Class of '37
'A wonderful rear-view glimpse of [a] vanishing world' - Simon Garfield. Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize
Published on 22. July 2021
320 pages
978-1-78946-406-1 (ISBN)
Description
LONGLISTED FOR THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE
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'A moving microhistory of working-class girlhood' BBC History Magazine
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It is 1937 in a northern mill-town and a class of twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls are writing about their lives, their world, and the things that matter to them. They tell of cobbled streets and crowded homes; the Coronation festivities and holidays to Blackpool; laughter and fun alongside poverty and hardship. They are destined for the cotton mill but they dream of being film stars.
Class of '37 uses the writing of these young girls, as collected by the research organisation Mass Observation, to rediscover this lost world, transporting readers back in time to a smoky industrial town in an era before the introduction of a Welfare State, where once again the clouds of war were beginning to gather. Woven within this rich, authentic history are the twists and turns of the girls' lives from childhood to beyond, from their happiest times to the most heart-breaking of their sorrows.
A compelling social history, this intimate reconstruction of working-class life in 1930s Britain is a haunting and emotional account of a bygone age.
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Praise for Class of '37
'A treasure trove of childhood' - i paper
'A fascinating account' - Bolton News
'We're used to Mass Observation revealing adult treasures, but to have them from these irrepressible children is doubly rewarding. An engrossing and gently heart-breaking insight into this chatter of still lives before everything changed, and a wonderful rear-view glimpse of their vanishing world' - Simon Garfield
'Characters [...] shine brightly from every page' - Daily Mail
___
'A moving microhistory of working-class girlhood' BBC History Magazine
___
It is 1937 in a northern mill-town and a class of twelve- and thirteen-year-old girls are writing about their lives, their world, and the things that matter to them. They tell of cobbled streets and crowded homes; the Coronation festivities and holidays to Blackpool; laughter and fun alongside poverty and hardship. They are destined for the cotton mill but they dream of being film stars.
Class of '37 uses the writing of these young girls, as collected by the research organisation Mass Observation, to rediscover this lost world, transporting readers back in time to a smoky industrial town in an era before the introduction of a Welfare State, where once again the clouds of war were beginning to gather. Woven within this rich, authentic history are the twists and turns of the girls' lives from childhood to beyond, from their happiest times to the most heart-breaking of their sorrows.
A compelling social history, this intimate reconstruction of working-class life in 1930s Britain is a haunting and emotional account of a bygone age.
___
Praise for Class of '37
'A treasure trove of childhood' - i paper
'A fascinating account' - Bolton News
'We're used to Mass Observation revealing adult treasures, but to have them from these irrepressible children is doubly rewarding. An engrossing and gently heart-breaking insight into this chatter of still lives before everything changed, and a wonderful rear-view glimpse of their vanishing world' - Simon Garfield
'Characters [...] shine brightly from every page' - Daily Mail
More details
Persons
Hester Barron (Author)
Hester Barron is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Sussex. She teaches and writes about working-class life, childhood, schooling and education. Her first book, The 1926 Miners' Lockout, is a history of the coalfield communities of Durham, where she grew up. She now lives in the South Downs.
Claire Langhamer (Author)
Claire Langhamer is Director of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and a Trustee of the Mass Observation Archive. Her work is about ordinary people's feelings and experiences; her books include The English in Love. She grew up in Yorkshire, studied in Lancashire and now lives in Brighton.
Hester Barron is Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Sussex. She teaches and writes about working-class life, childhood, schooling and education. Her first book, The 1926 Miners' Lockout, is a history of the coalfield communities of Durham, where she grew up. She now lives in the South Downs.
Claire Langhamer (Author)
Claire Langhamer is Director of the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and a Trustee of the Mass Observation Archive. Her work is about ordinary people's feelings and experiences; her books include The English in Love. She grew up in Yorkshire, studied in Lancashire and now lives in Brighton.
Content
- Intro
- Half Title
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Prologue
- The Girls
- The Mass Observers
- 1. Pikes Lane
- 2. Expectations
- 3. The Pictures
- 4. Making Ends Meet
- 5. Church and Chapel
- 6. Family
- 7. Spare Time
- 8. Sickness
- 9. Holidays
- 10. Blackpool
- 11. Coronation Day
- 12. Storm Clouds
- 13. Heartbreak
- 14. Shopping
- 15. Happy Homes
- 16. Cotton
- 17. The War
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- Notes and References
- Plates
