Customer Reviews
So near, yet so far away from perfection... - By: Gemma, 30 Sep 2008 
As Virginia Nicholson righly points out, many of the women left without men following WW1 were often forgotton about or viewed as a problem. Ms Nicholson has done a wonderful job of describing both the achievements of these women & the prejudices they faced. The book is extremely well-researched - the author has sought out survivors of this period, & reached into diaries, letters, news reports, literature, problem pages, etc.
However, the book feels like a missed opportunity. The women's stories are rarely accompanied by any critical analysis or historical background - the book often descends into hero worship. I would have also appreciated biographies of some of the key individualsin the book.
This book is certainly worth reading for anyone interestedin the topic, but it left me wanting to know more.
A Land Fit for Heroines - By: John Grimbaldeston, 09 Aug 2008 Unlike a previous reviewer I thought there really was a representative cross section of women featuredin the book, & the author came up with some quite obscure biographical details to bring the situations of womenin the twenties & thirties alive. What comes across is the genuine sense of loss that some felt at being denied the chance of having a family, & the often ground-breaking successes they achieved once they decided to channel their energiesin other directions. The last chapter which records these achievements is particularly uplifting, & the author herself conveys a quiet pridein what they did.
Barbara - By: B. Flowerdew, 09 Jul 2008 
I was eagerly awaiting this ore-ordered book but found it largely disappointing. There was insufficient writing/analysis about anything other than the upper classes & it would have been much more fascinating to have learnt more about the womenin this countryin general & their ways of accepting their "...survival without men after WW1".
Wonderful - By: Kim, 13 Jun 2008 
This is a fascinating book. I could not put it down. It is so beautifully & accessibly written with such intriguing & poignant real life stories.
