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SUMMERS, JULIE: : OUR UNINVITED GUESTS - THE SECRET LIVES OF BRITAIN'S COUNTRY HOUSES 1939-45

LONDON.SIMON & SCHUSTER UK Ltd.,2018.

ISBN 9781471152535.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn. [Complete number line1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2.] FINE+/FINE+. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,matt colour photographic illustrated dw/dj panels; front of dw/dj with author's capitalised,glossy, black-lettered name,capitalised,glossy,black-lettered part-title and capitalised,matt,gold colour lettered sub-title; spine/backstrip with thumbnail colour detail from front's photograph and similarly coloured+lettered part-title and author name as the front's,rear panel of dw/dj with colour photograph and critic's black-lettered review. Top+fore-edges bright,crisp and clean without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread, other than my own collation.Publisher's bright, crisp,unblemished,sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt-lettered spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj, illustrated,1st edn,2-453pp [paginated] includes an Introduction,12 chapters and a Conclusion, 16pp contemporary b/w photographs in 2 blocks of 8pp apiece,between pp150/51 and pp294/95 respectively,a 10pp Bibliography, Acknowledgements,Notes and an Index; plus [unpaginated]half-title+title pages,a dedication,a Contents list/table,and a Glossary.  A remarkable narrative set against the dark days of World War Two,from one of the country's foremost social historians.                      'Our Uninvited Guests' perfectly captures the spirit of upheaval at the beginning of the Second World War when thousands of houses were requisitioned by the government to provide accommodation for the armed forces,secret services and government offices as well as vulnerable children,the sick and the elderly, all of whom needed to be housed safely beyond the reach of Hitler's Luftwaffe.                  Julie Summers gives the reader a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in some of Britain's greatest country houses that were occupied by people who would otherwise never have set foot in such opulent surroundings.Blenheim Palace was colonised by schoolboys who slept in the Long Library; Polish special agents trained in the grounds of Audley End House,learning to forge and lie their way into occupied Europe in the old nursery. Brocket Hall,former home of Queen Victoria's favourite Lord Melbourne,was used as a maternity home for women from the East End of London,and the Rothschilds' magnificent French chateau-inspired Waddesdon Manor housed a hundred children under five. The Northern Highlands,where the fierce warriors of Scotland's past developed their unconventional military skills,played host to the most extreme form of warfare,training agents in the fine arts of sabotage, subterfuge and assassination.                                   The juxtaposition of splendour and opulence with the everyday activities of people whose needs were at odds with their new surroundings is at the heart of this book. This thought-provoking and evocative narrative captures a crucial period in the social history of Britain.  Please contact seller,for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!                                N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **                                  

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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