A vivid, intimate account of life in austerity Britain. Superb. -- David Kynaston, author of Austerity Britain
A touching and startlingly frank portrait of adapting to life in post-war Britain. Truly fascinating. I enjoyed it as much as Nella Last's War. * Gilda O'Neill *
Nella Last's Peace is extraordinary - tender, intimate, striking, heartbreaking and witty - it grants us the lovely and dignified privilege of knowing a stranger's heart. * A. L. Kennedy *
Compassionate, gossipy, observant - Nella Last's long-awaited Peace Diaries deserve to be read not only for their intimate insight into the dislocated post-war world, but also for their continued portrayal of Nella herself. She is brave, lovable and a born writer. * Virginia Nicholson *
Nothing could have been more 'ordinary' than the life of Nella Last, a middle-aged woman living in the north-west of England in the Attlee years, ground-down by ration books, post-war exhaustion and an uncertain future, and yet her eye for detail and penetrating interest in the people around her make her diary a social document of extraordinary interest and value. -- D. J. Taylor * Advance quote *
Nella's eye for detail and penetrating interest in the people around her make her diary a social document of extraordinary interest and value. * D J Taylor *
The diary has a certain universal quality that transcends the particular time and circumstances. My gut feeling is that Nella will come to be seen as one of the major twentieth-century English diarists. -- David Kynaston * Woman's Hour *
It's not necessary to read Last's first volume to become immediately absorbed by her honest and heartfelt story. -- Nora Krug * The Washington Post *
Nella Last may be the most prolific writer you've never heard of. It's not necessary to read Last's first volume to become immediately absorbed by her honest and heartfelt story. -- Nora Krug * Washington Post *
