Sing As We Go

Reviews / Votes

The interwar period has not been written about in this way before, and Heffer's mammoth, magisterial book fills an important gap. It is an extraordinary achievement. -- Jane Ridley * Literary Review * In Sing as We Go, Heffer has created a magnificently detailed portrait of a febrile Britain, largely ignorant of the horrors about to befall it. Throughout this book lurks the spectre of the eternal return. -- Jonathan Meades * Telegraph * A masterful portrayal of political, social and cultural upheaval between the wars. * Daily Mail * Excellent, thorough, detailed and combatively argued. * Sunday Times * Heffer once more treats us to his vast knowledge and trenchant opinions on almost every aspect of the nation's state, from high politics to crime and popular entertainment. It is an astonishing achievement of narrative history . . . Heffer's tetralogy offers a commanding view of a century that saw Britain at the summit and then beginning its descent. I think the word is "magisterial". -- Nigel Jones * Spectator * An epic new history of the nation between the wars . . . The distinguished historian Simon Heffer has magnificently set out the case for Chamberlain's rehabilitation . . . Like his previous three volumes, it is a work of epic scholarship, breathtaking range, and piercing originality. His judgement is shrewd and his prose stylish. In it's majestic scope, the quartet is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the forces that have shaped our land since the early 19th century. What enhances the richness of this latest volume is the extraordinary amount of change and turmoil in the period covered . . . Through his immersion in his original sources, Heffer is superb on all these political developments . . . But Heffer is just as good on society and culture, covering everything from professional football to cinema. -- Leo McKinstry * Daily Express * This account of the interwar years is the last in [Heffer's] quartet of volumes treating Britain from the accession of Queen Victoria to the outbreak of the Second World War. Together the books amount to more than 3,600 pages of compelling narrative - full of detail and portraits of the significant players of the age, as well as both the narrow and broad sweep of politics . . . among the themes he discusses here with verve and insight are the death of deference in 1924 . . . the birth of the welfare state; technological and cultural developments from cars to cinema; and set-pieces such as the General Strike and the abdication crisis. * New Statesman * Heffer's knowledge and his deep research are impressive. Certain details shine out, bringing the interwar years vividly to life . . . One of the most enriching aspects of this book is that it makes us re-evaluate Chamberlain, whose reputation was 'crucified' after the failure of Munich . . . This is a richly persuasive portrait of interwar Britain and its politicians, reminding us just how hard it is for anyone to run a country.' -- Ysenda Maxtone-Graham * Daily Mail * Heffer has been chronicling our island story, since the accession of Queen Victoria, for years. It is hard to imagine anyone better qualified to tell the story of the 1920s and 1930s . . . I can imagine Churchill admiring Heffer's genial approach. It is difficult for a reviewer to do the book justice . . . This is a superb book, and will surely be seen as the definitive history of the pre-war years. -- A. N. Wilson * The Critic * Amazing. * Think Scotland * A monumental chronicle of Britain . . . meticulously researched [and] dramatic. -- Jules Stewart * Geographical Magazine * The fourth and final volume of Simon Heffer's polychromatic history of Britain from the accession of Queen Victoria to the coming war with Hitler, connects just about everything with everything else. Heffer reappraises the too-often lazy narrative of the 'low, dishonest decade' and the 'guilty men' with the hitherto neglected or underweighted evidence. -- BOOKS OF THE YEAR * Spectator * The fourth volume in his mighty series about Britain since the Victorians, Simon Heffer's history of Britain in the 1920s and 1930s is a monumental achievement. He covers everything from cars and cinemas to flappers and dance halls, and is especially good on Westminster politics, narrated with dry wit and forensic detail. * BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF 2023, Sunday Times * An epic study that combined ground-breaking research and stylish prose. -- Leo McKinstry * BOOKS OF THE YEAR, Daily Express * Incisive. And omniscient history. * The House Magazine *