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The Twilight Years: The Paradox of Britain Between the Wars, by Richard Overy
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"Thought-provoking and illuminating...Overy's study of British culture between the wars is absorbing and unexpectedly moving."
-The New York Times Book Review
Original, entertaining, and ever-surprising, The Twilight Years tells the story of how an abiding fear of war influenced English life in the aftermath of World War I. Britain had become a laboratory for modern thought and experimentations, from eugenics to Freud's unconscious. And drawing upon these innovative ideas and concepts, intellectuals, politicians, scientists, and artists-among them Arnold Toynbee, Aldous Huxley, and H.G. Wells-grappled with a creeping fear that the West was staring down the end of civilization. The Twilight Years speaks to the frightening power of ideas in a rapidly changing world.
- Sales Rank: #1157424 in Books
- Published on: 2010-11-30
- Released on: 2010-11-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.41" h x 1.17" w x 5.56" l, .95 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 544 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780143118114
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
About the Author
Richard Overy is Professor of Modern History at King's College, London. He has written extensively on modern German and European history, and is the author of Russia's War and The Penguin Atlas of the Third Reich.
Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Understanding Inter-War Britain
By Thomas M. Sullivan
After having read what I considered to be a fairly extensive and diverse selection of books relating to the British public's mindset just before, during, and after World War I, and also in the period between World Wars I and II, I had come to the conclusion that it is impossible for at least we Americans to fully understand the level of disillusionment and pathos generated in the Isles by those great catastrophes. For despite sharing a common heritage, the peoples' respective histories, sociological and economic structures, and forms of government are simply too different for us to fully relate. This is not to say that one can't secure valuable insights from immensely well-written and rewarding books such as Juliet Nicolson's "The Perfect Summer" and "The Great Silence," Maureen Waller's "London 1945," and, on the post-World War II years, from David Kynaston's remarkable "Austerity Britain" and "Family Britain." Thus, I was anticipating only more ultimate frustration when I undertook Professor Overy's "The Twilight Years." I was happily mistaken.
One of the British attributes we Anglophiles hold most dear is that no matter how extreme, far-out, indeed, nutty, a Brit's outlook on life or special prejudice(s), he can invariably find a club, society, and frequently, a political party, that not only shares his views, but is well along in embellishing and perfecting them. And it was during the inter-war years that these vividly imagined and vigorously pressed views butted intellectual horns like desperately rutting bighorn sheep. Every notion of civilized life and economic, political, and social theory was up for grabs. Indeed, the very survival of civilization was mooted and the horrors of WW I, recalled when every disfigured veteran came into sight and every memorial dedicated, somehow gestated into the widely held belief that yet another war was not only necessary, but essential, to the re-vivification of civilization...or as a means of hastening its (to some, inescapable) demise.
Perhaps most interesting to the American reader is Overy's description of how the country where capitalism was conceived and first flourished came to regard it as the root of not only all economic evils, but most social ills as well. The redistribution of wealth, a concept ironically nurtured, if not born, in the same economic maternity ward which sheltered the incredible expansion of the middle class during the Victorian period, now became the mantra of the masses and the predicate for what latterly appeared as the inevitable birth of the `welfare state' at the end of WW II.
Fact is that no summary of mine can adequately describe the length and breadth of Overy's consideration of these topics and the masterly manner in which he dissects them and puts them into perspective. His narrative style may be a bit dry, and perhaps you'll learn more about a few obscure players in the drama than you care to know. But if you, as I, wish to better understand (indeed, understand for the first time) Britain during the inter-war years, I know of no better book for the purpose.
48 of 59 people found the following review helpful.
Not much light on the Twilight years
By wogan
Richard Overy is a British historian who has written `The Twilight Years The Paradox of Britain Between the Wars'. There is an extremely good beginning explaining the currency differences and between income then and now; and introductions to the politics of the period.
The chapters and subjects are aimed more to the intellectual thinking and intellectual/political personas in these years rather than the social history that the cover with a picture of men walking along the street led me to believe the book was about . Unless you are a dedicated political/theoretical historian this book is probably not for you and definitely not for light historical reading
The subject matter is very specific, such as; intellectual Malthusian theory, the improvement of the race. There is much psychoanalysis - despite the `war to end all wars' - the fear of impending doom and another war; but again it is not the common man that is investigated in this writing. It is instead political theory and beliefs. If that is what you are interested in finding then this is exactly the work for you.
As an avid Anglophile I had great hopes of reading of the state of mind and life in the British Isles in between the wars, but instead this is theoretical thinking of an educated elite, not the general British population.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
An Interesting Perspective on Britain between the Wars
By Ronald H. Clark
There are many books out there which discuss the status of Britain between the first and second wars. This one is somewhat unique in that the author focuses on ideas ("social, cultural and intellectual world"), rather than events, as the centerpoints of his analysis. The author concisely summarizes his approach and concerns in a "chronological introduction" to Britain 1919-1939. Next he briefly discusses the emotional tone present during the period--fear of war, the end of civilization, and a general feeling of dread. The first full chapter is probably the most interesting since it deals with the impact of the first war on the British psyche. Given the intense fear a new war, and its potential as a death blow, ideas such as civilization facing a crisis, impending decline and collapse, a new dark age with barbarians at the gates were prevalent. The old Victorian confidence in inevitable progress is clearly challenged. A very good second chapter discusses the perception that abusive capitalism had caused the British decline, and the author effectively discusses the ideas of the Webbs, J.A. Hobson, J.M. Keynes, G.D.H. Cole, Cyril Joad and others. Much discussion of social injustices caused by capitalism occurred during this period, and some advocated economic planning as a solution, which in fact occurred with Labour's victory in 1945.
The next several chapters discuss some key ideas, but they seemed at times overly detailed to me. The first talks about the interest during the period in eugenics, sterilization and birth control to preserve "the race." Ironically, the same kind of discussion was going on in this country as well. The impact of Freud's ideas is the subject of an interesting chapter. All this talk about the unconscious and the arrival of psychoanalysis presented such a challenge to rationality as a controlling influence, that it scared the devil out of many Britons. On top of this, further chapters discuss the fear of war, pacifist groups, the incredible fixation of the population on Hitler and what he would do next, and the Spanish Civil War which many saw as the last chance to stop Fascism short of Britain going to war itself. When war did finally come, the contrast between the high spirits on entering the first war and the mood of dark despair surrounding the second is palpable. Given all the traumas and boogiemen that had tortured the British psyche during the interwar period, this "end of civilization" mentality is quite understandable.
The book is supported by 88 pages of endnotes and a bibliograph/list of sources of 26 pages, well as abundant illustrations. This is a complex period, and although we have long known what happened, this book helps us understand why events occurred. A bit wordy though it may be, it makes a distinct contribution to our historical understanding of these vital 20 years.
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