Nella Last's War

I was thrilled to get this book as a Mother's Day gift from my Daughter.  She knew how much I loved the film, Housewife 49, as it was called, and having watched the film already 3 times, I think it was a good guess to know I would also love the book.

The Mass Observation Project started in 1937 and ended in the mid-60s.  They asked for Volunteers to send in a daily diary of their normal lives.  Nella Last started writing and sending in her diary in September 1939.

If you are interested in social history as I am, and the second world war in particular, this is a must read.

The Blurb:

In September 1939, housewife and mother Nella Last began a regular diary that lasted for thirty years.  The account that she left of life during the Second World War is moving, fascinating and unique.

While Nella's younger son joined the army, she and the rest of the family tried to adapt to the transformed rhythms of life in Barrow-in-Furness, which suffered terribly from enemy bombing raids.  Writing each day for the 'Mass-Observation' project, Nella grows in confidence as a result of her new work, and her diary entries tell a powerful story about the war years, covering everything from sex to the genuine fear of invasion.

This was the period in which Nella turned fifty, saw her children leave home and reviewed her life and her marriage - which eventually she compared to slavery.  This is the war as Nella Last lived it.

Wow sounds like a very interesting book and film!

It's bloody brilliant Martha.  I haven't had time to read the whole book yet but the film is fantastic and books are usually far better than the films of the books.

In the film she wrote her diary entries on any little scrap of paper she could find and I would imagine that is true.  It was amazing to watch the woman change so much from a meek little housewife into developing her strong personality and becoming more of an independant person in her own right.

I'm going to search for this film and see if I can get either on Netflix or pay for download.