Christmas At War by Caroline Taggart

          I expected to find this book rather twee and for it to gloss over the deprivations suffered by many on the Home Front.  However, I was pleasantly surprised that it is neither twee and nor does it shy away from the poverty many found themselves thrust in.  It does mention how little food was available on almost every page but as these are the memories of those who actually lived through this cataclysmic period in our History you can forgive the author for over-beating the drum.

It is quite London centred.  It does mention the bombing raids on other cities but the majority of the reminisces are from Londoners, whether this is because they were the only ones with easily accessible records to the author I do not know.  What we do know is that housewives from around the country kept diaries which were submitted to the Government on a regular basis (watch the impeccable Housewife 49 by Victoria Wood) and it would have been nice to hear some of those voices.

The book actually gives a quite rounded picture of how celebrating Christmas changed throughout the period of 1939 - 1944.  People's recollections of the paper bells and concertinaed paper decorations that some of the wealthier families had made me think of my own Grandparents who had those same decorations well in to the late 1970s.  The children all seem to remember making paper chains to decorate their homes and air raid shelters and that invoked a nostalgia for my own 1970s childhood when my maternal Grandmother used to sit me down to make them with her.

There is no doubting that this is a nostalgic look at the war period and how people came together to make the best of things.  It suffers not for that though, it is actually quite warming to read and makes you realise how much "things" have come to mean at this time rather than just the joy of being with your family, ideally playing parlour and card games instead of slumping in front of the TV.  I don't think it will change anyones perspective on the season but it will put smiles on faces.

That said I do feel this is probably more of a "gift book" than one you would buy yourself.  I can see it featuring quite heavily in the stockings and present piles for grandparents in particular (even though they will have no recollection of this period they are nearer to it than their Grandchildren).

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW