Publishers Weekly
★ 01/27/2020
This collection of letters written by literary translator Alexander (1917–1986) to her future husband, Gershon Ellenbogen, between July 1939 and March 1946 proves a remarkable aggregate of public and personal history. It begins with, per editor Crane, a “remarkably forgiving letter” from Alexander to Ellenbogen after she is badly injured in a car crash while he, a friend and fellow Cambridge student, is driving. The ensuing correspondence (of which his half is lost) traces their deepening bond, as he serves in the RAF and she in the Army bureaucracy, and shares details of ordinary British life during WWII, perhaps most dramatically of blitz-era London. “I’ve been nervous in Air-Raids before, but last night I was Terrified,” Alexander writes, noting elsewhere, “gas-mask practice is at 10 and I’ve left my mask at home again.” She also shares “libelous” gossip about her friends (“Darling Jean Swills Pink Gin with Terrific Swagger—It’s my private opinion that she’s a bit of a Wild Oat”) and describes familial roadblocks to their relationship, as when her parents are scandalized by her plans to stay with Ellenbogen near his training camp. Any reader with an interest in cultural history or a love of romance will find this a book to savor. (May)
From the Publisher
It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book as much as I did Love in the Blitz. Of the hundreds of books about World War II that I’ve read, this is one of the best. . . . Her letters tell a rich, multilayered story . . . . Alexander is a lovely writer, reflecting her readings of great English literature, especially Shakespeare and Donne, but also Samuel Johnson, Daniel Defoe, C. S. Lewis and Jane Austen. Imagine how that last novelist might have witnessed the Blitz, and you have a sense of this wonderful book.” — New York Times Book Review
"Love in the Blitz provides an enchanting insight into a young woman’s life in wartime Britain via letters sent by the 'blue-stocking' Eileen Alexander to friends, family, and most importantly, the love of her life." — Jacqueline Winspear, New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs novels
“A unique and vivid account of both love and war . . . . The book reminds us of the lost art of letter-writing, which first was replaced by email and now by the even hastier and more forgettable text. Alexander is a master of the art, and her letters are a treasure—artful, eloquent, deeply informed, emotionally alive and full of life.” — Jewish Journal
“Deftly edited by McGowan and with informative chapter introductions by Crane, the letters offer a moving, sharply etched chronicle of wartime London . . . . Alexander’s wit and intelligence shine through reports of her work, their friends’ romantic entanglements, her reflections on religion, her sexual longing, and tidbits of gossip . . . . A rare, vivid perspective on the impact of war.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Alexander’s adoration for Gershon shines through in every letter, and so do her observations on the opinions and foibles of the people around her. You’ll laugh out loud at unbuttoned descriptions of friends, family, and coworkers while learning more than you’d expect about life in London leading up and during to World War II. This treasure trove of love letters, cultural history, and memoir should make a wonderful addition to all World War II collections.” — Library Journal (starred review)
"This remarkable treasure trove of letters gives a unique insight into home-front life and romance." — Daily Mail (UK)
"The letters that Alexander devotes to the blitz are both harrowing and revelatory. Perhaps no nation is as prone to mythologising its past than Britain – catastrophic failures become undying endorsements of pluck and sangfroid. Alexander reconnects feet firmly to the ground and allows the reader to contemplate the blunt reality of what life was actually like." — The Guardian
“This collection of letters written by literary translator Alexander to her future husband, Gershon Ellenbogen, between July 1939 and March 1946 proves a remarkable aggregate of public and personal history. . . . Any reader with an interest in cultural history or a love of romance will find this a book to savor.” — Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
“It’s a memoir of hope and resilience, as much as of love.” — Times (UK)
“These remarkable letters, worldly yet innocent, full of youthful buoyancy and romantic longing, take us behind the myths of wartime London to show us daily life as it was actually being lived. Gossipy and amusingly observant, this is history at its most personal.” — Joseph Kanon, New York Times bestselling author of Istanbul Passage and The Good German
"An almost novel-like portrayal of the heart of a young woman. It is noteworthy that these letters might have easily been lost to the world, and with them, a small slice of British Jewish history. They were fortuitously found at a garage sale, where the price for a huge stack of papers including the letters was less than a hundred dollars. Their worth to the reader, on the other hand, may be incalculable.” — Jewish Book Council
Jewish Journal
A unique and vivid account of both love and war . . . . The book reminds us of the lost art of letter-writing, which first was replaced by email and now by the even hastier and more forgettable text. Alexander is a master of the art, and her letters are a treasure—artful, eloquent, deeply informed, emotionally alive and full of life.
