that never stumbles... A well-orchestrated polyphony of voices that brings history alive' Guardian

Professor Jerry White teaches London history at Birkbeck, University of London. He is the author of an acclaimed trilogy of London from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. His more recent books include Mansions of Misery- A Biography of the Marshalsea Debtors' Prison and Zeppelin Nights, a social history of London during the First World War. He was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by the University of London in 2005 and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

Zeppelin Nights is social history at its best... White creates a vivid picture of a city changed for ever by war -- Robbie Millen * The Times * Jerry White's name on a title page is a guarantee of a lively, compassionate book full of striking incidents and memorable images... This is a fast-paced social history that never stumbles... A well-orchestrated polyphony of voices that brings history alive -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Guardian * White delivers in brilliant time-eclipsing detail an evolving and often deeply moving portrait of a city that became gradually squeezed to its limits -- Juliet Nicolson * Sunday Telegraph * Jerry White is masterful at mixing hard facts and statistics with telling anecdotes -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday * A superbly detailed account... Professor White has written a fine social history that portrays London as a teeming nerve centre of the Allied war effort -- Ian Thomson * Financial Times *