Customer Reviews:
 So near, yet so far away from perfection... September 30, 2008
As Virginia Nicholson righly points out, many of the women left without men following WW1 were often forgotton about or viewed as a problem. Ms Nicholson has done a wonderful job of describing both the achievements of these women and the prejudices they faced. The book is extremely well-researched - the author has sought out survivors of this period, and reached into diaries, letters, news reports, literature, problem pages, etc.
However, the book feels like a missed opportunity. The women's stories are rarely accompanied by any critical analysis or historical background - the book often descends into hero worship. I would have also appreciated biographies of some of the key individuals in the book.
This book is certainly worth reading for anyone interested in the topic, but it left me wanting to know more.
A Land Fit for Heroines August 9, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
Unlike a previous reviewer I thought there really was a representative cross section of women featured in the book, and the author came up with some quite obscure biographical details to bring the situations of women in the twenties and thirties alive. What comes across is the genuine sense of loss that some felt at being denied the chance of having a family, and the often ground-breaking successes they achieved once they decided to channel their energies in other directions. The last chapter which records these achievements is particularly uplifting, and the author herself conveys a quiet pride in what they did.
 Barbara July 9, 2008
5 out of 10 found this review helpful
I was eagerly awaiting this ore-ordered book but found it largely disappointing. There was insufficient writing/analysis about anything other than the upper classes and it would have been much more fascinating to have learnt more about the women in this country in general and their ways of accepting their "...survival without men after WW1".
 Wonderful June 13, 2008
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
This is a fascinating book. I could not put it down. It is so beautifully and accessibly written with such intriguing and poignant real life stories.
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