The Guardian
"The letters that Alexander devotes to the blitz are both harrowing and revelatory. Perhaps no nation is as prone to mythologising its past than Britain – catastrophic failures become undying endorsements of pluck and sangfroid. Alexander reconnects feet firmly to the ground and allows the reader to contemplate the blunt reality of what life was actually like."
New York Times Book Review
It has been a long time since I enjoyed a book as much as I did Love in the Blitz. Of the hundreds of books about World War II that I’ve read, this is one of the best. . . . Her letters tell a rich, multilayered story . . . . Alexander is a lovely writer, reflecting her readings of great English literature, especially Shakespeare and Donne, but also Samuel Johnson, Daniel Defoe, C. S. Lewis and Jane Austen. Imagine how that last novelist might have witnessed the Blitz, and you have a sense of this wonderful book.
Joseph Kanon
These remarkable letters, worldly yet innocent, full of youthful buoyancy and romantic longing, take us behind the myths of wartime London to show us daily life as it was actually being lived. Gossipy and amusingly observant, this is history at its most personal.
Jacqueline Winspear
"Love in the Blitz provides an enchanting insight into a young woman’s life in wartime Britain via letters sent by the 'blue-stocking' Eileen Alexander to friends, family, and most importantly, the love of her life."
Daily Mail (UK)
"This remarkable treasure trove of letters gives a unique insight into home-front life and romance."
Times (UK)
It’s a memoir of hope and resilience, as much as of love.
Jewish Book Council
"An almost novel-like portrayal of the heart of a young woman. It is noteworthy that these letters might have easily been lost to the world, and with them, a small slice of British Jewish history. They were fortuitously found at a garage sale, where the price for a huge stack of papers including the letters was less than a hundred dollars. Their worth to the reader, on the other hand, may be incalculable.
Library Journal
★ 05/01/2020
In 1939, author Alexander had just graduated from Girton College, Cambridge. The year before, she'd met fellow Cambridge student Gershon Ellenbogen, and on June 29, he set out to drive her to London, but they had an accident en route. Recovering in the hospital, she began writing to him and wouldn't stop until March 26, 1943, when they were married in London. Between those dates, she sent her boyfriend, fiancé, and finally husband more than a thousand letters, determined not to lose him even when he was overseas. Alexander died in 1986, Gershon in 2003; he had saved all her letters. Eventually, they were listed for sale on eBay, ending up in the hands of a competent, respectful editor and compiled here. Alexander's adoration for Gershon shines through in every letter, and so do her observations on the opinions and foibles of the people around her. You'll laugh out loud at unbuttoned descriptions of friends, family, and coworkers while learning more than you'd expect about life in London leading up and during to World War II. VERDICT This treasure trove of love letters, cultural history, and memoir should make a wonderful addition to all World War II collections. [See Prepub Alert, 12/2/19.]—David Keymer, Cleveland
Kirkus Reviews
2020-02-09
Letters from a young Londoner to her lover offer an intimate chronicle of life on the homefront.
In 2017, McGowan purchased a large cache of letters written by Eileen Alexander (1917-1986), from 1939 to 1947, to Gershon Ellenbogen, her boyfriend, fiance, and, in 1944, husband. Deftly edited by McGowan and with informative chapter introductions by Crane, the letters offer a moving, sharply etched chronicle of wartime London, where Eileen lived with her family, joined the war effort, and eagerly awaited Gershon’s return from a post in Egypt. As Alexander herself noted, she was a lively, engaging correspondent: “letter-writing is undoubtedly my medium,” she wrote to Gershon; “when I’m writing (and particularly when I’m writing to you, my dear love) I have the feeling that I’m living my experiences all over again—but living them more richly, because they’re being shared with a friend.” Alexander’s wit and intelligence shine through reports of her work, their friends’ romantic entanglements, her reflections on religion, her sexual longing, and tidbits of gossip, some related to their mutual friend Aubrey Eban, who later became, as Abba Eban, the internationally renowned “Voice of Israel.” Awarded a first in English at Cambridge, Alexander laces her letters with literary references, and though nightly bombings often required sleeping in shelters, she and her friends were able to dine out, gather in one another’s houses, and attend the theater and movies, excursions that she recounted in detail to Gershon. The war certainly took its toll, psychologically and emotionally, but Alexander assured Gershon, “I’m a Girl of Simple Needs. The only things I must have are you,” friends, books, and “constant Hot Water.” As “depressing and exhausting” as the war was, Alexander wrote, “if I were asked to choose between death and a shameful peace—I would choose death,” she wrote. “The only price I couldn’t pay would be your life.”
A rare, vivid perspective on the impact of war.
