Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #500260 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Miranda Seymour, THE SUNDAY TIMES
'it produces some unforgettable cameos.'

Review
'it produces some unforgettable cameos.' (Miranda Seymour THE SUNDAY TIMES )

'a wonderful slice of social history' (Kathryn Hughes MAIL ON SUNDAY )

'DEBS AT WAR stands or falls on the quality of of their anecdotes. And, mostly it stands. The experiences of these women are so different from our own that they make pretty moreish reading.' (Mary Wakefield DAILY TELEGRAPH )

'This colourful slice of social history.' (John Koski YOU MAGAZINE )

'a glorious yarn, a mixture of derring-do,make-do and eye-popping innocence.' (Edwina Currie THE NEW STATESMAN )

'DEBS AT WAR is happy, sad, intermittently very funny and consistently engaging.' (Matthew Dennison THE SPECTATOR )

'DEBS AT WAR is funny, moving and inspiring, and will be a valuable addition to the many social histories published about the Second World War.' (IRISH EXAMINER )

'As a historical, eyewitness account it is engrossing and informative in its detail: as a testament to the robustness and apparent heedlessness of youth, it is illuminating. A thoroughly engaging read.' (Ally Cardozo THE FIELD )

'hugely enjoyable...... fascinating.' (IMAGE MAGAZINE )

'it makes riveting reading.... it is in the detail that you will find its interest and charm, and both are considerable.' (Diana Athill LITERARY REVIEW )

John Koski, YOU MAGAZINE
'This colourful slice of social history.'

Customer Reviews

Gives you what novels can not
I have found this to be an amazing book. It contains the lives of real women who went from living in unbelievable luxury (or not in the case of some - grand homes and titles did not automatically mean luxury) to how they played their parts in the war, often in menial, dirty, usually risky if not downright dangerous jobs. All because their fathers, brothers and all the young men they knew were doing their bit - so the girls were going to make damned sure they did their bit too. Diaries and interviews are quoted - this book goes from childhoods through to the Debs seasons, call up (more usually volunteering), the various jobs they did; all the while trying to keep in touch with their friends and boyfriends. Terribly innocent about sex, lesbianism, childbirth, cooking, they went from filthy jobs to eating at the Ritz - often still in uniform or overalls. To say that I am impressed by what they did is a total understatement. I really don't know whether we would meet our country's need in such a way today.
This book, because it calls on the experiences of so many young women, gives an impression of living through the war years in a way I've never come across before. The amount of detail in it is impressive, and even though it is based on the experiences of upper-class young women, there is a huge amount of general social history here. Totally fascinating. Thank you

Great book about British History
"Debs at War" by Anne De Courcy was great book. Ms. De Courcy tells the truth stories about debutantes, who when war came their whole lives changed. These young women many who had never been away from home, now found themselves doing jobs that they could not had thought they could do.
This was a great book about women and how the war changed a whole generation.

A real insight into a lost generation
What a fascinating read this is. I was impressed by the courage, ingenuity and adventurousness of these women who had no training for the world in which they suddenly found themselves.

Their tales are gently funny, often sad and always inspirational, and give a real insight into a lifestyle and era that have been lost forever.

A must-have for any woman's bookcase.