Friday Book Review: The home front a mirror to life in England during the First World War

The home front a mirror to life in England during the First World War by E. Sylvia Pankhurst. London Cresset Library c1987 460p,[31]p of plates ill 22cm pbk

This is a fascinating book, exploding the facade of a united front during WWI. The situation of those left behind is less popularly documented than that of WWII, and here Sylvia Pankhurst uses examples from the East End of London in particular to highlight the attitudes of officialdom towards the working classes, particularly the women, and how they coped.

This is as much a book about class politics as it is about feninism.
For the casual reader, it does occasionaly get bogged down in the detail of prices, pay rates and the various regulations, but this must reflect the reality of those struggling to cope where even the law seemed to turned against them.

It's not entirely polemic; individuals are skilfully drawn, her strained relations with her mother and sister are sharply expressed, and her affection for and meetings with (the then dying) Kier Hardie is touching.