Reviews for Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of Housewife, 49

The average rating for Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries of Housewife, 49 based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-03-14 00:00:00 David Ronyak Most of us very much enjoyed this book. There were many dimensions to it, and different dimensions appealed particularly to different people. One was that of her relationship with her husband. It is a remarkable record of a woman living in close proximity with a husband for whom she felt, if you believe her, nothing other than resentment. The ebb and flow of their daily exchanges is carefully charted, and her relief at being able to sleep in a separate room. It is funny, sad and very honest. According to her internal narrative of her life, his lack of support - plus the disapproval of his family - had caused her to have a breakdown. She even drew a comparison between her "subjection" and political subjection. He had been an aggressor, perhaps not unlike Hitler, and she had colluded in her subjection. Her extensive voluntary work during the War, plus perhaps the process of reflection encouraged by the diary writing, had allowed her to break away from her "slavery", and this had led to her being held up as an example of a proto-feminist. Similarly there is the close-up view of her relationship with her two sons. Particularly early on in the book, it is clear that the relationship with her sons was providing her with the affection denied in her marriage. That with Cliff, the son who went to war, was particularly intense ("Cliff's signet ring was pushed on to my third finger"), and it soon becomes apparent to the modern reader that Cliff must be homosexual. Although the family is introduced to his "very close friend", who is later killed in the war, Cliff is unable to come out. Nor do his parents suspect. This appears to be a considerable tragedy of misunderstanding, one that must have been repeated many times in the era. Cliff goes off abroad at the end of the War to become a sculptor in Australia, and only returns for a period when his parents are near death. We were struck and surprised by the fact that Nella did not "self-censor" her diaries in the way that most people of her generation would have done. Perhaps she was unaware that they would ever be published? Or did it fit with her personality not to care what people would think if she by that time would be dead? The War itself, as experienced on the Home Front, intrigued most of us. True, there was little new in the way of factual information about what happened, but for most of us it was new to get a sense of how it felt to live through that period. One surprise was how little celebration and what a sense of anti-climax there was on VE and VJ Days ("I opened a tin of pears"). It was intriguing to watch how easily she could move from the mundane to the philosophical and back again. Her thoughts on the discovery of Belsen show both her capacity for empathy and for a sophistication of thought surprising in a largely self-taught woman from Barrow. There was unanimity in applauding Nella's prose style, for example: "The garden is wakening rapidly, and I can see signs of blossom buds on my three little apple-trees… A blackbird seems to be building nearby - she has been busy with straw all day today - and now the old tree at the bottom of the next-door garden shows buds against the blue sky. My husband had a night off work and said he really must get another row of peas and potatoes in…The moon swam slim serene among the one-way pointing, silvered barrage balloons - I thought it dreadful when I once saw a Zeppelin against the moon. As I stood gazing up at the sky, I wondered if she had ever looked on so strange a sky occupant before…I do so dread these next few nights till the full moon. Tonight, with a slim crescent, it was clear and bright. Some poor city will suffer." So…Nella Last, creative, witty, altruistic, energetic, beautiful writer, enchained by a man…a downtrodden Saint? Well, not for all. A minority voice did not entirely take to Nella as a person (while still very keen on the book). Always a victim, always right. Insecurely recording every compliment. A rather spiky person, disparaging her colleagues - and look at the Ena Sharples body language in some of the photos. No wonder her husband kept taking her off to the Lake District to calm her down Good at empathising with people in other countries, indeed, but no empathy whatsoever with her husband, and no understanding of her favourite son when he comes back shot in the groin… This is an extract from a review at Our reviews are also to be found at

Review # 2 was written on 2021-01-27 00:00:00 Stanley Cleary 21/11/43 "I wonder how high the pile is of letters and M.O. dairies I've written. I bet it would surprise me. I've always longed to be clever and write books. I bet I've written a few in the shape of letters and endless scribbles!" Nella Last was one of the participants in the Mass Observation Project, in which a cross-section of society kept diaries of their everyday lives, this is the diary she kept during WW2. She comes across as a remarkable woman; warm-hearted and very determined to do all she can for the war effort. The diaries naturally convey a real sense of immediacy and the relief at the end is palpable.