These fascinating letters between Vera Brittain and Winifred Holtby
tell the story of an extraordinary friendship. 'A beautiful
collection' Daisy Dunn, Sunday Times 'Completely fascinating'
Rachel Cooke, Observer 'Lively, perceptive and immaculately edited'
Miranda Seymour, Literary Review 'A moving, unvarnished chronicle
of intellectual comradeship' Sarah Watling, Telegraph A literary
relationship that began when the women met at Somerville College,
Oxford, in 1919, it lasted until Winifred's early death at the age
of thirty-seven. The letters, written from 1920 to 1935, kept them
'continuously together', and show us the life of two pioneers who
wished to make their mark as writers and campaigners. Each
encouraged and advised the other. However, there were periods when
they were literary rivals. Winifred landed a book deal first; Vera
produced an international bestseller with Testament of Youth; and
the letters show them negotiating envy and self-doubt. It was at
times an uneven relationship: Vera, more than four years older, was
married and had two children during this period, while Winifred, a
single woman with an adventurous spirit, travelled and made a wide
range of friends. As the heroine of her novel South Riding says, 'I
was born to be a spinster and by God, I'm going to spin!' Vera
decisively influenced Winifred's passion for feminism and peace;
'You made me,' Winifred told her. In turn, Winifred, who took care
of Vera's children and placated her husband, gave Vera crucial
intellectual and emotional support, fiercely believing in her
literary gifts. A portrait of the inter-war years and a dramatic,
touching and ultimately tragic story, the letters have the
hallmarks of honest female friendship: not without friction and
with its own delicate co-dependency, but life-changing for them
both.
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