Publisher Description
A wonderful portrait of British upper-class life in the Season of 1939—the last before the Second World War.
The Season of 1939 brought all those "in Society" to London. The young debutante daughters of the upper classes were presented to the King and Queen to mark their acceptance into the new adult world of their parents. They sparkled their way through a succession of balls and parties and sporting events.
The Season brought together influential people not only from Society but also from Government at the various events of the social calendar. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain chaperoned his debutante niece to weekend house parties; Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary, lunched with the Headmaster of Eton; Cabinet Ministers encountered foreign Ambassadors at balls in the houses of the great hostesses. As the hot summer drew on, the newspapers filled with ever more ominous reports of the relentless progress towards war. There was nothing to do but wait—and dance. The last season of peace was nearly over.
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About Anne de Courcy
Anne de Courcy is the author of many widely acclaimed works of social history and biography, including 1939: The Last Season, Margot at War, The Fishing Fleet, The Viceroy’s Daughters, and Debs at War. Her books Diana Mosley and Snowdon: The Biography became the bases for television documentaries, and The Husband Hunters has been optioned for a feature film.
About Maggie Ollerenshaw
Maggie Ollerenshaw’s theater work is extensive, ranging from several Alan Ayckbourn roles, to Martha in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Similarly, her many television credits cover Open All Hours and The House of Eliott, to a BAFTA nomination for her performance in Last of the Summer Wine. She has written for radio and has written and performed a one-woman musical play about Vera Lynn titled Yours Sincerely.