
With thanks to Handheld Press for the review copy
The two texts contained in Blitz Writing; Night Shift and It was Different at the Time, are back in print after many years thanks to Handheld Press. First published in 1941 and 1943 respectively, they provide an extraordinary portrait of the war years in Britain. Ordinary people, in factories and hospitals, in the streets and rooming houses of a Britain living through extraordinary times. The first text; Night Shift is a novella – running to 85 pages. The second, later text, a memoir beginning in 1938, was originally intended to be part of a joint project with George Orwell. Orwell in the end was unable to contribute, so instead we are left with Inez Holden’s intimate and accessible account of the period just before the war and the first two years of a conflict that had yet to end when the book was first published.
Inez Holden might not be a familiar name to us today – however in her day she was a well known writer of novels and short stories. According to Kristin Bluemel in her introduction to this edition, Holden was known as much for her flamboyant lifestyle and friendship with notable figures like Anthony Powell, HG Wells, Evelyn Waugh, and George Orwell, as she was for her literary output. However, she published seven novels, two story collections and a wartime diary.
Night Shift is a novella about factory workers. Holden’s largely working-class characters have been conscripted into Braille’s; a London factory, making camera parts for reconnaissance aeroplanes. An unnamed narrator introduces us to the night shift workers and the world they inhabit. Here is the noise of the factory machinery, a constant dull thump, distantly in the background the sound of air raids going on above them. A new girl has recently started at the factory, soon she is nicknamed Feather – Sid; one of the men in white coats is second in charge, he is frequently called upon to assist with problems with the machinery. Feather is soon an established member of the team; indulging in gossip and the inane chatter of workers brought together for long hours of tedious routine.
“At one minute to one most of the workers had gathered round the notice board to clock out for the night meal. They stood for a moment like a group waiting to be photographed. Just before the minute hand jerked up to the appointed hour they all reached out towards the rack holding their hour cards on which their names and numbers were written. One by one they dropped the cards into the clocking-in mouth, knocked in the knob, like a blow to the front teeth, and taking out the cards put them back into the rack.”
Conversations always run along similar lines, the hope of more money – whether ‘he’ is overhead that night – whether the second part of the night – after the hour long meal break, provided by Ma in the canteen has been eaten – goes faster or not. The voices are wonderful, realistic and full of humour and pathos. This is a world rarely portrayed in fiction – and I loved being part of it.
The second text is Holden’s memoir of the years 1938-1941 begins around the time of the Munich agreement – talk of war is everywhere, and Inez Holden always knew it would come.
“Personally I have never doubted during these last years that we should be at war very soon, but now that seems as if it will break out within a few days I find a certain reluctance to accept something which I already knew must happen. I find the same attitude in several of my friends. They would be appalled at the possibility of a second sell-out – as at the time of Munich – but there is just this difficulty of making the mental jump from even phoney-peace to the start of slaughter near us.”
In this memoir Holden gives us her own personal perspective of the war and the days leading up to it. The entries depict Holden’s wartime service in hospitals and at a government training centre, as a BBC broadcaster, a fire watcher and guest at a BBC centre called ‘Hogsnorton’.
Holden recounts stories of patients she came across in the hospital – like the man, who was quite the celebrity on the ward for the number of times he had ‘gone down’ (to the operating theatre). Additionally, Holden shows us the normality of life going on away from the busy hospital wards, the streets full of people despite the threat of raids, cinemas showing slapstick comedy, while elsewhere the stretcher bearers and rescue workers carry out their work, courageously enduring long hours, bombardment and danger as they assist the people of a city in wartime.
“There were air raids every night now. They start about seven o’clock. We know all the sounds very well. A very familiar sound is a particular kind of crackling after the fall of incendiary bombs. We go out then and put the fires out with stirrup pumps and sand.”
In these two texts Inez Holden shows the London under bombardment that she herself was living through at the time. There is some overlap in time with the two texts, together they examine a city and its people during the blitz, beautifully written, vivid and compelling.
Blitz Writing was another read for the Librarything ‘reading the 1940s’ project – though it fitted more into last month’s theme of work than this month’s food theme.
Just skimming your review for now as it’s a book I’m keen to read reasonably soon. In the meantime, it’s great to see that you enjoyed both sections. I’m sure the memoir gives an extra dimension to Holden’s fiction, particularly given the crossover in time periods.
The crossover in period does add an extra dimension I think especially because one text is fiction and the other is non fiction. Glad to hear you’re keen to read this.
This sounds like an excellent pairing, the one illuminating the other. A very thoughtful piece of publishing.
Yes it is an excellent pairing, publishing the two texts together was an inspired idea.
I’d love to see more of that kind of innovative thinking. Small publishers pointing the way, as ever.
Definitely, there are so many interesting things coming out of small publishers these days.
I was talking last week with a friend who recommended How We Lived Then – stories captured by civilians during WW2, which I thought sounded fascinating. Blitz Writing also sounds really interesting and compelling.
I don’t think I had heard of How we Lived Then, it sounds exactly my kind of thing. I’m sure you would find this very interesting.
Can’t wait to read this! It sounds like a different perspective. Lovely review as ever.
Thank you, really hope you enjoy it.
Great post Ali, and this sounds like a marvellous book. I like the idea of balancing a fiction piece with a non-fiction to capture a real sense of what it was like to live through those times. Kudos to Handheld for bringing these back into print!
Thank you, yes having these two texts side by side was an inspired idea. They work so well together.
Great review! I’d never heard of her before – I will have to look for this and other works by her to add to my library.
I hadn’t heard of Inez Holden either until a few months ago. She seems like someone whose work will be worth looking out for.
This sounds fascinating. Both pieces seem strong and its such a good idea to put them together.
Yes putting these two texts together was such a good idea. Both pieces are very strong in different ways.
These would be good additions to my reading for my genealogy project where I’d like to understand more about the lives of people I am researching, some of whom did this kind of work
Oh yes it would perfect for your project I’m sure. It gives the reader an excellent glimpse of life for ordinary workers.
I’m so intrigued by the idea of women working in munitions factories. There was a series here, on CBC, for a couple of years not long ago, called “Bomb Girls”, with Meg Tilly and others.
The conditions those women worked under were not so great. Depending on what they were working with, some of those workers were in just as much daily danger as the men on the front. Not so long ago I read a book called Last Day in the Dynamite factory, which featured women working in a munitions factory in Maribyrnong here in Melbourne (and they *still* haven’t cleaned up the contamination on the site which is only 10k from the CBD.)
Sometimes, a book can be just as interesting for what’s not in it, as for what is. Under war time restrictions on reporting, Holden would not have been allowed to publish anything that discouraged women from doing this essential work.
Thanks for bringing this book to our attention Ali!
You’re right about how a book can
Tell us about the times it was written in as we can read around the context as you point out, what it leaves out. Last Day at the Dynamite factory sound interesting.
The stories of those women fascinate me too. I don’t know Bomb Girls but it does sound very good.
I’ve not heard of her, but this does sound fascinating. Thanks for the review!
I hadn’t heard of her either until Handheld offered me a review copy. I think she must have been an interesting woman.
This pairing sounds a very good idea and both books appear to give a different aspect but also mesh together well. A worthwhile re-print!
Yes, it was an excellent pairing.
[…] Blitz Writing by Inez Holden comprises a novella; Night Shift and a memoir; It was Different at the Time. Together they provide a portrait of a city under daily bombardment, showing the lives of ordinary working people in factories and hospitals. […]
Thanks very much for the introduction here. Regards Thom
No problem 😊 glad you like the sound of this one.
Now on my list!
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