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Britain between the wars: A literary and historical survey
Long Weekend, The: A Social History of Great Britain 1918-1939Long Weekend, The: A Social History of Great Britain 1918-1939 by R. Graves
Buy used from: £7.27
Age has not diminished the virtues of this social history of Britian in the era.
The Penguin Social History of Britain: British Society 1914-45The Penguin Social History of Britain: British Society 1914-45 by John Stevenson
Buy new: £12.74 / Used from: £3.99
A slightly broader survey of British society in the early 20th century, it serves as a good compliment to Graves and Hodge's book.
English History, 1914-1945 (Oxford history of England)English History, 1914-1945 (Oxford history of England) by A.J.P. Taylor
Buy used from: £14.40
Though dated, this is still a useful broader survey that encompasses the wars as well, all told in Taylor's witty, insighful, readable style.
Consensus and Disunity: The Lloyd George Coalition Government 1918-1922: Lloyd George Coalition Government, 1918-22Consensus and Disunity: The Lloyd George Coalition Government 1918-1922: Lloyd George Coalition Government, 1918-22 by Kenneth O. Morgan
Buy new: £23.75 / Used from: £15.00
A history of the government in the first years of the era; good for why the promises of a 'land fit for heroes' were never fulfilled.
Mrs Dalloway (Penguin Modern Classics)Mrs Dalloway (Penguin Modern Classics) by Virginia Woolf
Buy new: £5.24 / Used from: £0.29
Woolf's novel provides an excellent portrait of life in Britain in the aftermath of the First World War, as seen though the life of a middle class woman.
Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation 1918-1940Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation 1918-1940 by D.J. Taylor
Buy new: £6.97 / Used from: £4.59
An excellent survey of a social set that dominated the gossip columns in the 1920s.
Vile Bodies (Penguin Modern Classics)Vile Bodies (Penguin Modern Classics) by Evelyn Waugh
Buy new: £6.47 / Used from: £4.22
Waugh's novel is a thin fictionalization of the London social scene of the 1920s -- one he experienced firsthand.
Campbell Bunk: The Worst Street in London Between the WarsCampbell Bunk: The Worst Street in London Between the Wars by Jerry White
'How the other half lived': a great account of the changes Britain was undergoing as seen through the lives of people in a London slum.
Stanley Baldwin: Conservative Leadership and National Values (British Lives)Stanley Baldwin: Conservative Leadership and National Values (British Lives) by Philip Williamson
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An insighful examination of the political leadership of the dominant Conservative politician of the era.
The General Strike Day by DayThe General Strike Day by Day by Keith Laybourn
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A great account of the major industrial dispute of the era, essential for understanding labour relations both before and afterward.
Britain in the Depression: Society and Politics, 1929-39Britain in the Depression: Society and Politics, 1929-39 by Dr John Stevenson
Buy new: £29.99 / Used from: £1.40
The best survey of Britian during the Depression, a period that saw a new affluence for many while millions more faced unemployment and poverty.
Politicians and the Slump: Labour Government of 1929-31 (Pelican)Politicians and the Slump: Labour Government of 1929-31 (Pelican) by Robert Skidelsky
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A good examination of the Labour government of 1929-31 and why it failed in its response to the Depression.
The Auden Generation: Literature and Politics in England in the 1930'sThe Auden Generation: Literature and Politics in England in the 1930's by Samuel Hynes
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A first-rate study of the literary generation that came of age during the 1930s: Auden, Day Lewis, MacNeice, Spender, Graham Greene, Isherwood and Orwell.
The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics)The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics) by George Orwell
Buy new: £6.48 / Used from: £4.00
An engrossing account of northern England in the 1930s; like the rest of Orwell's 'nonfiction', it should be read skeptically with regard to the specifics though not in terms of his analysis.
Love on the DoleLove on the Dole by Walter Greenwood
Buy new: £5.89 / Used from: £3.64
Another view of life during the Depression; though written from a more overtly fictional perspective, it is no less insightful.
East London for Mosley: British Union of FascistsEast London for Mosley: British Union of Fascists by Thomas P. Linehan
Buy new: £66.50 / Used from: £111.86
A good study of the rise of British fascism from the perspective of one London neighbourhood.
Patriotism PervertedPatriotism Perverted by Richard Griffiths
Buy new: £23.75 / Used from: £17.92
British fascism and anti-Semitism from the other end of the social spectrum.
Britain and the Spanish Civil WarBritain and the Spanish Civil War by Tom Buchanan
Buy new: £25.64 / Used from: £21.06
Good for examining Britain's (and Britons') role in the seminal manifestation of the great ideological struggles of the 1930s.
Chamberlain and Appeasement: British Policy and the Coming of the Second World War (Making of the Twentieth Century)Chamberlain and Appeasement: British Policy and the Coming of the Second World War (Making of the Twentieth Century) by R.A.C. Parker
Buy new: £19.83 / Used from: £13.00
The best book for understanding how Britain got into the Second World War despite the best efforts of its leaders to avoid it.