Product Description

'It is as if I have been waiting for someone to ask me these questions for almost the whole of my life' From 1945, more than four million British servicemen were demobbed and sent home after the most destructive war in history. Damaged by fighting, imprisonment or simply separation from their loved ones, these men returned to a Britain that had changed in their absence. In Stranger in the House, Julie Summers tells the women's story, interviewing over a hundred women who were on the receiving end of demobilisation: the mothers, wives, sisters, who had to deal with an injured, emotionally-damaged relative; those who assumed their fiances had died only to find them reappearing after they had married another; women who had illegitimate children following a wartime affair as well as those whose steadfast optimism was rewarded with a delightful reunion. Many of the tales are moving, some are desperately sad, others are full of humour but all provide a fascinating account of how war altered ordinary women's lives forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9106 in Books
• Published on: 2009-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

About the Author
Julie Summers is a writer, researcher and historian. Her books include Fearless on Everest: The Quest for Sandy Irvine, and a biography of her grandfather, the man who built the 'real' bridge over the River Kwai, The Colonel of Tamarkan. She lives in Oxford.

Customer Reviews

A compelling CD
This is a really great abridgement of Julie's book Stranger in the House: Women's Stories of Men Returning from the Second World War, interspersed with interviews from some of the fantastic women that she met. Through hearing their voices you get a vivid sense of what these women went through and how dramatic an impact it had on family life when men returned from the Second World War.
If the subject is of interest; you'll love the CD.

The Forgotten Side of the Story
This really does make you think, as my late Father was a Far East POW.
I never for a second thought about what help and assistance was given to those who had lost husbands, the fight to stop War Widows pensions being taxed for example, the book had opened my eyes, and this audio recording really brings the full story home. As a researcher of Far East Prisoners of War I recommend this to anyone interested in the Forgotten Side to the Story of the Second World War. Long ignored or forgotten I am glad that the book and this recording now tells that story. Very well done. Stranger in the House: Women's Stories of Men Returning from the Second World War: 2

Thought provoking
My mother is one of the heroines featured both in the book and on this double CD. Lesley Manville has portrayed her story in a remarkable performance that will leave a lasting impression on the listener. My father was a survivor of the Burma-Thailand "railway of death" and the atomic bomb at Nagasaki. Like others featured on the CD, mothers story is one of lifelong compassion and deep understanding of the immense trauma that these men suffered. This is a "must have" for anyone interested in war and the consequences it has on families and society.