Travis Elborough

Our History of the 20th Century

As Told in Diaries, Journals and Letters

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Details

Imprint: O'Mara Books

Publication date: 28/09/2017

ISBN: 9781782437352

Subject: Non-Fiction

Category: Science - History - Philosophy

Binding: Hardback

Size: 234 x 153 mm

Extent: 464 pages

Territorial Rights: World (All Languages)

Edition Status: Out of Print

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Summary:

What better way to understand Britain during the twentieth century than through the eyes of those who experienced it at first hand? Travis Elborough's compilation offers brilliantly candid and intimate insights not only into the headline-grabbing events but also the domestic and personal moments of those who lived through it.

The book draws on over one hundred diarists. They include the great and the good – from Beatrice Webb to Tony Benn, from A. C. Benson to Alan Bennett, from Virginia Ironside to Hanif Kureishi – as well as many less-well-known individuals such as Gladys Langford and Kathleen Tipper, whose writings for the Mass Observation Project offer brilliant glimpses into what the man or woman on the street really made of the stuff of history at the time.

From the Easter Rising to the arrival of email, from the Boer War to New Labour, here are responses to the death of Princess Diana, the resignation of Margaret Thatcher, the Moon landing, the Beatles and much more.

Guardian Best Books of 2017, selected by David Kynaston

Praise for Travis Elborough:

‘One of Britain's finest pop culture historians.’
Guardian

‘Elborough is an English nostalgist in the mode of John Betjeman … as a cultural commentator he is a terrific companion.’
Sunday Times

‘Travis Elborough is becoming a latter-day Alan Bennett.’
Spectator

‘Elborough has the passion of a true enthusiast.’
Mail on Sunday

‘Elborough is a charming, funny and frequently fascinating guide.’
Telegraph

Reviews:

Plenty to entertain, amuse, enlighten and occasionally horrify.

Guardian

This fascinating anthology tracks the 20th century through diaries, journals and letters, though mainly diaries... it opens up secret peep-holes on to some of the key events of the century, and allows us to see them from unexpected angles

Craig Brown, The Mail on Sunday

a blast... a worthwhile wander through great events and small ones, and especially into great minds having small moments

Libby Purves, The Times Literary Supplement

A wonderfully curated collection of intimate diary voices: rich in their variousness, compelling in their impact, and cumulatively giving us a fresh and thought-provoking version of twentieth-century Britain.

David Kynaston

Sales points:

  • From the Boer War to the founding of Google, via the Easter Rising in Ireland, the Moon landing, the Beatles and everything in between

  • A brilliant way to gain a comprehensive overview of an eventful century

  • Includes entries from Paul McCartney, V. S. Naipaul, Alan Bennett, Virginia Woolf and Siegfried Sassoon, as well as from unknown diarists, some of whom have never been published before

  • Travis Elborough is an acclaimed author and cultural commentator – he has co-edited two anthologies of diaries, A London Year and A Traveller’s Year

About the Author:

Travis Elborough

Travis Elborough has co-edited two previous anthologies of diaries, A London Year and A Traveller’s Year. A freelance writer, author and cultural commentator for nearly two decades, his other books include The Long-Player Goodbye, a hymn to vinyl records; Wish You Were Here, a survey of the British beside the seaside and most recently A Walk in the Park: The Life and Times of a People’s Institution.