“On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…”
106 years ago the world celebrated the end of what was then known as The Great War. Known to Americans as Veterans Day, the 11th of November is forever remembered over a century later. Commemorated in Britain, France and Belgium as Armistice Day, and as Remembrance Day in Commonwealth countries, this day honors those who gave their lives in service for their country. Lest we forget…
Here are two books that explore the events of November 11th, 1918, and moreover the aftereffects of The Great War, “the war to end all wars.”
Non-Fiction
The Great Silence: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age by Juliet Nicolson
This book is an-depth examination of Great Britain’s society and culture the two years immediately following the end of The Great War.
An incredibly detailed social history, The Great Silence recounts the various lives of those who experienced the First World War, as well as the greater psychological state of post-war Britain. The book progresses chronologically by season, starting with the Armistice, and ending in November 1920. With each chapter named after an emotion, (Shock, Denial, Anger, etc.), Nicolson traces the myriad of emotions British individuals experienced after the war’s conclusion.
Being a century removed from November 11th, 1918, today’s readers learn how that day, while joyful for so many, was agonizing for many more–while the war was finally over, that day could not bring back the countless dead. How was the country to cope with the Great Silence–the vacuum of grief stemming from the loss of countless young men? Nicolson’s book explores society’s answers to this question.
Relying on a wealth of contemporary resources (newspapers, journals, memoirs, etc.), Nicolson examines the many reactions to the war’s end, and its greater repercussions, from every level of society. Voices from factory workers, the bourgeoning middle class, to the day’s reigning socialites, create a dynamic portrait of Britain’s rigid yet crumbling class system. No one, no matter how storied, powerful, or isolated they were, was immune from the effects of the war.
Yet there is hope. In the years following the war, women won the right to vote, and young people flocked to jazz clubs and dance halls to ease their grief. From the physical scars of returning soldiers (Nicolson details how modern plastic surgery stemmed from the war), the Spanish Flu pandemic, to a country steeped in mass employment, readers are transported to a turbulent time.
Just as silence marked the war’s end, silence concludes with the book’s end–the moving burial ceremony of the Unknown Warrior on November 11th, 1920 at Westminster Abbey. An unidentified British soldier “precious in life only to a handful,” but in death providing “the emotional focus of millions,” serves as a much needed symbolic closure for a grieving public. Having viewed the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in 2005, I can attest to how moving this grave is, the unknown man who, per the inscription, “gave the most man can give[,] life itself.”
Both scholars and history buffs alike will appreciate the amount of detail Nicolson packs into each chapter. If you’re looking more for an introductory history to the First World War and post-war era, you may find Nicolson’s prose intense and too detail laden. Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this book as I’ve always been intrigued by early 20th century Great Britain. I deeply appreciate how Nicolson wove so many recollections from all classes and ages, male and female, to craft a stunning historical narrative.
While the subject matter is certainly grim, the book truly highlights the tenacity of British character. The Great Silence leaves readers all the more reverent to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, while also feeling more empathetic to those survived such conflict and social upheaval. May we never forget them.
The Great Silence: Britain from the Shadow of the First World War to the Dawn of the Jazz Age by Juliet Nicolson, Grove Press, 2009, 302 pages.
Fiction
Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and The Great War
This short story collection features nine stories from top historical fiction authors, such as Jessica Brockmole, Hazel Gaynor, Lauren Willig, and more. The kernel is each story is November 11th, 1918: the end of The Great War. Survivors everywhere are grappling with grief over the loss of their loved ones. As families reunite and the world slowly recovers from the wounds of war, there is hope. Each story is distinct from one another and presents a wide array of characters, men and women, and how the war’s end brings them together, or apart.
My particular favorites are “Something Worth Landing For,” by Jessica Brockmole, and “Hour of the Bells,” by Heather Webb. The former features a hilarious, self-deprecating protagonist, while the latter shows the depths of a mother’s love.
As the majority of the key characters are women, the collection doesn’t focus on wartime experiences in the trenches. Rather, this anthology presents the wartime experiences of living at the war’s edge–the terror of unknowing, the utter grief of loss, joy and relief once the battlegrounds are silent.
As an historical fiction anthology, the stories do not fall under the category of true romance (in other words, there are no graphic sex scenes or constant sexual innuendo). Rather, the stories showcase the interactions between men and women accepting the end of the war, dealing with emotional trauma, while also finding reasons for hope. If you enjoy historical fiction and/ or short fiction, I recommend this anthology. These thought provoking stories restore humanity to those who, over a century ago, “lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,” and saw “fields [where] the poppies blow,” in the words of John McCrea’s famous 1915 wartime poem, “In Flanders Fields.”
A Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and The Great War, various authors, William Morrow, 2019, 357 pages.
~LMC
The white shirt on the right is the shirt I got the night I saw David Bowie perform live on his 2004 Reality Tour, 20 years ago on this very day, 25th April 2004 (thank you so much Laurie for this shirt)!
