This is a strong narrative of the war, easy to read, mixing news with personal feelings and events (often revealing gap between official news and reality). The diary captures the authors' growing disillusionment with the war, as it gradually encroaches on her life. The diary starts with great excitement, realising its importance but expecting a short struggle, blaming treachery and incompetence initially but gets increasingly disheartened and eventually stops in 1916. Entries show growth of total war (seeing ominous Zeppelin's directly overhead, shelling etc.), experiences of her two brothers in service (their privations and her 'white-feather' feelings), personal sacrifice and patriotism, reactions to casualty lists, women entering work (she does various war work), steady collapse of domestic service (Downton angle), reflections on recognisable events such as Lusitania and on the competence of the government. Also included several poems written by Mabel and a love story in the appendix, giving a complete insight into the diarist's life. NB.Mabel and her brothers lived in Germany for some time, meaning they could all speak German and knew 'the enemy nation' as many Britons did not. AUTHOR: Mabel Goode (1870-1954) was the youngest of three. She was principally raised by her step-mother, both her parents having died before she was ten. From 1881-7 the family lived in Heidelberg, Germany, meaning she knew the people that became Britain's great enemy in her lifetime. In later life, Mabel lived quietly, as a slightly eccentric vegetarian in the Lake District and funded holidays to Italy with paintings, never marrying (although a love story exists). Mabel recognised the Great War as the most important event of her life and recorded it from 1914-16. The editor of this diary, Michael Goode, is the Great-Great Nephew of Mabel Goode. Michael read History at Gonville nCaius College, University of Cambridge and worked on projects for the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge. SELLING POINTS: ? The diary captures the growing disillusionment with the war, as it gradually encroaches on life ? Extremely rare in that the entire family lived in Germany for about a decade in the late nineteenth century, meaning they knew the people and country well before the war. ? Shows the gulf between what the Home Front thought was happening and what we now know was happening. ? Strong local interest, focus on York and Yorkshire area, records visits to Scarborough after the attacks ? War from a woman's perspective, loss of servants, entering working world, rations etc. birth to total, all encompassing, war. 50 illustrations
