Vera brittain biography short bio vera brittain 18931970 vera brittain was an english writer, feminist and pacifist, who wrote the best selling testament of youth an account of her traumatic experiences during the first world war. Testament of youth by vera brittain simon potter the coming weeks, thinking faith will contribute to the favourite piece of world war i literature, and well be recommending to you a mixture of popular and lesserknown texts. This is an exlibrary book and may have the usual libraryused book markings inside. Testament of youth excerpts vancouver island university.
By wars end she had lost virtually everyone she loved. It is acclaimed as a canonical description of the impact of world. Please note the image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item,450grams, isbn. Brittains memoir continues with testament of experience, published in 1957, and encompassing the years 19251950. Testament of youth ebook by vera brittain 9780297859147. The testament of youth was written 15 years after the first world war, therefore it is not perhaps as reliable because shes had time to forget the memories and also be given different peoples views which would mean that she didnt put something in or changed it because it didnt fit with her new views. Vera brittains blazing wartime memoir, testament of youth, is coming to the big screen. The vera brittain selection is, of course, from testament of youth. Testament of youth is a 2014 british drama film based on the first world war memoir of the same name written by vera brittain. She was a writer, known for testament of youth 2014, testament of youth 1979 and the first world war 2003. She died on march 29, 1970 in wimbledon, surrey, england. In 2016, the guardian journalist, robert mccrum listed vera brittains testament of youth as the 42nd best nonfiction book of all times. Testament of youth, vera brittains memoir of life, love, and loss during wwi first came to my attention because of masterpiece theater which serialized it at least 20 years ago. Vera brittain 18931970 served as a nurse in the british armed forces in world war i and afterward devoted herself to the causes of peace and feminism.
The most important thing that the reader learns about world. She wrote twentynine books, of which testament of youth is the bestknown. A modern classic, testament of youth is both an elegy and a memoir, a book for all seasons that would have a remarkable literary afterlife in the 1970s and 1980s. In 2010, i read her memoir again and i may reread it a third time as i also experience. Read testament of youth an autobiographical study of the years 19001925 by vera brittain available from rakuten kobo. Based on the memoir by vera brittain, a british woman recalls coming of age during world war i. Four years later her life had changed in a way that would have been unimaginable in the tranquil prewar era. Testament of youth by juliette towhidi based on the autobiography of vera brittain white shooting script 03.
In a prologue set in 1918 on the day of the armistice, the palette is a chill blue and vera wanders dazed through the jubilant crowds. Testament of youth by vera brittain thinking faith. For fans of vera brittains testament of youth, a bestselling writers american debut and a heartwrenching novel of wwia tale of love, regret, and the powerful draw of the road not taken. Letter from vera to roland, 1915, p127 testament of youth is a momentous historical text preserving for us the lucky generations what war really meant.
Testament of youth is the best book ive ever read with the exception of the scriptures. Quotes from books, letters and other sources about he first world war i wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy war and the orators who talk so much about going on, no matter how long the war lasts and what it may mean, could see a case of musterd gas the poor things burnt and blistered all over with great musterd. Marie was the more commercially successful and wrote adventure books the best known being convict 99. In 1914 vera brittain was 20, and as war was declared she was preparing to study at oxford.
Simon potter begins with his own testament to vera brittains memoir, testament of youth. Read testament of youth pdf free video dailymotion. Iris cranes tranquil life is shattered when a letter summons memories from her bittersweet past. Francis mackay was very supportive when i suggested how i wanted to chop up his text and combine widely scattered sections. In 2010, i read her memoir again and i may reread it a third time as i also experience these events through the fictional characters of downton abbey. However, more than eighty years after it was written, there are no doubt younger people who have never heard of it and older people who have it gathering dust on one their shelves. Testament of youth by vera brittain 2015, paperback ebay. On vera brittains testament of youth, and extract from. In a sense, testament of experience is a selfcontained memoir of a quartercenturys private and public events, but the book is best read in connection with its predecessor, testament of youth. Sarah crompton joins shirley williams, brittains daughter, and the films stars on set. The beginning of testament of youth prepares you for the end.
An autobiographical study of the years 1925 50 paperback 16 aug. It is no accident that vera brittain began writing testament of youth, her peerless memoir of a. Vera brittain was born on december 29, 1893 in newcastleunderlyme, staffordshire, england as vera mary brittain. Testament of youth by vera brittain is a book whose deep significance can hardly be overestimated. Testament of youth is the first instalment, covering 19001925, in the memoir of vera brittain 18931970. Much of what we know and feel about the first world war we owe to vera brittains elegiac yet unsparing book, which set a standard for memoirists from martha gellhorn to lillian hellman. Testament of youth is a 1933 autobiographical memoir by vera brittain. Testament of youth is brittains account of how she survived those agonising.
An autobiographical story of the war generation of england moving, beautiful, and tragic. Testament of youth is a necessary reminder of the impact. This classic memoir of the first world war is now a major motion picture starring alicia vikander and kit harington. Testament of youth by vera brittain, first edition abebooks. Find testament of youth penguin classics 0143039237 by brittain, vera. With the outbreak of the second world war, brittains. There were also letters from both men and women describing how testament of youth had hardened their own condemnation of. His parents, robert leighton and marie connor, were both writers. Over the next six years, testament of youth sold 120,000 copies. The publisher calls this a classic memoir of the first world war. Testament of youth has been acclaimed as a classic for its description of the impact of world war i on the lives of women and the middleclass civilian population of great britain. Read testament of youth penguin classics ebook freeread testament of youth penguin classics.
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