Wartime chronicle: Diary, 1939-1945

Vera Brittain is known for her Testament Trilogy (Testament of Youth, Testament of Friendship and Testament of Experience) and her work as a pacifist. She withstood a lot of criticism due to her unwavering devotion to peace, and her contention that chasing peace by bombing those who oppose us was a fool's errand. That could be debated to the end of recorded time (and it will be), but what is present here is the day-to-day life of a woman who is separated from her children due to the Blitz, trying to maintain a punishing speaking and writing schedule while bombs fall around her, and fighting red tape within her own government that would be enough to strangle even the most patient person. It is sometimes difficult to have sympathy with someone whose contribution to the "make do and mend" difficulties of wartime Britain is to combine two of her fur coats, and who dines out at posh restaurants and complains of the lack of tasty items on the menu. "Regular folk" Miss Brittain is not. On the other hand, reading her diary is a great insight into what daily life is like when you're not sure if your home will still be standing the next day. Her contempt for Jan Struther, author of Mrs. Miniver, is most acute. Brittain is in England, facing the bombs and on fire duty, while Jan Struther wrote the much-revered novel on which the Greer Garson film is based while safely ensconced in the United States. Sometimes I think Brittain thought her diary might be read in the future, and at other times I'm sure she didn't. Some people are referred to in ways that are mortifying to those she's describing - she was an astute and sometimes acidic observer. Entertaining reading, unless you're reading about yourself. Most pleasing to me is that Brittain's daughter Shirley, now known as Dame Shirley Williams, has these pages to look back on. To know that one's mother missed her every single day and rejoiced in her return has to be particularly moving.