Jenna Bailey

I enjoyed this peek into the lives of a group of women in the U.K. over the course of several decades. How fascinating it would be if I could read about the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of my own female relatives such as my grandmother or great-grandmother. After reading this collection of letters, I feel as if I know all of the women personally. This book reinforces my thought that "ordinary, average" people are often quite fascinating, that everyone has a compelling story to tell if given the opportunity or right forum, and that women especially are deep wells of experience and wisdom.… (més)

In 1935 a mother wrote a letter to Nursery World magazine expressing boredom and frustration. The responses by others who shared these feelings led to the establishment of a group who discussed their experiences and feelings by writing pieces for a twice-monthly magazine which they circulated by post. It lasted over 50 years (for the rest of the lives of many of the members).

Jenna Bailey has selected some pieces written over the period by 11 members of the group (those who had given copyright consent for their work to be republished. The book offers a fascinating insight into the lives of some middle class women in the middle of the 20th century. I was also interested to learn that one of the women involved was Rose Hacker, who wrote a column in the Camden New Journal about her thoughts on various things, before she died at the age of 101.

I learned of this book through my own mums' support network, a website called mumsnet, and am very glad I did.… (més)