
For Us It Was Heaven
The Passion, Grief and Fortitude of Patience Darton -- From the Spanish Civil War to Mao's China
Angela Jackson(Author)
Liverpool University Press
Will be published approx. on 1. December 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-84519-515-1 (ISBN)
Description
Patience Darton's unpublished letters and papers from 1930s Spain and 1950s China are at the heart of this new biography by Angela Jackson, together with testimony from recorded interviews and a wealth of photographs that illustrate the life of this remarkable woman. 'For us it was Heaven' tells the story of a young, upper middle-class nurse in the 1930s who becomes dramatically caught up in Spain's civil war and the passionate political issues of her times, but whose intimate writings reveal emotions and attitudes that will strike a chord with most self-aware and determined women today. While Patience nursed near the front lines in Spain, she met and fell in love with Robert, a German volunteer in the International Brigades, deeply committed to fighting fascism. Their passionate relationship coloured the rest of her long life, taking her to communist China and then, finally, back to Spain. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies.
Reviews / Votes
"Ms Jackson describes the personalities, the medical treatments, the living conditions, the politics, and the conduct of everyday life with an immediacy which makes this biography such a readable and vivid portrayal of a war which it will help to keep alive in our memories, and the index and references make it also an important resource. Through interviews and letters, she paints an unforgettable picture of an intrepid, stubborn, indomitable character, a woman of great ability who might not have made a very comfortable friend or lover, but whose concern for others was a driving force throughout her life." Nick Coni, The Royal Society of Medicine Newsletter, March 2012 "Ms Jackson describes the personalities, the medical treatments, the living conditions, the politics, and the conduct of everyday life with an immediacy which makes this biography such a readable and vivid portrayal of a war which it will help to keep alive in our memories, and the index and references make it also an important resource. Through interviews and letters, she paints an unforgettable picture of an intrepid, stubborn, indomitable character, a woman of great ability who might not have made a very comfortable friend or lover, but whose concern for others was a driving force throughout her life." - Nick Coni, The Royal Society of Medicine Newsletter, March 2012This is a moving and illuminating book a wonderful, if extremely sad, love story, infused with selfless political dedication, it also provides a fascinating insight into English involvement with two key periods in countries which experienced major political upheaval and conflict during the 20th century: Spain, with its Civil War, and the International Brigades involvement; and newly-Communist China, with its idealistic foreign revolutionaries. - Books4Spain 2012
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Liverpool
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
140 illus
Dimensions
Height: 152 mm
Width: 229 mm
Weight
396 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-84519-515-1 (9781845195151)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Content
Acknowledgements
Introduction
PART ONE: BUILDING A FRAME OF REPRESENTATION
1. The Press, the Personal and News Values
2. Issues of Public and Private
3. Unifying Key Themes
PART TWO: EXPLORING TRADITIONAL REPRESENTATION
4. Histories of Homosexuality: Definition and Discrimination
5. Private Lives, Public Consequences: Representation Pre-1980
6. Immoral Sexuality, Moralistic Press Coverage: Representation 1980-1990
PART THREE: EXPLORING CONTEMPORARY REPRESENTATION
7. Histories of Homosexuality: the (Slow) Advancement of Gay Equality
8. Scurrilous Politicians, Scandalous Stories: Representation 1990-1997
9. Public Life, Public Pressures: Representation Post-1997
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Introduction
PART ONE: BUILDING A FRAME OF REPRESENTATION
1. The Press, the Personal and News Values
2. Issues of Public and Private
3. Unifying Key Themes
PART TWO: EXPLORING TRADITIONAL REPRESENTATION
4. Histories of Homosexuality: Definition and Discrimination
5. Private Lives, Public Consequences: Representation Pre-1980
6. Immoral Sexuality, Moralistic Press Coverage: Representation 1980-1990
PART THREE: EXPLORING CONTEMPORARY REPRESENTATION
7. Histories of Homosexuality: the (Slow) Advancement of Gay Equality
8. Scurrilous Politicians, Scandalous Stories: Representation 1990-1997
9. Public Life, Public Pressures: Representation Post-1997
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index